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Dh is an enabler

JMG74's picture

Hello. I am new here but feel like I don't have anyone I can vent to. I am recently married (6 mths) for the third time. I thought I would never be married again as my child situation is complex. I have 2 kids from a first marriage and 1 from my second, which was a brutal, lengthy divorce. My younges is ADHD/ODD/anxiety issues and probably yet undiagnosed personality disorder. He's a challenge. I knew going into this marriage that it would never work with someone with little kids as well. DH has a great relationship with my oldest. My middle child spends very little time with me as his dad is borderline personality disorder and he brainwashed him and convinced him to live with him. My youngest's dad is a Narcisist and wealthy and fought me until I ran out of money to fight so he has primary of my youngest and he is only with me every other weekend. DH is easily flustered with him and we usually fight when I have him. However, I've chosen to overlook this as EVERYONE has difficulty with my youngest and his time with me is limited. I don't think MY kids are a major stressor in my relationship with DH. However he has an adult son (20) who has me at my wits end. DH and I had just begun dating when there was a "crisis" with his son. He had stolen a bunch of checks from his grandmother and bounced them and was over $700 in debt to the bank who planned to press charges if it wasn't paid back immediately. I had a little money from my divorce settlement, so against my better judgment I loaned DH the money to pay the debt off for his son. Six months later I have gotten $100 back from DH---not his son. Shortly after I bailed him out, I found out his son had caused a car accident with no insurance and DH had borrowed money from his brother to bail him out of that. (I found out from dh's mother accidentally). Had I known that I never would have loaned him the money. DH also lived with me before we got married and continued to pay rent and buy groceries for his adult son for 9 months! He still pays for his cell phone. Here's a little background--they are from a rural town with few jobs. The son had a sports scholarship to college he turned down. He took another 6 months out of high school to find a job (this was when he stole the money). Most recently the son got stopped for improper plates (he traded a truck his dad gave him without permission in for a smaller car and didn't bother to replace the plates, and I'm sure he's uninsured). He was also smoking pot when he was stopped and had pot in the car. His car got towed. I told DH I absolutely would not help this time. And he hasn't asked. But since I've known DH, 2 gold rings have gone missing as well as money out of my purse. I don't want to suspect him, but I think he might do anything to help this worthless son. Probably most offensive of all, there has been no mention of paying me back but his son took DH to an out of town baseball game without inviting me, then yesterday we went to dh's grandson's (from his daughter) birthday party and the son bought the child a $200 gift. While we were there he never even acknowledged my existence but as soon as we left ss was texting DH that he wanted to get together next week and watch the playoffs so DH invited him to my house (our house but I paid for it). I don't want him in my home really and I feel very disrespected by DH and his son. I have building resentment and I am beginning to think this marriage is doomed.

JMG74's picture

I can't say for sure about the money or the Jewelry. I have confronted him on both and he has denied it. To be completely fair, there were other people in my house including a female friend of mine (who I also asked) and some teenage friends of my dd when the money from my purse went missing. One of the rings was my band he had purchased and was taking to the jeweler to be resized. It got stolen from
His car while he was at work supposedly. The other ring was his wedding band from me which was loose and "fell off" but was never found. It just seeems strange he's prone to these incidents. Especially 3 in a short time period.

still learning's picture

Did he leave it on the dashboard with a note saying "take me"? DH probably pawned both rings and gave the $$$ to his son. Huge red flag here about how much he honors his commitment to you.

sandye21's picture

What is DH's view of his son? Does he see what a loser he is, or does he defend him? Does DH acknowledge that SS ignores you in your own home and does not make any effort to pay you back the money he owes to you?

The answers to these questions are very important. It appears from what you wrote that DH looks upon SS as a buddy rather than a son, may be in denial about his son's legal issues, excuses his son's rude behavior toward you, and does not support the idea that his son should be accountable for the money he owes to you. The problem is not so much SS as it is DH.

Write a list of the advantages and the disadvantages of continuing in a marriage with DH. If you decide you want to continue being married to this man be sure to protect yourself financially by having him sign a post-nuptial agreement. Separate your finances immediately. Then protect yourself emotionally by setting boundaries and sticking to them. The good news is you have only been married for 6 months so you can get an annulment if necessary.

sandye21's picture

Ya, I agree. As I wrote, DH is more of the problem than SS. But possibly listing all of these items out could show her how dire her situation is.

JMG74's picture

Thanks everyone! I think I knew the truth but needed the validation. I appreciate the input!

notsobad's picture

My stepdad was engaged to be married to a lady before he met my mom.

He's a cash guy and always has a couple of hundred dollars on him. He felt like he was going through it quickly but wasn't really bothered by it.
Then one morning he caught his fiancé taking a $50 out of his wallet. She said she didn't want to wake him. That she needed it to buy groceries to make him dinner and she was going to tell him. She wasn't stealing it, not really, and they were going to be married in a couple of weeks, so why was he so upset?

He dumped her instantly, letting her keep the $50 by the way, cancelled the wedding and went on their honeymoon cruise alone!

Powerfamily's picture

So you have suspicions that your DH is a thief, you know his son is. Where do you think his son learnt it's ok to steal.

Merry's picture

Sadly this is all very familiar. My DH "borrowed" money to help his son with various things too. We hadn't discussed repayment terms (I learned my lesson about that) and when DH didn't start repaying with his next paycheck, I got mad. His excuse was that in his family, when family members borrow money there is no expectation of repayment. If they do, great. If not, that's ok too.

Funny, though, when DH needed to borrow more money (again for SS) and I wouldn't lend him any, he borrowed from his sister. And he paid that back promptly.

Turns out SS was using drugs and that's why he needed money for all those car repairs, school tuition, flat tires, and groceries. Pretty sure he's clean now but I have not been able to let go of the resentment of both DH and SS for their using/abusing my time, love, and money.

Your DH is indeed an enabler. He's helped and helped and helped to the point where it is no longer help. He is keeping his son dependent on him for some reason. It's not healthy. What do YOU need from your DH? Will he hear you without making it about "you hate my kid"? If you can't even talk about it, you might consider individual counseling for yourself followed by couples counseling. Your relationship sounds broken, or nearly so.