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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

I've just received a text from MIL which I think was meant for DH and it has upset me.

1000 replies

Thishasupsetme · 06/11/2008 15:31

The message said 'Looking forward to Sunday, I'll pick you and DGD up at 1.30pm for X's christening, remember not to mention it to DW'
DH has told me that he is going to take DD out for a few hours on Saturday to give me some time to myself, but it looks like he is going to his family members christening and I am not invited.
I didn't know I had upset anyone. DD was christed 6 months ago now and all of his family were invited and his cousin is DD godmother.
I am really upset. I don't know if I should mention it to him or hust leave it.

OP posts:
Tortington · 07/11/2008 08:37

I was invited to a wedding once, a very old family friend of my mums - her son and i used to play together when we were little and he was getting married.

the invite said me only, i hadn't been married an awfully long time maybe a year, so i phone her and asked about dh. She explained that due to the cost of this very lavish wedding, they chose to just invite me.

I said thankyou , but i would decline.

how odd would it look if i went without my husband?

Beetroot · 07/11/2008 08:40

thum

Read the thread and just wanted to add my support. So much good advice - Clear head and calmness is what you need!

littlelapin · 07/11/2008 08:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JustKeepSwimming · 07/11/2008 08:41

Morning THUM

Hope you are ok this morning, got some sleep and get to talk to DH before he slinks out the door heads off to work.

Custy - agree, married couples come as a unit. no question.

Beetroot · 07/11/2008 08:41

would you look odd Custy?

I would have gone but that is another thread

Beetroot · 07/11/2008 08:42

NO THEY DON"T COME AS A UNIT

we are individuals we can do things alone.

This thread is something different - about Betrayal and secrecy!

2point4kids · 07/11/2008 08:42

I might have gone Custy, but if I had done I would have explained the situation to DH and only gone if he was completely happy for me to do so!

Mung · 07/11/2008 08:43

How are you this morning THUM? I have just read the whole thread and I really hope you feel OK today (especially after all the wine ). I hope you get some satisfying answers today from your DH.

LIZS · 07/11/2008 08:46

Hope you managed to get some sleep , at him not resurfacing. Any chance cousin would uninvite mil ? I'd be tempted to go if practical but only with dh and not wish to encounter her.

LilRedWG · 07/11/2008 08:47

I hope that you managed to get some sleep last night THUM. x

silverfrog · 07/11/2008 08:48

Hpoe you get some answers, THUM, you deserve them.

I would like to add a note of caution though - do be careful about going down the route of making him choose between his family and you +dd.

My dh's family are weird. Really bonkers. There is a lot of history there (I am dh's second wife (but NOT the OW) and his family all have a preference for his first wife and my step-children. Sometimes, if they are invited, we are not), and most of the time we all meet up at family events and pretend very well that we are all best friends. however, sometimes, it is clear we are being excluded, and at those times, dh & I do discuss whether it would be better for him to go without me and our dds. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't.

dh had his family long before he knew me. If he chooses to not see htem, that is fine, but I do not want to be the cause of this, iyswim. I do not think it would be good for our relationship to force that choice. At the end of the day, however bizarre his family are behaving right now, they are his family - he has good memories mixed up with all the crap. We have done our fair share of turning up calm and serene, and smiling sweetly.

It is really very difficult, and I hope you find a solution that suits you and your dh.

Thishasupsetme · 07/11/2008 08:52

Morning everyone, Dh has just left for work.

We ended up talking about it for a few hours last night so nither of us got much sleep but at least things are on the way to be sorted. I still feel a bit by it all and by DH going along with mil, but I am determined to work it out, I am not goning to give mil the satisfaction.

Here Goes,

I finaly managed to get my head down not long after I had signed off from here, about 10 minutes later DH comes downstairs and asks if I am coming to bed, so I ask if he is willing to talk to me about this whole sorry debacle now. He said yes.

So off to bed we go. (I am still oddly calm)

I ask him if he knew that I WAS actually invited by DCIL, he looked genuinly shocked and said no that mil had told him that only he and DD had been invited. I said well your mum lied and big time DH. I have rang DCIL and she has confirmed for me that we were all invited and that she had asked mil to pass on the invite and then mil went back to her a few days later and said that I couldn't make it but DD and DH would be there. He looked shocked and upset.

He said that he honestly didn't know and believed his mum when she said I had not been invited. So I said fair enough you didn't know BUT you still went along with it, where is your solidarity in all of this, you should have been outraged that I had not been invited, yet you continued to collude with your mum behind my back. Do you understand how hurtfull that is for me.
He said he felt like he had no other choice I told him that of course he had a choice, he is a grown man with a wife and child, he could have decided to fight my corner and stand solid with me and not go to the christening.

He looked dumbfounded and I think he saw then that he had no way of making any excuses to get out of this. He apologised profusely about what he did, I told him that while I was grateful for his apology that it really doesn't mean anything unless he is willing to put me and DD first in his life, and that means ABOVE mil on his list of priority. He argued that she was still his mum and how would I feel if DD did this when she is older. I told him that A) I would never behave the way that mil has to DD's future DH and B)I would be proud of her if she put her new family unit first as that is how it should be. Again he looked like I had stopped him in his tracks.

(gawd this post is gonna be long)

I then went on to bring up the spiteful way that mil let me 'find out' and asked him what he thought of that and he said he didn't realise that his mum could be so nasty and spiteful and that he was disgusted with her behaviour. I asked him if he was going to tell her this, he said no . so I said that she needs telling and she needs to hear it from you, this is the only way that she will understand that we are your priority and that it is not acceptable to treat me the way she has.

This is all putting aside why she did it.

I've told him that if he wants to rescue our marraige and for me to take him serious then he needs to tell mil that she was out of line and that is a point that I will NOT back down on.

It is his choice.
He has gone to work now, so I will see.

I am not going to the christening on Sundasy as I don't want any trouble for DH"s cousin. I am going to see her later on to take a present and card. I got a text from her this morning and she has told her mum about what has happened and her mum is livid (they know what mil can be like), so I suppose I will get the lowdown later on when I get there.

My DSIL will be here in an hour or so, so I better get tidied up, I never did mine and DD's dinner pots last night DSIL and I are going shopping for a pressy and she will take me to DCIL.

Thank you, I will update as soon as DH has found his manly bits and spoken to mil.

OP posts:
shootfromthehip · 07/11/2008 08:55

Nice post silverfrog.

I am at complete loggerheads with my MIL- or the witch-in-law as I refer to her. Early days I used to try to make my DH choose between us. After I had the LO's I realised he doesn't have to choose, just be clear about who his family is now. My WIL has done some awful things and eventually DH has realised that she is a sodding liability. This said, she is still his M and my DC's GM and has to have a relationship with them. The extent of that relationship has been defined by me and supported by DH but it took a long time to get to this point and like the situation that THUM is in, a great deal of heartache and unpleasantness.

FiveGoMadInDorset · 07/11/2008 08:57

Well done, I truly think that the marriage is inherrently good.The problem is is that your DH is trying to make everyone happy and it isn't going to happen in your family unit.

MmeLindt · 07/11/2008 08:57

Oh, Thumb, I am so glad that your DH spoke to you last night, it sounds like you really cleared the air.

Well done, you handled the whole thing beautifully and really gave him food for thought. I hope that he has words with the EMil, you are absolutely right about insisting on that.

Have a good day with your SIL and the cousin, great to hear that they are all angry with EMil and very supportive of you.

shootfromthehip · 07/11/2008 08:59

Wow- glad you had the talk- he does need to grow a pair re MIL. FGS I can't believe how calm you have been. Well done.

SquiffyHock · 07/11/2008 08:59

I hope your MIL is ashamed of herself - hopefully your DH's aunt will have the guts to have it out with her.

ilove · 07/11/2008 08:59

Fingers crossed that he sorts this out. There is no way DD would be going on Sunday...has he said if he is stlil going to go? I do fel sorry for your cousin though...it is your MIL who shouldn't be there and you and your husband/child, SHOULD!

VintageGardenia · 07/11/2008 09:00

THUM sounds as if you handled it really well. I think you are right not to go to the christening and it's a perfect thing to do to visit today with a present, indicating no hard feelings there. Top marks!

Re. DH, still a bit , yes he must speak to his mother. You said - putting aside why she did it - do you know why, did that come up? That is sheer nosiness by me, btw. Has no bearing on anything this morning, really.

vacaloca · 07/11/2008 09:02

THUM - respect! I think you handled it all immensely well. I'm really sorry you find yourself in this situation but I'm now wondering if this might end up being a good thing in the long term.

spiderpig · 07/11/2008 09:05

Oh my goodeness I've just read the whole thread and thum, I am so sorry you're having to deal with this

Fwiw I don't think peoples reactions to this have been too harsh, yes it was clearly planned my mil, but thums H has behaved terribly...I'm not quite sure how he's been boxed into a corner more like he's backed himself in there and now the adult thing to do is talk, explain and apologise, not act like a pathetic teenager

My DH would never let anyone treat me like this especially 'family' I had a similar MIL and my DH spelt it out very calmly to her that unless she could treat me with respect and not try to come between us then he wouldn't be part of her life, now she doesn't have contact with her son or her gc and it is entirely her doing. Oh and it's not something I asked him to do at all and I'm happy for him to see her anytime but as far as he's concerned if she really wanted contact and loved and respected him being civil to me would be the least she could do, he loves me and so he won't let anyone try to hurt or upset me surely that's what marriage is about

Upwind · 07/11/2008 09:07

THUM - you couldn't have handled this better. Am so glad you talked with your DH last night.

Thishasupsetme · 07/11/2008 09:07

I have put aside why she did it atm, as I was both mentaly and physically tired last night ans was just glad not to have slept on the big points of what had happened.

As DH lest this morning I told him that we still have more talkig and working out to do regarding this, and he agreed, but then said that he will be in late as he is going for a drink with his call of duty friends
I suppose I cant have everything.

I am going to take DSIL and DN and DD out for lunch today before we go to DCIL, with DH"s credit card which I removed from his wallet last nigh (See I don have an evil streak )

OP posts:
spiderpig · 07/11/2008 09:08

Whoops sorry, must speed up my typing

I'm so glad you got to talk last night, and you've handles things so well

I agree that you shouldn't back down on him talking to mil

I really hope he comes through for you

Thishasupsetme · 07/11/2008 09:09

sorry for all the typos, I am still really tired

OP posts:
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