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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

Ending a long-term relationship when I feel drained and unheard

15 replies

ZingyPeachOP · 28/07/2026 22:07

After some advice. I have been with my partner for 13 years in the beginning i was younger and wanted to have fun and he brought the fun side of me out, he communicated with me well i could talk to him about anything, he was there for me and was my best friend, we had alot of fun, we liked the same things and i felt like he was my soulmate although he never took me out anywhere and if we did i always paid as he never had any money. We talked about living together but i had an anxiety feeling about it. The reasons for this was after a few years of the relationship in an arguement he would get very angry he never hit me but he gets very abusive, stops me from leaving the room, shouts at the top of his voice so aggressively that spit would come out of his mouth. I got used to it. He also smokes alot and i started to hate the smell of it esp when we stayed at eachothers houses i would always stink of it and i hate it. As the relationship has gone on he got a better job but still never took me anywhere he once got a big bonus and spent it all on himself while i was still paying for us to do things. Also the arguements have got alot more heated he dismisses my feelings, tells me its all my fault, makes me feel like a horrible person he has even shouts at me out in public which i find so embarrassing. Recently i have stopped saying how i feel for fear of an arguement if i say how u feel i get told i love to argue and im a drama queen (which is not me at all i hate drama)
He always says things like we should go on holiday but never actually books anything or he says we should stay at that hotel but never books it..i thinks hes planting a seed so i will book it and pay for it. I had something traumatic happem recently and he wasnt there for me at all i started to disconnect from him, then he did nothing for my big birthday i disconnected abit more then a few weeks ago we had a conversation talking about what would happen if one of us died i said to him you might meet someone else i was kinda expecting him to say something along the lines of i would miss you too much to meet someone else bur he said i couldnt meet someone else because it would be too much agg the whole dating thing again. This really hurt me i bit my tongue for fear of an arguement but i thought wow do you actually love me at all. He does do things for me like cut my lawn and do bits round the house but he does that for all his family and friends. I have started to feel drained around him and finding excuses not to see him i have disconnected. I am thinking of finishing things but im scared what if he is actually my soul mate and im throwing it away. Also i am scared of being alone i dont have many friends at all and its a scary thought. Any advice? We are supposed to be going away this weekend for one night i have already paid for the hotel but im dreading it.

OP posts:
Quitelikeit · 28/07/2026 22:11

He’s your soul mate?! What am I reading

please dump this no good, waste of space and start having some standards

he’s greedy, selfish, tight, abusive, rude, entitled and you have wasted 13! 13 years of your life with him

run for the hills

Arlanymor · 28/07/2026 22:11

You sound like you've been the whole frog in the pot thing - the heat has gradually been turned up but you haven't realised it until it's reached boiling point. From everything you have said he sounds bloody terrible, I don't know how you have lasted 13 months, let alone years. But the good news is that your gut is now really screaming to you that this isn't right - how and when you leave is up to you, but I think you need to do it, because being alone is much better than being with someone who seems to treat you so poorly. You deserve better and you know deep down that you do. Have you friends or family that you can rely on to support you when you formulate a plan to go? Maybe you can't avoid this weekend trip, but it can certainly help you to solidify your feelings and come back determined to make the necessary changes to improve your life.

whippersnapper55 · 28/07/2026 22:59

Read again what you've written here - this man is abusive, aggressive and nasty to you. He expects you to pay for everything and never spends on you. You are accepting totally unacceptable behaviour.

He is not your soul mate. He is an arsehole.

cannibalfish · 28/07/2026 23:10

Your soulmate, if such a thing exists, would never treat you like he does OP.

Sending you strength and love to get through this 🫂.

Dobeebeedah · 28/07/2026 23:15

Oh dear, what a life you have led for the last 13 years of abuse. But now you have recognised this and it's time to put yourself first.

Go away to the hotel you have booked on your own and use that time to think about what went on and what you want to do now. Find some happiness this weekend doing even a few little things to make yourself happy without this limpet who has sucked out all your joy of living.

WinterSunglasses · 28/07/2026 23:16

He's not your soul mate. He was a decent person to be in a relationship with ten years ago, and for the last ten years or so he's been a miserable shit. Cut your losses and end it. Go on the weekend away by yourself.

Having only one or two friends is fine, lots of people are in that position. At least friends are nice to you. He isn't! Better off without him.

OMGDidYouSayThat · 28/07/2026 23:24

He’s not good for you, he already has you questioning yourself, just get out of it and find someone who treats you the way you deserve to be treated. Good luck @ZingyPeachOP

whatisheupto · 28/07/2026 23:27

This is horrendous OP, Thank God you are finally waking up. End it now, but do it with another person present as he is violent and aggresive. He has been using you for money and sex and treating you with contempt. He does not love you. You have another whole new life ahead of you. It will be amazing, I promise.

Defender90 · 28/07/2026 23:30

Imagine your friend, sister, actually any other woman typed that and you read it?

He is not a good person, he is absolutely not your soulmate.

Find your strength and cut him off. It won’t be easy but your life will be SO much easier without him in it.

Channellingsophistication · 29/07/2026 04:53

He is absolutely not your soulmate! He is abusive. Why would you want to spend your life being with a man like this...

99bottlesofkombucha · 29/07/2026 04:57

Can you cancel the hotel? The relationship isn’t worth keeping for another day.

Lookingdownthebarrell · 29/07/2026 07:53

What are you actually getting from a relationship with this man? If you can’t list that then it is not worth the effort.

There doesn't seem to be any relationship to speak of here. you’ve disconnected so much that you can’t even talk about what you have unless it’s because you have zero feelings now.

You say you’ve already disconnected, you’re not living together so what more do you need to take the one step to tell him it’s over. Spend some time with yourself and work on your boundaries so that the in the next relationship you know when to call it and move on.

TheGoddessFrigg · 29/07/2026 08:01

I [will tell you a secret I learned when I finally left a relationship with an abusive man. Like you, I held on because I didnt have many friends and thought I had to cling to him.
But when I left I started making new friends , got a new job, moved house - my life really blossomed.
Abusive men STOP you from making friends- either directly or indirectly, because they drain all your attention and energy.

category12 · 29/07/2026 08:06

"Soul mates" doesn't feel this.

He is emotionally abusive.

Leave him.

Wecanbeheroes26 · 29/07/2026 08:10

Quitelikeit · 28/07/2026 22:11

He’s your soul mate?! What am I reading

please dump this no good, waste of space and start having some standards

he’s greedy, selfish, tight, abusive, rude, entitled and you have wasted 13! 13 years of your life with him

run for the hills

This! 100%. Well said.

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