Experiencing a haunting mask-off moment with a long-term partner is never a good experience. It can leave you disoriented, wondering where to go with this new information.
In a popular online post, a woman asked if it's worth salvaging her relationship after her husband threw her under the bus. She wrote:
My husband Owen and I have been trying for a baby for years with no luck. I would be happy to adopt but Owen’s family is against it and has influenced my husband to also be against it. After our second year of trying I begged my husband to go with me to get a checkup to see if either of us or both of us is infertile.
He was strongly opposed to this as all the men in his family are extremely fertile but eventually gave in and as it turns out his sperm count is extremely low. He was heartbroken as was I and we both got therapy. After a year of no longer “trying” I got pregnant but lost the baby, and we were devastated.
Owen blamed himself and proposed that we start the process of getting into a family planning center for a sperm donor which I agreed to. He asked me that we not tell either of our families about this or our friends and I agreed because I would never want to emasculate him.
With the help of our donor, I was able to successfully become pregnant and we had our little girl last year, she is healthy and progressing amazingly and I thank God for her every day. I kept my promise and never told anyone, however, Owen is struggling with connecting with our little girl. Here is where the trouble begins. Last month when he went out of town with his brothers for their friend’s bachelor party.
While on the trip Owen told his brothers about our infertility issues and that our baby wasn’t biologically his. One of his brothers must have told his wife who told my husband’s mother. I don’t know why she would tell my husband’s mother except that she has never liked me. Their mother then came to our house and called me a lying whore and tried to get my husband to leave with her.
He just stood there silent. I told her that it was Owen's decision not to tell anyone and she asked him if this was true again he was silent which his mother took as me being the liar she then went to our nursery and started taking everything she’d ever given us for the baby back. I told her I didn’t care about it and I made more than enough to buy everything she gave us myself and better quality.
This set her off and she called my baby a filthy bastard when she said that I did something I know was harsh but I believe she deserved it. I physically pushed her out the door (I didn’t hit her but I did put my hands on her shoulders pushing her out the door) and threw all her shitty things out with her.
After spirits had calmed down I realized my husband had said nothing when his mother was berating me, calling me a liar, and when she called our child a filthy bastard. I asked him why he was silent he said he wasn’t raised to be disrespectful the way I was and that his mother hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true she was just hurtful and we should let it go and wait for his mother to forgive us.
I told him that I would never let it go that his mother and anyone who agreed with her was not welcomed in our home and that I don’t need to be forgiven when I’ve done nothing wrong. He then said the house was his and as the head of the family it was his decision. I told fine but why did he allow her to call me a liar and a wh*re those things are not true and our child (no child really) should be called a bastard.
He just repeated he would not argue with his mother. After that, I stopped speaking to him and started gathering up my daughter’s things and purse and walked out the door with her. He tried to stop me and told me I couldn’t take his daughter anywhere without him and I lost the little bit of composure I had left. I told him she wasn’t his daughter.
He’d proved he didn’t see her as his daughter when he’d allowed his mother to call her a filthy b*stard and told him she wasn’t his. He broke down into tears and begged me to come back inside but at the time I felt nothing he looked pathetic to me. I’ve taken my baby with me and gone back home to my parents and finally told my family the truth which feels so good.
They are completely in support of my decision and are not allowing my spineless husband anywhere near us as he still refuses to apologize to me or set the record straight with his family. However, I told the sister-in-law that I was close to the truth and she told the rest of his family. Half of his family is understanding while the other side is on his mother's side but they all are mad at my husband.
I need time to cool down but I know eventually my husband and I need to figure our marriage out. One thing is for certain I will not return to “his house” until he apologizes to me and promises to protect me and his daughter fiercely. I want to see this in action form starting with him telling his mother what she did was wrong and banning her from coming to see us until she asks for my forgiveness.
We were also planning on having more children as he wants a big family but that is off the table as I don’t believe he is ready and we both need to get back into therapy.
aLovelylove wrote:
Ask yourself this, do you believe he is capable of changing? Everything he has said and allowed to be said to you is nothing but disrespectful.
OP responded:
I am beginning to conclude he does not love me enough to change or protect us.
ACM915 wrote:
Does he have any redeeming qualities? It does not seem so and I'm sure you are aware there is nothing worth saving. Please don't allow yourself or your child to continue to be abused by these total AH's.
OP responded:
I will most certainly never allow my baby to be abused verbally or physically and his redeeming qualities are few.
Fit_Anywhere_4405 wrote:
I am confused...your husband had a low sperm count BUT he was still producing sperm and the IVF clinic would normally "harvest" your husband's sperm and choose the healthiest candidate and then inject it directly into one of your eggs.
Why did you decide to get a third-party sperm donor when your husband was still producing sperm, albeit at a much lower quantity? Defective sperm and low sperm count are not the same thing.
OP responded:
A healthy donor was less expensive and had a higher chance of success than IVF. We've had many friends who did IVF and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars only to have no results and or more miscarriages. We explored all our options thoroughly and he chose this one.
no_one_denies_this wrote:
Love is something you do. If he loved you and your daughter, he would have defended you. He didn't. That's what love is to him. Do you want to be with him knowing that?
I want to start by thanking those who were so kind, your words of encouragement and advice were greatly appreciated. Here is my update: Apparently, after I left my husband’s house my MIL, BIL, and SIL accused me of cheating.
I’d already begun speaking with a lawyer after Owen refused to tell the truth to his family but knowing he let them tell other people I cheated is like getting punched in the chest. I’m now renting a nice two-bedroom apartment; my siblings and their partners have helped me furnish it and my top priority is ensuring my baby has everything she needs.
Currently, I’m working to create a cozy nursery for her and hiring a nanny. Facing the end of my marriage is terrifying but I’m learning to accept my new reality. When I notified Owen I was going to file for divorce he started calling and messaging nonstop.
His messages range from begging me to come home, telling me he will tell the truth and get therapy again, begging to see our baby, and then threatening to drag me home. I told him the divorce was happening whether he liked it or not because he failed as a husband and failed even worse as a parent. He then sent photos and videos of my things in the garbage and him and my BIL trashing the nursery.
His exact words, “I don’t need it anymore.” In the most disturbing video, he threw our baby’s car seat in a dumpster. I do not recognize him or his behavior anymore. He claims to miss his daughter and me but is trying to make his behavior my fault for not doing what I’m told. This is not the man I agreed to marry.
The man I married was smart, kind, gentle, thoughtful, and funny but this vileness from him was waiting for me the moment I didn’t obey and take the disrespect from his family to save him from the humiliation of his infertility. Before the fallout with his mother, he was nothing like this. It's certainly NOT an excuse but I believe it all centered on him feeling emasculated and humiliated by his family.
I just can’t believe he couldn’t at least stand up to his family for me and our baby, the one he said he would die for. I am not blocking Owen as my lawyer said to email everything he says to me to him but the constant threatening messages make me scared to leave my home. Owen knows where I work and has repeatedly told me he will drag us back if that’s what it takes and that I'm making him do this.
My lawyer and I are working on a restraining order, but every woman who was attacked by her ex-husband knows restraining orders don’t keep you safe. However, things took a turn when my FIL showed up on my parent’s doorstep, and it's the reason I decided to update. My FIL asked to speak with me.
My parents told him they would call me and ask but if I said no then that was final and he would not be welcomed back. I only agreed to speak to FIL because he told my parents he was there to apologize for his family and set the record straight.
My dad called me as my FIL was blocked from calling me and when I picked up my FIL immediately apologized for his wife’s behavior he wanted to hear my side of the story as he did not believe I cheated. I thanked him (I was never close to FIL but we've always been civil) and let him know of course I did not cheat. I told him of his son’s infertility and that Owen proposed we get a donor.
I told him very clearly it was his son’s decision, and that because my FIL and his family put blood as the only valid form of family my husband made me lie so our child would be treated equally. After I finished my FIL seemed stunned, he was quiet for a while then asked if his wife and son could come over and see my daughter in person as they missed us and were ready to be a family again but I told him no.
FIL then asked if there was anything Owen could do to fix the marriage and I again told him no. FIL tried to say I was being unfair but my dad stepped in and said FIL was overstaying his welcome. Before I hung up I told FIL that his son was sending me ab*sive messages daily and if he truly was sorry then he should make his son stop. Then I hung up.
My parents said my FIL was irritated that I did not respectfully say goodbye or give Owen a chance to save his marriage but left with little fuss after my parents laid into him about raising his swine of a son to threaten his wife and child. Telling his father must have worked because I haven't gotten a single message from Owen since then.
I do not want anything from my STBX, not child support, not alimony, not the house, or any of his other assets. I just need him to agree to the divorce and give up his parental rights so my little girl can grow up with a family who loves her unconditionally. I have a good degree and a great job, my child and I will be fine without him.
Owen’s lawyer has made it clear they’re going to fight us for full custody and my STBX has significantly more money than me but my lawyer is confident in our case and I trust them. Today my MIL has been trying to contact me as she wants to be in my daughter’s life and is saying she is ready to accept her "as she is."
As if my daughter NEEDS to be accepted by her, if it’s up to me their whole family will never see us again.
OP added a comment right below the update:
Owen’s has destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars of my electronics, clothes, furniture, and paintings. That’s the only thing I will be making him pay me back for. I don’t want any of his assets just the things I worked hard to earn and he destroyed. There is a report, I don't know what will come of it.
pineboxwaiting wrote:
You’re a fool not to get child support. You should go for court-ordered support, his paycheck garnished.
OP responded:
Maybe I'm a fool but this isn't his child he doesn't care about her, he just wants to hurt me and make me go through this.
angelicvixen wrote:
It doesn't matter if she is biologically his or not. Child support is for the child, and legally, he is the father. You'd be a fool not to go for child support. I get not wanting anything of his for yourself, but, as I said, the support is for the child and goes to the child and represents his part of the care for her, esp if you push for full custody.
It's to help provide for her care. Also what a f#$kin POS. You're a saint to not push for what you're legally allowed to. God what a dick, I'm glad you got her and yourself out of that situation.
OP responded:
He doesn't want this child, I'm beginning to think he never wanted a child he just wanted to fit the part. I'm going to take care of my daughter I don't need his money, she also has my whole family looking out for her. My baby will want for nothing, why would I force money out of a man who does not love her, and has no connection with her apart from staying in my life to make me miserable?
ashburnmom wrote:
Going to be buried in the comments but how does one move out, find an apartment, get the rental papers taken care of, move into and furnish a new apartment within 3 days? Seems a stretch.
OP responded:
This update is not chronological by day. I'd been living with my parents for 2 weeks before I made my first post, and my family was working to get me out of my parent's house the entire time as well as furnishing my apartment, I paid for some of the things, and my siblings their partners my parents and many other family members donated and bought things. Trust me I could not have done this alone.
pineboxwaiting wrote:
All of this happened in 3 days?
OP responded:
I had been living with my parents for 2 weeks before the first post and already had started to talk to a lawyer. Whether or not me and my husband worked on our marriage I planned on not living with him for at least a while after he said it wasn’t my house and my parents pressured me to get a divorce attorney immediately when I moved into their house.
Even when I still slightly thought things might work out I was preparing. I went back and forth mentally but I knew this was not sustainable. My family did most of the work finding me an apartment and paying for furnishing it just took a while for me to leave my parents and physically move in. The only truly recent update is my FIL talking to me and learning (through my other family) my MIL wants to reconcile.
Firstly, I’d like to answer a few questions many seem to have. No, I did not sign a prenup. Yes, my MIL was very controlling from the beginning of our marriage but my husband set boundaries with her when I asked him to at the time. Back then I was confident he would hold to those boundaries.
My husband and I are not American, and we do not live in America, that is all I’m comfortable saying on location or ethnicity. A 12-year age gap is not uncommon for us and my family was 100% for the marriage (at the time) as he was seen by all as an excellent match. For those saying I am wrong for not allowing my husband to see my daughter, you can kindly show yourself to the door.
He has forfeited any rights the day he allowed her to be called a bastard and his continued actions or inactions afterwards I think make that abundantly clear. Not wanting alimony or any compensation might be difficult for some but I will not struggle without his money and neither will my daughter.
I may not have as much money as my STBX but I have a good amount saved and I thankfully never stopped working. My family has also put aside money for my daughter and everyone is very supportive of us. I understand some might think I’m entitled to half his assets and that may be true but I don’t want them and I don’t need them.
I trust my lawyers, they are doing an excellent job, I’ve already made my decisions and I stand by them 100%. Some of the evidence I’ve handed over of my husband’s threats and the videos of him destroying our things will be admissible in court but not all of it. My lawyer thinks what we have is enough for full custody but I’m still nervous. Our divorce is another matter.
I believe he simply wants to hang on to control. I have only spoken to him in person once since I left his house and when I look him in the eye I can tell he doesn't love me anymore, or even likes me which hurts a lot more than I expected. I don't understand why he won't agree to a non-contested divorce except control.
Owen has partially paid me back for the damages to my property the rest will be paid out in the coming weeks, we have settled this out of court. I was able to get the restraining order against my ex but not my MIL or the rest of my ex’s family. My MIL continues to harass my parents to convince me to reconcile. This is a massive embarrassment for her family.
My SIL (the one who told his mother about my husband's infertility and started this drama) still tells people I cheated but my friends have ripped into her lies and few people believe her. Being alone has made me realize I have been functioning as a single married woman since my little one was born but now I have less of a burden on me.
There are good days and bad days where I break down there is much about my life before that I do miss but I will never go back. I’m thankful the truth is out even though it has caused me to lose a few friends as they’ve taken the side of my husband. They know the full truth and they still chose my husband’s side. Thank you to all those that offered kind words of support. We are safe.
neanderbeast wrote:
Glad you have a good family support system and happy you and your baby are okay. Did you ever hear from your FIL again? He seemed to the the only stable one on their end.
OP responded:
He has not tried to contact me or my family, and yes he's the only stable one. Although he could do a better job keeping his wife from harassing my family I understand he can't control her actions.
Significant_Taro_690 wrote:
I hope you have soon all this BS behind you. You two will be fine without him and his family. And I am sure that the custody thing is just something that he uses to gain control over you. At the end, even if you don’t want it, if he starts to play dirty play dirty back and use his things like house ect and your right to gain your control back.
He thought your daughter was not his nor has he protected you or your daughter so why should he have or want custody for her. Just keep it in your mind because playing fair is not always the best choice when someone plays as dirty as possible just to win. (But why does his mum let him fight for custody of a bastard? Would it not be better for the image of his family if he has no contact with her?)
VastConsideration126 wrote:
Wow! All I can say is it's good this happened early enough that your daughter won't remember any of this when the dust settles. His family is built on pride. There is no love there.I think the real reason he does not want you go is because he doesn't want to have to do this again and explain to someone else his sperm problem. This is going to happen to him again.
He probably feels it's best to stick to the one who already knows and just continue to let you take the heat as well as his control issue. Get him off that birth certificate. I hope you have the text or messages of your daughter being called a bastard for court. Let the court know you fear for your daughter's physical and mental safety as he destroyed her nursery and allowed his family to call her derogatory names.
I wish you lots of luck, safety, and that this matter settles quickly so you can move on. For the future, remember when you get married, you marry the family. Keep your eyes open for those marinara flags!!
t00zday wrote:
I’m glad you have shaken loose of that toxic family. Your own family sounds wonderfully supportive. Your MIL is flat-out toxic, poison-personality. I hope you find a much better partner in your future.
It sounds like OP has a strong head on her shoulders and an even stronger support system. Good riddance to Owen.