what if you are in this situation

United States
February 23, 2007 9:21pm CST
ok i have a question that i am not sure about because i am young and this is my first time being married so i do not know if this is normal or not. If you husband has to know every move you make and every person you speak to. is that nosey? concern? or is that a sign of abuse? if your husband does not let you go to your friends house because he does not know them. is that that concern? or a sign of abuse? if he insists that you dont go anywhere without him, even if it is just right across the street to the store, is that a sign of concern or abuse? i ask this because my husband is starting to act that way there is a big age difference he is 40 and i am 26 and i think its controlling he says its not. its how husbands act. now neither one of us ever been married. and yes i feel out of concideration it wont hurt to say to him "honey im going to the store i'll be right back" but i don't feel every single step i take i need to have him holding my hand. and if i do get out by myself he literally stalks me. and i even have to sneak and have and see my friends because every friend i have he tells me he feels uncomfortable with me hanging with them. and they arent bad people they dont do drugs or drinks they are basically other parents like myself.. and if i dont give them up he accuses me of not being a good wife and starts doing devious things to prevent me from going outside or using the phone. but anyways i am just looking for some feedback and any suggestions or whatever help anyone has to offer.
11 people like this
57 responses
@SageMother (2277)
• United States
24 Feb 07
It sounds like your husband needs some help and he could very well become abusiive if he doesn't get it. He is so insecure tha tyou cannot have the life of a healthy adult. Your relationship is not supposed to isolate you from others. IF you had certain friends before you married and you are notw expected to forgoe those friendships, he married you underfalse pretenses. Usually, if one has to ask if a behavior seems normal, then something is probably wrong. YOu need to give serious thought to your situation. YOu present yourself as an intelligent person. It would be a shame to have your life limited by someone who is this insecure.
2 people like this
• United States
24 Feb 07
ty you for responding. yes i do agree he does need help and we both did go to marriage counseling but the way he was putting things out there the therapist thought it was normal behaviour. i did try to leave him once and ended up in jail and almost lost my kids because him and some of the cops in my neighborhood set me up. but i am trying my best to get myself together. he does not hit me. thank god. but he does have a problem which i agree can lead to physical abuse
1 person likes this
24 Feb 07
Sorry to say, but your husband sounds totally controlling and is trying to detach you from your friends which is not a good thing. Alot of married women who have been abused, first start to experience this from their husbands. What is so wrong in wanting to see your friends and if you feel it is normal for him to go and see his friends without a thought for you then I would seriously start looking into your marriage. You only have one life and being married should be about mutual respect. If he can't give you this then there is something wrong with your marriage.
• United States
24 Feb 07
i have no objections with him having any friends whatsoever. i dont even mind him having female friends. i do get a little jealous when he starts flirting but i never ask him to stop talkin to any of his friends. me and him grew up in total seperate worlds. he is basically going by his parents actions. because his mom basically kisses her husbands azz. and i grew up in my aunt and uncles house and what i learned there that if you are an adult you dont have to explain a dam thing to anyone. yes you need to respect each other but if you want to use the phone or go the store or whatever you should not have to ask permission. and i can understand thats all he knows that was his life but he needs to realize thats not everyones life and he says i act "ghetto" when i get upset and yell at him for acting the way he does
1 person likes this
25 Feb 07
I know opposites can attract, but you and your husband seem to be opposite ends of the spectrum. I wish you well and hope you can work it out by talking to him and make him realise how you let him do what he wants so it should be the same for you.
@disvachic (10117)
• United States
25 Feb 07
Sounds to me your husband is being very controlling and seems like he is very insecure.I really dont know if that is sign of abuse but im thinking it can lead to that.I think he very jealous.He needs to have trust.Tracking every mood you make is not kool at all.
• United States
25 Feb 07
well suprisingly last night when i got on the phone to talk to one of my friends he did stand over my shoulder. he was in the same room with me but he was doing his own thing on the computer. now it was after 1 am and he doesnt like for me to be on the phone so late because the kids are sleeping and my voice tends to raise when i get excited so he wrote me a note and it said " can you please get off the phone its after 1 am" so since he asked nice i turned to him and said okay hold on a minute. and before he would demand that i get off right there and then but this time he said okay. and i finished up my convo told my friend i had to go..and that was that. he didnt throw a tantrum or anything he didnt pick up the phone press redial or check the caller id. all he said was i shouldn't be on the phone so late cuz i am so loud and you can hear me upstairs.
@BeachBaby (815)
• United States
24 Feb 07
yea sounds very jealous and mabey could get worse.. im married and well my relationship is not even close to this. its built on trust and love and friendship... I think you possible need to get help
1 person likes this
• United States
24 Feb 07
true if you dont have trust in a marriage you dont have mutch!
• United States
25 Feb 07
That is abuse to me. It sounds like he thinks your his child rather than his wife. I have been through this too. I was married and he was 45 and I was 20. He treated me the same way. He really needs help. Sometimes I would think he treated me that way because of the age difference, I too have been treated like a child rather than a wife. I eventually left the relationship. Now he's in a relation and treats that young lady the same way. Try to get him some help, counseling would be great.
• United States
26 Feb 07
nah according my husband he doesnt need counseling. things would be just fine if i listened to him and did what he wanted.
• Indonesia
24 Feb 07
i think your husband is worry hard on you, maybe it because he think you are not protected your self well, and your husband seem worry because he think you are not woman enough and cant do and choose well, such as you are not reliable enough to do what you should do. my solution is, regarding friends, try to ask him to go with you and intraduce your friends to your husband. try having vacation with your friends and your husband and ask your husband friends to. maybe this way if he want some opinion from his friends he will get positif word. but if your husband keep acting like that, then you need to go to married consultant. oya, one more, try having a baby, baby sometimes, keep family together, try one, its work to some people. :)
• United States
24 Feb 07
well we have 2 kids together i have 1 from before he met me and he has 3 other kids..so we got our little family already. and i try to invite him out with me he doesn't want me outside in public period. he doesnt even want my friends to come over. and he is not welcome to my friends and families house because they all know how he treats me and they do not like him. but he knows all of my friends.
• United States
24 Feb 07
Amen to that. Grab your babies and run (i was not aware you already had children when I posted before).
• United States
25 Feb 07
i had a child when i was 17 b4 i met him. he had 3 other kids before he met me. which he gave his rights up on. and after we got together we had 2 more children. i did last year try to leave and him and his friends set me up had me arrested and even tried to make it look like i was unfit and an emotional wreck. now i have a felony on my record. and my husband did tell the judge and the cops to their face he lied about everything they said but since he does have some connections no one will fix anything. now i have a hard time getting a job because of the felony.
@ronita34 (3922)
• Canada
26 Feb 07
Well, i think that this could definately be taken for a sign of abuse but not always as it may just be concern or even noisiness. I think that after reading the rest of your story now i think that this is definately a sign of early abuse and the two of you must sit down and talk about this. Seriously talk to him about the fact that you do not like his controlling ways and regardless of him saying that he is not being controlling he is! Tell him that if this does not stop now then it will eventually lead to you two getting a divorce and it is up to him to change this before it makes your relationship worse!
@jenalyn (675)
• United States
3 Mar 07
I hope that he doesn't become physically abusive since he is this insecure. No matter if you do everything that he does ask, he still will not be satisfied. Even if you stay home and remain in the same room with him at all times, he will still not be secure, so you can't really take any actions to make him more secure. I think you are going to have to find a way out of that relationship, or go see someone that can help you both out. It isn't going to improve with time. All of his expectations are extreme and not reasonalble. You don't want to live your life as a prisoner, and no one that loves you would want you to either. I hope you have some friends and family to help you get through this. You are going to need it. I can't really give any advice on how to end the marriage or get him to stop being extremely insecure. Maybe you should write Dr. Phil, LOL. I will pray that you get through this without getting hurt.
• United States
24 Feb 07
It's not abuse but it's not right. He should be able to trust you. And you should be able to be without him by your side. How was he like when you were dating? Didn't you see these behaviors before?
• Canada
24 Feb 07
A person that want s to know your every move is just that controlling. As a human being you are entitled to having some space, just because you are married does not mean that he gets to control your movements, friends or anything else for that matter. Does he tell you where he is going every time he leaves the house? I am going to guess no on this one. I f you were to ask him where he was going and who he was with chances are he would say it was none of your business. Men who control feed off your fear, and your need and want to please them. It looks like he is trying to break you down, I am guessing that he was not like this before you got married and really these things are very large warning signs of bad things to come what is happening in your home looks like classic signs of abuse. Very often men who want to control all start out being very loving and gentle, but after getting married things start to change. it is no longer acceptable for you to associate with the same people, most often you are isolated from your family and he starts to put you down, you know tell you are no a good wife, that you are too fat too skinny. All of those things are so that he can make you feel bad, worthless, and to make you think that he is the best you will ever find. Well this is simply not true, there is nothing in this world that you can do to make him happy. Everyday he will find one more thing, he will find one more little thing to pick at. Once he has broken you down, he may start to beat you, or cheat on you or both. Your husband seems to be a very controlling man and i would be very careful and aware of everything going on around you. Don't let him take your friends and family away. I would make sure to talk to them tell your friends and family that you think he is trying to control everything you are doing. If you are afraid even just a little trust that. Trust the voice inside that says this is right... that voice is rarely wrong. There are a great many woman who go through this on a daily basis and really there is nothing good that will come of this kind of behavior. Leaving is always hard even when someone is very mean to you, but if things progress and he starts to become physically violent then you could loose your life.
• United States
24 Feb 07
no he does not always tell me where he is going and when i ask sometimes he tries to play deaf. so thats when i start to act like a dam fool like him. but i don't know what has happend to me b4 i met him i did not take any crap from anyone. i did not care who u was or how big u was i never let anyone walk all over top of me.. i was even dating a few men who were known to beat on every and any girl they dealt with but they never touched me cuz i always stood up to them. now this man comes along. and he is not the sexiest man in our state or neighborhood has no money no education basically nothing..and i just let him tear my life apart. and i cant figure it out.
• Philippines
24 Feb 07
i think it's okay though a bit weird. maybe he loves you a lot. or maybe ebcause the relationship is still new. ususally if youre newly-married, the guy is so concerned, but as the year goes-on, it eventually fades. so just enjoy it.
• United States
24 Feb 07
no we been together since 1999 his crazy behavior started in 2001 the isolation and total domination began in 2005.. he does try to blame it on my looks cuz everyone seems to think i am so cute therefore i get alot of attention from men and women and half of them dont care if i'm married or not..but i have never stepped outside the marriage for anyone and being that i am with him 24/7 he should know that by now..but to try to justify his retardness he actually tried to lie and say i would sneak out my apt window to go meet men..lol and its a about a 100 foot or more drop with no fire escape
@bkfuels (1603)
• Canada
24 Feb 07
I was married to a man when I was young and stupid. It did not even last 6 months, he was a total control freak. He once riped the phone out of the wall when my friend called me. One time he attacked the mailman for looking at me. I got out of this early I knew it was not normal behavior and no one was going to control my life. I would even call his friends to take him out and he would not go it was like he had to be with me every minute, this is not a good situation.
• United States
24 Feb 07
yeh sounds like my husband.. accept if his low life perverted friends hit on me its funny to him..but when a man who has some sense and is decent lookin just says hi to me he flips out. and when he does that it makes me think that he doesn't want me to have anything decent in my life. and my husband doesn't really have friends. the ones he does have he doesn't hang out with he tells me he doesnt need to be hanging out with other people when he has me to hang out with..
@nairjula (453)
• India
26 Feb 07
I dont think it is proper on the part of your husband to try to know everything you do. There should a fair amountt of freedom to both as individuals. You can have your personal matters which you wont like your husband know. Nothing wrong in keeping a few secrets close to your chest. When you want everything to be known by him, you are inviting trouble.
• Canada
24 Feb 07
WOW girl i was in ur same situation well not exactally i mean by being with a older man when i was younger and the way this sound's is either A)he totally is scared to loose u because ur younger B)he does these thing's to show u he know's better because ur younger and he's older C)He is mentally abusive ,actually there can be so many reason's of this and he will make it sound like he's doing it for ur own benifit, just because ur married doesn't mean u need to give up life!!! If i where u i would think twice about staying in this marriage..Your a growen women and don't need ur hand held to cross the road.. All the best to u
@hestee (250)
• Nigeria
24 Feb 07
Sorry girl he has a complex and is controlling you. He has displayed the classic symptoms of a controlling husband.He needs help.
• Canada
25 Feb 07
Your husband is very controlling, and that is not healthy. What he is doing is a type of psychological abuse in itsself. He is keeping you in invisible mental and emotional chains, and don't let him tell you he's not! That is a very dangerous type of relationship. I would not be surprised if he became physically abusive some time down the road.
• Philippines
25 Feb 07
I think because of the age gap your husband is very protective of you..Why don't you talk to him and let him know how you feel..Tell him your marriage wont work if he doesn't trust you enough. Introduce her to your friends and sometimes go out with him and your friends together so he'll feel comfortable. If he doesn't want you to go out in the store when you buy well then tell him to buy it for you..We should always tell our husband or wife where we are going so they won' get worried..and they'll know where to get us when something happens.
@peddhie (110)
• Australia
25 Feb 07
Considering your difference age which pretty far apart, I can see fear and insecurity in him. I saw this situation with my sister and brother in law that 20 years apart. evry time she moves, it has to be clear where she goes and who her friends are and if she wants to go to shop, it's better the goes than she goes. It's probably, that your husband, at first, concerns about you but then becomes over concern that can lead to paranoid. It's better for you to seek counselling and sort it out what to do before it's too late.
@mbarryton (1872)
• United States
25 Feb 07
im not in no way trying to scare you. i just want to tell you thats how my ex acted. we were together for 11 yrs and he also had to know where i was or who i was with. it ended up leading to be very verbally abusive and very controlling. he had me so scared for years is the only thing that kept me from leaving sooner. sounds like yall could really use some counseling before things really do get out of hand. i wish you all the best and hope that every thing turns out to be just fine......good luck
@SilPhil (267)
• Australia
25 Feb 07
Any relationship needs to be built on trust. If he won't even let you go to the store by yourself, then it sounds to me like there is a serious lack of trust! And my preventing you from going to friends houses, he is cutting you off from the outside world. That's not right. How would he like it if you never let him leave the house, or go out with friends, or whatever? There needs to be some give and take in a relationship, and it doesn't seem to be going both ways in your case!
@sammantha (278)
• United States
25 Feb 07
I am on my second marriage and I am 28 years old.My husband wants to know what I am doing because he had his ex girlfriend cheated on him so now he wants to know if I am cheating on him.