"Your breasts look like.......

you can’t talk to someone like your husband. As Sanguine said, they just don’t change; they get worse. Emotional abuse leaves very deep scars; you do not want to add physical abuse scars to your collection. You have to worry about yourself and your children. You have options: you can stay put; you can both try to make things work; you can have a trial separation; you can divorce him and leave all this crap behind you. Remember, if you do nothing, nothing changes.

Marriage is work; relationships are work: you know this because you are a mature adult; he does not know this because he is…well: we all know what he is. Noone is perfect in a partnership, of course not, but even so that does not give anyone the right abuse another. Write out what you have written here and put it in your purse. Look at it each time you even think you might want to stay in the situation. Take strength from it. Hell, print the whole thread out and stash it someplace safe, read it when you need to.

No one can hurt you when you are alone; noone will want to hurt you if you end up in a loving relationship - and that’s the difference. If you can be at ease being “alone” then you’ll be fine. Why be scared of who you can be? You don’t know who you can be - and that’s a great feeling to try and find out. Ok, it’s a bit scary :wink: But, it can be very liberating too. You were young (still are!) you can go anywhere, do anything: build a life for you and your children and just don’t look back. Look back on what? Years of crap? Meh. Look forward - however hard it’s going to be, and it will be hard to start with, it will be better than what you are currently in.

Of course he won’t accept responsbility; in his warped reality he’s PrinceCharming and totally not at “fault.” He gets off on blaming you, manipulating you because right now, he can. That has to change. He won’t ever apologise for what he’s done to you and his kids; he won’t explain why he behaved the way he does…don’t look to him for answers, you just won’t get them. Don’t, above all else, blame yourself. And don’t let him blame you anymore either! Bullies do not like it when you take back control; he’ll be running more scared than you are, I bet. Also, going back to the breast comment: I thought he just happened to say that to you, and then you asked him why he preferred you to be covered up? It’s academic anyway, he’s still a moron. Why stay with someone that treats you like shit? Why stay with someone that does not love you?

Of course you’re upset - it’s perfectly natural to feel upset; angry, annoyed, frustrated etc. Your self-esteem has been knocked on its arse; your confidence has packed its suitcases and is on holiday someplace, and you have no idea what to do next, or which way is up. Sounds like you are depressed (and who the hell wouldn’t be?!) so you might need to sort that out too. You need to make a plan. Stick to it. No matter what. You need some direction. A couple of suggestions, even if you only get information at this stage, you at least have it to hand:

Look up some women’s refuge / aid centres: they will be able to help you with counselling, housing needs, point you in the direction of a lawyer - they might even have lawyers they are affiliated with, I don’t know how the system works where you are. Take steps to protect yourself and your children.

Build a support network around yourself - believe me, doing it without anyone for support is very, very difficult: can you go to your friends and family? Church if that’s your thing? And, no end of people here are giving you all manner of support because we see something in you, that your husband does not. His loss.

{{hugs}}

Longest post ever! sorry, but…well, you know how it is :wink:

Joining late to agree with anything else: that was an appalling thing to say. I don’t blame you for asking the question, since his attitude certainly was bothering you, but the answer was just uncalledfor.

My wife’s body isn’t going to win her any beauty contests, and Playboy photographers aren’t lining up at the door, but she’s still the sexiest person in the world. Just the look in her eyes when she looks at me is more exciting than anything else I can imagine.

The man is infantile and uncaring. Do you really want that in a husband? He should clean up his act, pronto. Otherwise, why stay with him?

I know it’s usually easier to stick with what you know instead of jumping into the unknown, but this man should be told that Copernicus proved the Earth revolved around the sun, not him. Being married means making your partner happy. If he’s not willing to do that, then you don’t really have a marriage, despite what the license says.

In any case, your choice is simple: do you want to stay in a marriage with a man who doesn’t care for you or not? It might be tough to divorce him, but sometimes the best solution is to cut out the cancer and survive.

You can always use the SDMB for support and advice, so you won’t be alone.

My mom was in a similar marriage.

She got married a week after her 18th birthday to my dad. He was a little emotionally abusive, but moreso just neglecting. After 14 years, she decided that she needed a divorce. Dad didn’t want one. She had to fight for it. But after the divorce, she seemed SO much happier.

As for us kids, I was 10 and my sister was 5 when they got divorced. We both have fond memories of the post-divorce time. We’d never seen our mom so happy. We didn’t reallly know how miserable she had been until we saw what she was REALLY like. We didn’t have to listen to arguements anymore, there wasn’t that air of tension anymore, and WE were happier with our dad out of the house. My sister wanted our parents to get back together until she lived with my dad for a year when she was 11 or 12 - then she understood why they got divorced. After the divorce, our mom was finally able to go on all the vacations she’d always wanted to, but never had a chance to with my dad. My sister and I LOVED the four years after the divorce, because it meant that we got to go on a big vacation every summer to somewhere on the east coast, plus we went to Chicago twice a year. Good times.

What I guess I’m trying to say is don’t be afraid of being alone. If you’re miserable now, it can only get better. You deserve to be happy - everyone does. It might be scary at first, but just think about what it’ll be like to finally be happy, and have the opportunity to find someone who loves you and WANTS to be married to you. Also, chances are that if you’re miserable, the kids might be, too. The divorce might be as good for them as it is for you.

Just some things for the kids: let them know that it is in NO WAY their ault you’re getting divorced, don’t drag them in the middle of it (I remember my dad trying to convince me to tell my mom that I wanted them to stay together - I cried because I still loved my dad, but DIDN’T want them to stay married, but no 10 year old girl can SAY that), and share your new-found happiness with them.

I wish you all the luck and strength you need to get through this, whatever your choice may be.

Well, before you mentioned divorce I didn’t really want to metion it, but I think its a great idea. IMO 19 is way too early to get married in the first place, but at least you realize now that what you need. I can imagine that it may be hard to break up, depending on how much you still love each other (if at all). Hell I have only broken up with girlfriends and that has affected me quite a bit. I don’t really know what he looks like, but he is obviously immature and insensitive and you deserve better. I don’t really know how you look physically, but if you aren’t too picky I’m sure you can find someone that will love you. You have to find yourself one of those shy guys, they are the best. There’s no way I could be married at 19. I am 22 now and I am still nowhere close. He is probably upset that he never go to go out and experience his 20’s and is taking it out on you, which is wrong.

As far as being alone. I can’t really help you there. But if your marriage is causing you to be depressed and sad, then you gotta get out. Being lonely isn’t as bad as being abused. I don’t use the mad smiley too much but here’s what I think of the guy

:mad: :mad: :mad:

I do think the abuse is some sort of attempt to find a way out, though. He should have realized a long time ago that its not fair to the both of you to have to go through that. Its not your falt that he doesn’t like who you are.

Just go out there and do your best to start over. For some people its very hard and maybe scary, but its not so bad.

If my husband gave me a line like that, I’d f-n smother him with them.
Claim it was foreplay gone wrong – after all, it’s not like he knew what he was doing.
:wink:

Dragongirl has children and she may love this fellow in her own way. Divorce is hell; it is not the easy way out. I would only recommend it in the case of abuse and if all else has been tried. A counsellor will be able to tell her whether he ex is abusive and what options she might have.