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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

'You've put on weight' he said...

159 replies

Rubbell · 12/01/2009 12:29

So after a great night out with my boyfriend of nearly 4 months, he looks at my seriously and says - 'Rubbell...I've got something to tell you. You've put on weight.'

Thud.

Ok so I know I've put on a few pounds over Christmas. But I am 5'7 and still getting into a size 10!

So the question is ladies is this otherwise perfect, exceptionally gorgeous and kind man completely out of order?

OP posts:
sinpan · 12/01/2009 13:57

I had a boyfriend once who said something similar. He asked me (on the phone) if I'd lost any weight. I asked him if he didn't like me the way I was. He said I was beautiful (Italian, charmer) but would be even better if a little slimmer. I told him I wasn't planning to lose weight. And there we left it. We split up the next time we met, but not over that comment. I think it did open my eyes a bit though. My DP knows he should never notice such things.

RamblingRosa · 12/01/2009 14:02

IMO he doesn't sound nice and it doesn't sound like a good start to a relationship. I agree with other MNers here who've said it sounds worryingly like the start of some nasty, controlling/abusive behaviour. Either that or he's just really insensitive and stupid.
Personally I'd run like the wind but you have to do what feels right for you.

TheCrackFox · 12/01/2009 14:04

I had an ex boyfriend like this who was always telling me to lose weight. I am 5ft 9 and was a massive size 10 then. He stripped me of all my self esteem and have never felt good about my body since. i have been married to my Dh for 10 years and he is always telling me I am beautiful but a niggling voice in my head does'nt quite believe him.

Sorry, but dump him now because he will get worse. He wants to make you feel worthless so that you never have the strength to leave him.

NattyPlus2andAHalf · 12/01/2009 14:07

be careful, dont rush into anything with this guy, esp not kids.
i was with a guy that was like this the odd odd comment made about me not letting myself go etc.
when i moved in with him he would hide foods so i couldnt snack, told me if i put weight on he would kick me out the house.

like i said. be CAREFUL.

he could just be a prat, and didnt mean anything.

but then thats what i thought.

cheerfulvicky · 12/01/2009 14:11

He called you FATTY?

Bloody hell, if he was going out with me, and made that comment after 4 YEARS, I'd be seriously reconsidering the relationship. But 4 months? As someone who was eagerly planning to have a child with someone after knowing them for a matter of months, I would really warn you against moving too fast in that area. I did and in hindsight, it wasn't the smartest course of action. It's bad enough he's running you down and has all the hallmarks of a potentially abusive man. But if you have kids with him you will be well and truly screwed. Please don't let that happen; get out with your self esteem (reasonably) intact.

kormachameleon · 12/01/2009 14:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dior · 12/01/2009 14:22

Seriously - I have been where you are now but am married to mine. We nearly split up just over a year ago because of his controlling behaviour. Luckily he changed, and still tries to be the newer h. When he slips, I remind him subtly how close he came to losing me. He gets the message.

However, you are 4 months into the relationship and it is still early days. Get rid or the next comment will be, 'Why don't you get your moustache waxed/grey hair dyed...' etc etc.

Believe me, it took me 20 years and a lot of heartache to get strong enough to stand up for myself. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

TheOneInQuestion · 12/01/2009 14:51

Okay.

1st things 1st. I am going to get completely slated but I am willing to listen to mature replies and not just a bashing although I'll take that on board too.

My story...I have asked Rubbel if I can reply...

I will actually stand by what I said but not how I said it. And I have apologised to my Gf. The fatty comment was only said in jest as Rubbel was the 1st one to say it in jest so I was just playing with her in the same way and I whole heartedly didn't mean it, she had laughed previously and I thought we were on the same joking page...She is not fat and I do not think she is fat and never called her fat.

I have felt that she has become extremely comfortable with me, which is a good thing but what has worried me is to see this happening over the months, Rubell complaining she has put on weight, me telling her she still looks great but her not actually doing anything about it. This is what has worried me and I have talked to her about feeling that she has been taking me slightly for granted because due to the situation I am always there for her and have felt because of this she hasn't needed to try so hard...Being comfortable is great, but that does not mean at any point you don't have to try, that is for both parties...

What Rubbell is failing to say and I am going to get kicked in the arse for this too, that it's not just been over xmas and that is not the reason for saying it.

It is a sensitive issue and I am sensitive in the oppposite way. There is no way to talk about the subject and exactly the same for me, no matter how someone would mention my way I would become very sensitive to it but I would probably know it and want to do something about it but may need that kick.

I was like a bull in a china shop but the difference I feel with woman or just not an idiot like me is, they have clever ways of changing their man, taking them shopping, picking out things, I think you probably know what I mean. They can do it in a much subtler way as I probably can too...

I hope with my GF we can always talk about anything we feel and yes, there is a correct way of going about it.

I do wonder if all these repsonses are from women tho. I know very much so it is a very shallow and superficial comment and way to think and be but on other websites with the same topic you will find different responses, which I have looked at to get opinions and to see how it was discussed initially because I realise what I did was completely insensitive. I didn't do it to make my GF feel bad or to belittle her or lower her self esteem.

We have both done things over the months that aren't great for each other but we are telling each other what is and isn't acceptable. Maybe some things she has done that I could mention here others will say get rid of her too and I have also felt certain things that she has done hasn't been respectful or right but we've talked about these and if I do anything I am willing to listen and change if it's for the better.

Now. If your man, when you 1st met him advertised himself as this person who was fit, worked hard e.t.c and then 3months+ into the relationship you had fallen in love, would it not alter the relationship or how you felt about him slightly if he just slumped into a sloth that quit his job, put on weight consitently over the months and watched daytime tv, living off social. If he didn't change his ways, I am sure you wouldn't want to hang around and Im sure you would either say something or just leave without actually saying something...

Unfortunately. Shallow or not, this is something that worries me. I am being honest and now open for a bashing. I do want my GF/wife to look good for me and I want to look good for them to and be a good provider e.t.c. Everybody puts weight on different attrributes on a relationship e.g things you do and don't want. Going grey is natural and putting on weight is natural too and I am of course willing to accept it but to see these signs at the start of a relationship when both parties normally want to look great for each other, did worry me.

I am not saying I look great at all, so I hope you get what I mean...It is great that it has become comfortable but maybe it is too much too soon for me.

We are building a relationship. I am not perfect and neither is she, but we are working together to be the best that we both can be for each other. There is a lot I am learning from her to become a better person and my tact is definetly one of them.

I more than probably have not got my poing across but I'll see what this brings...

macdoodle · 12/01/2009 14:55

Nope still worried mate if anything even more so and my advice still stands!

Molesworth · 12/01/2009 14:58

You've been together for, like, five minutes. What on earth do you mean when you say you're being taken for granted?

Weird

thumbwitch · 12/01/2009 15:03

yes, out of order.
WHATEVER his excuse reason, it is not his place to comment unless he thinks you have suddenly gained a massive amount of weight in a short space of time (I'm talking stones here) and he is worried about your state of mental health.
Otherwise tell him to bog off and mind his own.

Dh and I are both quite sizeist but he wouldn't say that to me.

TotalChaos · 12/01/2009 15:03

. so you want to keep her on her toes, and be making bags of effort rather than daring OMG to feel comfortable. The early days in a relationship aren't meant to be such hard work and full of power plays.

BitOfFun · 12/01/2009 15:04

It is still very hurtful. I was upset that my ex commented on me putting on weight (again, not a huge amount, and as people who know me on here have seen pics, I think I can say I was not becoming hideous or "letting myself go") as the reason was that we were cooking lovely indulgent meals together, sharing a bottle of wine most nights etc. While I thought we were getting closer, he was deciding it was "worrying" like you.

It was an utter waste of seven years, hurt me dreadfully, and disappointed me so much, especially as I see the difference now I'm in a very happy relationship of 3 years, where we have never felt like we have to "work" to love each other- it comes naturally. If it's so hard for you both so soon, do yourselves a favour and find other people who are more compatible with you. I'm not sure where you'll find a complete masochist doormat though, but I'm told they do exist. Best of luck.

TheOneInQuestion · 12/01/2009 15:06

macdoodle - What was your initial adive. I missed that...

Well. I am always the one coming to see her. At the start of the relationship (which we have discussed) she would come to see me and stay at mine say 2x a week, that has stopped. I don't mind paying for things at all but I have more money available than rubell so I have tended to pay for more things.

The other day (which again we discussed) I was called up saying she wouldn't be around on a certain day we were supposed to see each other, so she asked me to come around but it wasn't asking, it felt more like. 'Im not here tomorrow, so come around now' that's how it felt and maybe I was a bit sensitive to it.

I spend a lot of time at hers due to the situation and I do realise she has things to get on with and if we lived together it may be different but I have felt invisible whilst being there, I have to maybe say to her, shall we have a smoke together or sit down for 2mins. We have discussed various things like this over the months in private and in public.

macdoodle · 12/01/2009 15:06

LOL BOF well said

Molesworth · 12/01/2009 15:08

As others have already said, if the relationship is such hard work after only four months, then it isn't really working, is it?

TheCrackFox · 12/01/2009 15:09

Rubbell, please dump him as he is a controlling arse.

plantsitter · 12/01/2009 15:10

One of the good things about asking for advice on an internet forum is that the people who answer generally don't have a vested interest in the outcome. If Rubell wants to stay with you that's up to her. If you can't see why telling someone you're 'worried' they are putting on weight and calling them 'fatty' after 4 months in a relationship (particularly when it sounds like Rubell is v.slim!) is making alarm bells ring for people then that is even more alarming, frankly. 'Making an effort' is surely more about making your partner feel attractive and loved than worrying selfishly about your own preferences and how you can ensure she adheres to them?

AuntieMaggie · 12/01/2009 15:10

A bloke telling his GF of 4 months who is a size 10 that she's put on weight rings alarm bells in my head. Especially followed up by his previous GFs starting out slim and ending up overweight.

I've put on 4 stone since meeting DP, he sometimes playfully grabs my bum and makes a comment but I know he loves it and especially the increased size of my bust. And when I start losing weight he'll start playfully moaning. But he is happy with me whatever size I am and it doesn't sound as if your BF is.

thumbwitch · 12/01/2009 15:10

I'm a bit amazed that Rubbell is so keen to allow TOIQ to come on and say so much about their relationship...

Notreallycutoutforthis · 12/01/2009 15:13

@theQuestionableOne - Sounds like you're already building up resentment against Rubbel for her circumstances, so maybe you two really should be re-evaluating?

macdoodle · 12/01/2009 15:14

Yes I am perhaps sensing some trip trapping

Tiramissu · 12/01/2009 15:15

Sorry but i agree with all posters who say 'run for the hills'.

Seriously i couldnt stay with a man who is not only rude but also -in my book- stupid and shallow. I wouldnt plan to have a child with him.

Now, as someone said-i think OrmIrian ?- if this happened after you have been years together and you have put on a lot of weight and your health was at risk, it would be diferent story.

Oh and i wish i was 5'7' and size 10

spicemonster · 12/01/2009 15:26

'I have talked to her about feeling that she has been taking me slightly for granted because due to the situation I am always there for her and have felt because of this she hasn't needed to try so hard...'

'I have also felt certain things that she has done hasn't been respectful '

Putting aside the putting on weight stuff, those two comments alone would have me running for the hills and I think you should do the same rubbell.

Taking him for granted? Not being respectful enough? Jesus. Run. Now.

thumbwitch · 12/01/2009 15:28

still thinking hairy feet here...