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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

(TW SA) New support thread …

195 replies

PinkPoetAgain1 · 15/05/2026 13:18

Another thread full, still learning that things are not normal as I thought they were .

www.mumsnet.com/talk/relationships/5522581-tw-sa-new-therapist-new-thread

thank you everyone for being so patient and supportive ❤️

OP posts:
OneOliveOtter · 17/05/2026 13:18

I think Poet honestly means that some part of her thinks it would be better to give in and have sex with him. Perhaps partly due to the mounting pressure as he is literally masturbating towards her sleeping body (honestly Poet this would give me the ick so intently that I could never come back from it…) and also because she seems to be having a flush of finding him super attractive and feeling in love again. As a bystander this is so sad but also understandable for you Poet given everything you’ve been groomed and conditioned to believe.

Despite this you did keep to your boundary and that’s a really big deal.

Can you explain what ‘energy’ you’re finding super attractive Poet? The idea of my husband frantically tugging at himself behind me whilst I sleep is so far from attractive energy to me that it would be helpful if you could try to pin down what exactly you’re feeling?

RS1987 · 17/05/2026 14:00

Well done for keeping your boundary. I would be really uncomfortable with my husband masturbating next to me in bed (we both do this privately) but if you are comfortable with that then thats fine.

scoobysnaxx · 17/05/2026 14:05

I just want to say how well you are doing Poet, despite maybe not feeling this way.
you have come a long long way.

I just want to take a second to acknowledge what a difficult difficult life you are currently living. Not just with the abuse; but your increasing understanding of the realities of your relationship. This is an incredibly difficult and painful realisation, especially traumatised and working and raising 4 children.

a very very tough place to be. It’s okay if you feel confused, scared and like you don’t know which way is up right now. God knows anyone would feel this way xx

Youllnevergetabetterbitofbutteronyourknife · 17/05/2026 20:55

@PinkPoetAgain1 how are you doing, dear Poet? Really hope you're okay 💐

PinkPoetAgain1 · 17/05/2026 20:59

WallaceinAnderland · 17/05/2026 13:14

This is why it's so helpful to keep the old threads to refer back to. I wonder if you could ask MN to reinstate it and ask your friend to print it out OP? Then you could delete it again if you want.

Also, this is concerning 'another night of ‘upholding’ the ban, for what I don’t know'

Again, is this just your anxiety or is this what he is saying?

You should not have to be fighting him off every night. This week should be a respite for you. An opportunity to relax and rest. Instead you are on constant alert, bracing yourself for the next attack.

I just get in a panic that if he ever came across it there is no way I could deny it’s me because there are so many specifics in the thread. My friend screenshot it for me xx

He hasn’t said that to me, although he has asked me ‘why’ we’re on a break. I’ve said my therapist suggested it so we can start to rebuild trust. It’s just my thoughts, why am I bothering to uphold it with all the pestering it’s just exhausting. If I just got it done then I could sleep

what’s the problem just having sex when it’s happened so so many times before !

those sorts of thoughts

OP posts:
FiloPasty · 17/05/2026 21:07

Because you don’t want to and that’s totally fine Poet. That is reason enough, I’d say the vast majority of posters on here will have had big gaps of no sex and their husbands haven’t pestered them. I hardly had sex at all the first years after my children, I was exhausted, breastfeeding and touched out. My husband never complained.

You don’t need to do it to appease him.

FiloPasty · 17/05/2026 21:08

We were still affectionate, would cuddle, do nice things for each other, but birth took me a long time to recover from.

LizzieW1969 · 17/05/2026 21:16

FiloPasty · 17/05/2026 21:08

We were still affectionate, would cuddle, do nice things for each other, but birth took me a long time to recover from.

That how it’s been with my DH in recent years. My therapy has really helped me, but sex has been off the agenda, because of having DDs with very complex issues. We’re very affectionate with each other, though.

Really, pestering for sex is never ok, Deep Poet. You have every right to tell him you’re in need of a break without him pestering you. ❤️

DropOfffArtiste · 17/05/2026 21:19

You need a break from the pestering/asking/groping/tension/atmosphere as well. That's what the break is for.

How he is behaving at the moment is doing the opposite of building trust. He assaulted you last night.

PinkNosy · 17/05/2026 21:55

It’s just my thoughts, why am I bothering to uphold it with all the pestering it’s just exhausting. If I just got it done then I could sleep

what’s the problem just having sex when it’s happened so so many times before !

What do you think your answers are to these questions, Poet?

PinkPoetAgain1 · 17/05/2026 21:55

OneOliveOtter · 17/05/2026 13:18

I think Poet honestly means that some part of her thinks it would be better to give in and have sex with him. Perhaps partly due to the mounting pressure as he is literally masturbating towards her sleeping body (honestly Poet this would give me the ick so intently that I could never come back from it…) and also because she seems to be having a flush of finding him super attractive and feeling in love again. As a bystander this is so sad but also understandable for you Poet given everything you’ve been groomed and conditioned to believe.

Despite this you did keep to your boundary and that’s a really big deal.

Can you explain what ‘energy’ you’re finding super attractive Poet? The idea of my husband frantically tugging at himself behind me whilst I sleep is so far from attractive energy to me that it would be helpful if you could try to pin down what exactly you’re feeling?

Yeah it’s not that part that I find attractive !!

I can’t explain it. He’s really good looking etc but it’s not just that. He’s just got this energy that attracts me (and other women) to him. The way he talks, looks, smiles , all of it. It’s still there despite everything he’s done which doesn’t do much for my self esteem!

OP posts:
PinkPoetAgain1 · 17/05/2026 21:57

PinkNosy · 17/05/2026 21:55

It’s just my thoughts, why am I bothering to uphold it with all the pestering it’s just exhausting. If I just got it done then I could sleep

what’s the problem just having sex when it’s happened so so many times before !

What do you think your answers are to these questions, Poet?

My answers are there is no point , the pressure will continue to build and build it’s going to happen anyway. Probably tonight . If not tonight then tomorrow

and it’s not so bad , sometimes I quite like it and if I engage in consensual sex then at least nothing else bad will happen

that’s my honest thoughts

ive managed almost a week of putting him off

OP posts:
FiloPasty · 17/05/2026 22:13

Cult leaders are charismatic Poet, so are (alleged) rapists like Russell Brand.
Being good looking and desirable to other women doesn’t take away from the fact that he groomed you, financially, emotionally and physically abuses you.

If you want a break from sex you should have one and he should respect any and all reasons for that.

Babyboomtastic · 17/05/2026 22:15

Sex should be something to be enjoyed and enthusiastically wanted by both of you. Not something to endure.

If he's pestering, he's not sticking to the terms of the sex break. He's showing that he has no regard for your wellbeing.

PinkNosy · 17/05/2026 22:16

Oh Poet Sad
Is this really how you want to live the rest of your life? Having sex you don't want to avoid being raped?
There is another life possible for you, where you can go to bed in peace, and have mutual love and respect with a partner who treats you like an equal. This doesn't have to be it.

OtterlyAstounding · 17/05/2026 22:22

PinkPoetAgain1 · 17/05/2026 21:57

My answers are there is no point , the pressure will continue to build and build it’s going to happen anyway. Probably tonight . If not tonight then tomorrow

and it’s not so bad , sometimes I quite like it and if I engage in consensual sex then at least nothing else bad will happen

that’s my honest thoughts

ive managed almost a week of putting him off

‘Sometimes I quite like it’? That makes me incredibly sad for you.

Can you see, Poet, that that’s not how sex is supposed to be? You’re not supposed to think ‘well, it’s going to happen eventually, so I better just do it’. You sound like a woman from the early 1900s, who has no rights, can’t say no to her husband, and so just tries to make the best of it, because it’s expected of her.

Do you ever feel actively strongly physically aroused? Like, ‘damn, I physically have the strong desire to have sex, orgasm, and scratch that itch’? Or is your sexual relationship with yourself always reciprocal – as in, you know he wants it, and you want to please him and feel close to him, so you are happy/fine to engage in the sex he wants? Are you ever active in desiring sex and initiating it because you want it, without any thought to his moods or desires, or has it generally always been a reactive thing, where you’re just responding to his wants?

I ask because, just as I wonder if you actually know what healthy romantic love is, I have to also wonder if, given your sexual history before your husband and with him, whether you actually know what it’s like to want to have sex for yourself, and not to please the man you’re with. I feel as though he’s not only choked off your ability to develop a real, loving romantic relationship, but he’s also prevented you from developing your own understanding of your sexual desires and urges.

But good on you for holding the line this time around in the cycle! I think it shows such a lot of personal growth, and strength - you should be proud of what you've achieved, however things play out in the next few days.

anotheruser345 · 17/05/2026 22:24

PinkPoetAgain1 · 17/05/2026 21:57

My answers are there is no point , the pressure will continue to build and build it’s going to happen anyway. Probably tonight . If not tonight then tomorrow

and it’s not so bad , sometimes I quite like it and if I engage in consensual sex then at least nothing else bad will happen

that’s my honest thoughts

ive managed almost a week of putting him off

Maybe this is something that is worth discussing in therapy. Because to me it seems its the difference between engaging because its what you want or being coerced to do something you dont want to avoid something even worse. That isnt normal or healthy to do something you dont want to avoid something even worse. But it is something worth exploring.

YourOliveBalonz · 17/05/2026 22:37

I think your feelings are natural, they make sense to me. It would give you the only control over the situation that you can possibly have. You know the sex break/ban is not really taking control of your body as he’s still ultimately in control of that (and hasn’t left off pestering you). The only way you can have any control is, during his intense pressurising, giving in at the time of your choosing.

To be clear though, a real break from sexual activity is NEVER an option in this marriage, so you are left with determining when you get the next rape over with. I can fully understand in these circumstances why you are contemplating exactly that.

DropOfffArtiste · 17/05/2026 22:40

"almost a week" when he hasn't coerced you into sex is so sad. He has continued to sexually assault you every, single day.

WallaceinAnderland · 17/05/2026 23:10

It’s just my thoughts, why am I bothering to uphold it with all the pestering it’s just exhausting.

So that you can learn that he will not respect you and continue to pester you even when you have expressly stated that you want a break.

This experience has taught you something new. You tested him and you know now that he will not respect your boundaries. How do you feel about that?

WallaceinAnderland · 17/05/2026 23:15

Remember on the last thread I said he had a clear choice.

He can either respect your boundaries or blatantly sexually assault you.

He chose to blatantly sexually assault you.

Remember when he poked you in the chest, he held you too tightly, he pinned you down with his legs and forced your legs apart. That was all his choice.

Just because he hasn't used his penis for one week, he will be expecting gratitude and a medal for 'just' assaulting you with his hands.

That's what this great man that you love and adore thinks of you.

FusionChefGeoff · 17/05/2026 23:25

So basically you have answered my previous question:

The only way you can “stop” him raping you is to pretend it’s consensual.

SaltySpitoon · 18/05/2026 07:05

I'm so sorry OP. This is not normal. It's not normal to give in and have sex because you know your DH is going to rape you anyway. I hope you're okay.

PinkPoetAgain1 · 18/05/2026 07:34

WallaceinAnderland · 17/05/2026 23:10

It’s just my thoughts, why am I bothering to uphold it with all the pestering it’s just exhausting.

So that you can learn that he will not respect you and continue to pester you even when you have expressly stated that you want a break.

This experience has taught you something new. You tested him and you know now that he will not respect your boundaries. How do you feel about that?

Yeah it does make me feel incredibly sad and brings up a lot of anxiety and panic thoughts. Also a bit angry , which is not usual for me! It upsets me he can’t just let it go like a lot of peoples husbands seem to and that he has no difference between love/intimacy and sex. Like when he’s ’desperate’ every touch, hug, kiss whatever turns sexual in some way.

He seems to think he has a magical power to turn a no into a yes with some touching. Like the incident the other day with the legs, he probably doesn’t even see that as assault he just thinks his forplay skills will immediately override my no and I’ll be into it .

We had sex last night , it was too exhausting guessing what was going to happen .

I will get into it in therapy today , I feel like I am pretty good at talking about things honestly now .

OP posts:
FiloPasty · 18/05/2026 07:37

Big hugs Poet, remember if it’s easier to write it down do that. Maybe do some bullet points of things you’d like to talk about.

We all support you.

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