Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

I'm so sad mumsnetters

7 replies

rockkbottom · 30/12/2025 21:14

I've had two years from hell and it just keeps getting worse.

-My lovely cat died Jan 24, he had a horrible death and I don't even feel like I've grieved him yet.
-I had a cancer scare Feb to April 24, thankfully it wasn't
-Feb 24 onwards exDH started acting weird -suspected affair
Sep 24 - he admitted it bare minimum - meeting colleague in middle of night
Sep 24 - May 25 - tried to co-exist but he became abusive to cover his tracks. Tried to convince me I was actually paranoid, threatened me with arrest, stopped me from talking, threatened to withdraw financial support.
June 25 - He tried to kill himself and there was a police search party out for him, turned out he had tried to OD on nytol so no real damage.
End of June 25 - Tried to kill himself again, this time put under a section 2. No contact from him, his family would not disclose what was happening. Disappeared from lives of our 2 dc for 3 months with zero communication.
Oct -25 Wants contact with DC - currently allowing supervised visits which means I have to see him, which triggers me every single time. It's horrendous but feels like the lesser of two evils because the thought of him being unsupervised is worse. He has previously gaslighted them in front of me and is generally risky.
Dec 25- He has introduced the OW to his family under the guise of nothing happened while we were together and expects me to move on and accept this

Today's kicker- I've just had a massive falling out with my parents. It's been simmering for a long time, my DM is incredibly difficult to get along with, everything has to be her way, anyone who questions anything is instantly the problem, my DF is completely passive to this and never once stuck up for us as DC. There was some physical abuse as we grew up but mainly incredibly controlling behaviour. When exDH came along when I was 17 I jumped in with both feet in desperation to get out, obvs that has spectacularly backfired 18 years later.

What I really hate is that she tells me what I'm doing and why, it's always the most vicious reason anyone could imagine. For example, I explicitly stated I wasn't doing christmas presents, christmas cards etc for adults. I do not have the money and would rather spend it on the kids, I told them this months ago and they agreed, yes money really is that tight. Tonight they told me I purposefully did not get them a card or present so I could call my DB and laugh about it with him. My DB is already no contact with them, I don't speak to him often and certainly wouldn't set up a scenario like that. DM has told me that I smirk at her ( I absolutely do not), that I use them for childcare (she insisted on doing childcare as she thinks formal childcare settings are abhorrent if family are available). Now they have withdrawn childcare and I return to work on monday. She told me ex's behaviour is my fault, that I gaslight them, that I'm miserable all the time, I'm bitter and manipulative.

My soul is so tired and broken, I don't have the energy or the motivation to be a horrible person. When I'm not focused on a task my mind is consumed by what ex put me through, it replays constantly. I know I'm a good person, I don't go out of my way to upset anyone, it's not in me, yet she views me that way. I put everything that I have into giving my dc the best life I can and now they're literally all I have in the world.

OP posts:
HiThere29 · 30/12/2025 22:22

I don’t have any advice but this all sounds so hard 😢 I really, really hope that more positive things come your way in the new year!!

soddingspiderseason · 30/12/2025 23:07

Oh you poor thing. Things will get better, but you have to put yourself first from here on in. Please get some counselling - your mother sounds bloody awful to be honest and its no wonder you jumped into a relationship at an early age with someone who turned out to be manipulative as well. None of this is your fault and you deserve so much better.

ReleaseTheDucksOfWar · 30/12/2025 23:21

She told me ex's behaviour is my fault, that I gaslight them, that I'm miserable all the time, I'm bitter and manipulative.

that's called projection, sweetheart. She's not describing you, she's describing what's in her mirror but she can't face it.

it's very late but just to say that you sound so alone. Flowers

Life ~can~ get better. You will need to be strong for yourself and for your children and make changes, but it can get better. Grieve the river of shit you're wading through now, and keep going until you can find a better life. It -is- possible.

Ydkiml · 30/12/2025 23:29

Your mother sounds disgusting. She’s withdrawn childcare knowing your back to work on Monday ! She’s blames you for everything. Christ , she ment to protect you , support you , show love and care . Talk about kicking someone when they are down . Stay away from her till at least you are stronger . Focus on your children and being a great mother , warm , loving , calm etc . And if I were you , I’d keep them away from her . She’s toxic

rockkbottom · 30/12/2025 23:36

Thank you all, I just needed to write this down and get it off my chest. I appreciate your kindness

OP posts:
pikkumyy77 · 30/12/2025 23:43

All my sympathy! The sooner you just accept low to no contact woth your parents the better. Resolve that this year you will do only what is best for you and the children. Ignore ex, parents., and everyone else.

ReleaseTheDucksOfWar · 31/12/2025 10:07

One thing about her withdrawing childcare @rockkbottom , it means that you know never to rely on her again.

It sounds to me like she's playing a game "jerk my daughter around as much as I can" without limits. Angry, unhappy people do this, and the odd simply very unpleasant person.

It's one hell of a shock to begin to realise. One thing that you can do is to write down her behaviour on a piece of paper. When you're in the middle of a situation it can be impossible to see it clearly, but writing it down can give you something closer to an outside perspective.

There's a thread on here called But we Took you to Stately Homes! It's worth a read. Some of it (perhaps not all) will resonate. You are not alone in having a very difficult mother and jumping from the frying pan into the fire with a very difficult man, though until you realise how often it happens, you feel very alone.

You ~can~ make changes to your life, find ways of handling her slowly, but it takes time and an emotional journey. Right now you're in the thick of it and just need to get through the next childcare situation. For that .. from a stranger from afar, Flowers

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread