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Relationships

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Teenage son saw me having sex and now won’t speak to me

384 replies

mortified48 · Today 05:55

Utterly mortified. Bit of background… been divorced for nearly two years after a horrendous marriage. Thanks to good friends helping me with an exit plan, I managed to get out and am now in my own lovely little home. Two DS, 11 and 14 who I share custody with my ex 50/50. Eldest son doesn’t always see eye to eye with his dad who lives about 20 mins walk away.

So yesterday was changeover day and as kids are on half term, they went back to their dad’s at lunchtime and I’m not due to get them back now until Weds (we use a 5 5 2 2 schedule). I was working Fri afternoon and suddenly my eldest appears in my house (he has a key) as he’d had a row with his dad and didn’t want to go back. DS and Ex have a decent relationship but they clash quite a bit and I’m very close to my son. I had a good talk with him and when my ex arrived to come get him, had a talk with him too, calmed the situation and they went back to my ex’s house.

Later that evening my boyfriend of one year came over for some food and a film. It’s worth mentioning here that my kids haven’t met him yet. They’ve bumped into him once, and I talk about him, but more as a close friend I guess. The reason for that is I’m not about to introduce them to someone unless I know they’re going to be sticking around. Ex got a new girlfriend straight after the split and has been with her for 22 months now. At the beginning the kids struggled a little with this, it was quite soon after the split; my ex did the same thing and didn’t introduce her to them straight away incase it didn’t work out. The kids were recently introduced to her properly, and seem ok with it, although it’s a little awkward for them as she’s a teacher at their school. Anyway.. I certainly wasn’t going to introduce my boyfriend to them when they were in the throes of adjusting to dad’s new girlfriend and going on holiday with her and her kids etc.. it’s a lot for them to take in still. So I’ve kept it as mentioning my boyfriends name quite a bit as a friend and then when im sure the relationship has a solid future, i figured this would make it easier to introduce him to the kids.

Back to last night.. boyfriend was round watching a movie, and at about 9pm we got frisky in my living room and then again in the bedroom and then made some food. My phone was in a different room charging. When I went to get it around 11:15pm , I saw a text from the ex at 11pm saying that (unknown to me), my eldest had had a row with him and had run to mine around 9pm, let himself in and saw me having sex 😣 and had got such a shock he ran back to his dads in his socks(!) and now isn’t wanting to speak to me because he feels lied to. I had NO idea he was even in the house and only found out when I went to get my phone from the other room at 11pm. Ex had also texted at 9pm to say DS had rowed with him and was running to mine but I hadn’t seen this. Ex didn’t appear to have tried to stop DS running to mine.
i immediately tried to get in touch with DS as I could see he was still online, but he said he didn’t want to talk and turned his phone off. He’s really upset. I think the “feeling lied to” is probably because I haven’t introduced my boyfriend to him yet and he feels kept in the dark (which he hated when it happened with my ex’s girlfriend at the beginning of their relationship).

Utterly mortified and need advice how to handle this. I’m so close to DS, and he’s never not wanted to talk before and is obviously very shocked and embarrassed and upset. Help!

OP posts:
SignGrudgeBluebook · Today 10:59

Ceramiq · Today 07:32

It's embarrassing for everyone but no crime has been committed. I think that your DCs need to understand that they cannot move freely between their parents' houses and that each parent is entitled to boundaries and privacy when the DC are at the other parent's house.

This 100%.

Posters saying he will be traumatised and devastated and etc. Well he broke the plan to stay the fuck away.

Let him sort it in his own head. No-one died and the OP is allowed a life.

Becuriousnotjudgemental1980 · Today 11:01

I don’t get some of these answers. You’re allowed to have a life. Yes it’s mortifying that he’s seen you but he’ll get over it. It’s not like you were swinging from the ceiling in bondage gear. Maybe you should have made it clear that this man was a partner but we all make mistakes.

Seriously12 · Today 11:02

You are divorced.
Your son will have to accept you are a single woman.
Sort out your home security going forward.
Key in door when locked.
Apologise once for his shock BUT you were in your home on your own, as is your right.

Be very careful of allowing your sons to dictate your life.
You are divorced.
Your husband moved on, and so have you.

Do not give him the impression that he gets to decide how you live your life.

Sons can be like that if they aren't put straight very firmly.

ChristmasBaby2026 · Today 11:02

I think posters on this thread are forgetting that this CHILD is FOURTEEN. He’s not an adult, he’s not even a young adult and it would be entirely different had he been 17 for example. A fourteen year old child is still often very emotionally young and those saying he just needs to get over it clearly have no concept of the emotional maturity of the young teenage brain.

BluntAzureDreamer · Today 11:05

Another vote for you've done nothing wrong. What you do in the privacy of your own home is up to you. Mortifying for everyone but it's just embarrassment. It's hard having older kids who aren't there all the time...just yesterday my DD pulled up on the drive unannounced at rather an inopportune moment (the bedroom windows were open) 🙈🙈

Your son will be fine. He'll probably relay the story for laughs when he's older.

latetothefisting · Today 11:07

StrawberryMatchaLatte · Today 06:24

Agree, do it in the bedroom. Most teenagers can respect privacy rules around bedrooms.

I think a lot of posters are just sticking in the boot in.

Do you really think her DS wouldnt have been bothered if he'd "only" heard them at it in ops bedroom, which likely would have been the only difference had they done it there and he'd entered the house without telling her?

Actually seeing it made it more embarrassing for him but he still would have had all the rest of the issues about feeling lied to/grossed out.

Theres nothing wrong with a grown adult having sex in your own house when you have every reason to expect you are alone. The only thing op has done "wrong" is not telling her kids about her partner but she has explained why she made that decision, which was prioritising what she thought was best for her kids - for all ds knows today was the first time their relationship had moved beyond friendship in which case it would be ridiculous for her to be expected to tell them in advance!

It would be good if she could provide him with an explanation but she doesnt owe anyone an apology.

DaffodilLill · Today 11:08

Seriously12 · Today 11:02

You are divorced.
Your son will have to accept you are a single woman.
Sort out your home security going forward.
Key in door when locked.
Apologise once for his shock BUT you were in your home on your own, as is your right.

Be very careful of allowing your sons to dictate your life.
You are divorced.
Your husband moved on, and so have you.

Do not give him the impression that he gets to decide how you live your life.

Sons can be like that if they aren't put straight very firmly.

Keeping a key in the door does not always mean another key can't be used. I know of a family member who, when even they put a key in the lock, it can still be opened from the outside- I've done it there myself.

More important is a lock on the bedroom door.

It's unwise to lock someone out if they need to get in if it's an emergency otherwise they need to phone and may be unable to.

ChamonixMountainBum · Today 11:09

TheseWordsAreMine · Today 10:10

To make sure he isn't looking at stuff he shouldn't be looking at

Antiques Roadshow?

ThatAquaRobin · Today 11:10

The judgment from some of the posters on this thread is shocking and reflects badly on them rather than you OP.
It's fine to enjoy your relationship and have sex in the living room.
You're have not scarred your son for life.
Give him space and explain why you were pacing the introduction to your BF.
You have clearly been prioritising your kids, I can see that in the decision to buy your own place near their dad's house.
It will be fine. Ignore the judgemental puritans. You deserve to start building a life for the future when your kids are grown. That starts now.

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