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Disrespect from BM and SD19

Chalky.hands's picture

Hello,

So I've been posting before about problems with BM and SD being disrespectful. It's getting worst and I am starting to get really affected by it. I'm hurt and tired to be constantly disrespected.

BM found my phone number online as my business is listed on google. And she has send me loooong texts messages full of lies and accusations. She tell those lies to her kids about me to make sure we'll never have a decent relationship. And she is being very manipulative and entitled. She discussed SO and I finances, what we should and shouldn't do of our free time, and just a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with her really. She blamed me for SO "bad parenting" even though it's another lie but have nothing to do with me regardless. She sends abusive texts to SO about us, even uses the C word... 

SO, his kids and I are going overseas later this year to visit his family and she thinks SO should have asked his kids permission first to take me with them! What a joke! 

Now SD19 doesn't even reply when I greet her, avoids eyes contact, looks away when I'm around, goes silent when her dad mentions my name. Not ever a thank you for cooking for her for 4 years. I'm tired of being disrespected. 

I know BM has been brainwashing her but I believe at 19yo it's still your responsibility to treat people with respect regardless and perhaps learn how to make your own opinion. 

SO expects me to keep trying and keep greeting her even though she will ignore me completly. I'm emotionally quite a sensitive person and being forced to chase someone who has no respect for me put me in a position of inferiority and also hurts me deeply. SO says I'm the adult and shouldn't lower my standards. I disagree. First of all we are both adults and secondly I don't think disengaging from someone who doesn't respect me would make ME the disrespectful person or have low standards. It would just mean I got the message from her and won't bother her as she wants nothing to do with me. And that's HER choice. 

Arg just needed to vent. Any advice welcomed

TheOptimist's picture

This is SO job to fix. He should be setting expectations for SD to respect you. I'm not quite sure what to say about the texting. I have little experience in that area and would defer to the seasoned SMs on this forum. Initial gut is to block her, but if the child is still back and forth between your homes, I'm not sure that's a feasible option. 

Thumper's picture

BM has zero business contacting you.  BLOCK HER NUMBER. 

Are you sure this is the life long relationship of your dreams? 

You are not married yet, correct?

 

Chalky.hands's picture

This is NOT the family dynamic I've ever dreamed of. Far from it. And it is difficult for me. But I love my SO so deeply and don't want to lose him because of those people. Tough :( 

We are not married but we are committed

Chalky.hands's picture

I believe the real struggle is that both BM and SD see me as a threat. Common situation I guess in blended families. BM is spending sooo much energy trying to destroy SO and I relationship. And it seems like SD19, even though she is an adult, doesn't like to share daddy with another women and even said she thinks it's weird that someone else moved in with them. Which I find odd at her age that she doesn't understand that her dad wants to move on with his life. BM and SD think SO is not entitled to be in a committed relationship with someone else. BM refers to me as "the girlfriend" but we have been living together for 4 years, we are more than bf/gf. 

The problem is that if SO set expectations for SD to respect me and enforce it in his own house, there is a BIG chance that SD will be mad and it's gonna affect her relationship with him. 

Basically doing what's right to me might would make him lose the relationship with his daughter. So he will keep doing what's wrong to me! And that's all the issue. If he enforces his house rules (greeting, respect, basic manners..) BM and SD will flip the script and say their relationship is getting worst because of me. Even though I have been nothing but nice to them. Never disciplined the kids, never acted out of my role, never said a bad thing to them, always offered my help or company but without forcing it on them, cooked and cleaned for them, give them presents, been nice around them without ever judging. 

Yes I can block her, she can communicated with SO regarding to SS13. And I don't have to answer her at all since she is madly rude. 

TheOptimist's picture

You are not married, and I believe you also do not have kids together, correct? If so, leave. You should not tolerate the disrepect. Yes, his relationship with his daugther is important, BUT SO IS HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU! If he can't enforce it now, and then you get married, what message are you sending? That you are okay with that treatment and current dynamic? If he can't establish respect for all, you should be gone. 

Chalky.hands's picture

We don't have kids. He defends his daughter because "she has been brainwashed" and it's "not her fault". It's true she has been told lies but she is not all innocent far from it. And I believe she should hear her dad's side of the story but he has never told a bad work to his kids about their mum.

SO also says she is loyal to her mom and tries to get her attention and saying bad stuff about me or being rude gives her that.

Cover1W's picture

At her age, there comes a time when she CAN make decisions on her own and she's clearly doing so.

My OSD20, was PASd out, doesn't speak to DH at all. And I remind him BM started and encouraged her estrangement,  but OSD keeps it going by making her own choices to be a bitter, mean and vindictive person. And I've told DH this exactly.

DH knows this, still loves her, but I don't have to worry about her any longer, but support DH in his journey. 

Your DH needs to realize she's a young woman and treat her as such and confront her behavior. Nothing will change otherwise. 

I agree with blocking BM.

Chalky.hands's picture

He still treats her like a kid sometimes. He still buys Kid tickets for her when we go watch sports, she has been too old for this tickets for nearly half a decade. He always tells me "You are the adult" like she is a child.

If she stays home alone overnight he gives her money to get McDonald's. It's almost like he is suggesting she can't cook her own dinner or take the decision herself to go get fast food. 

She seems mature in certain areas but not mature in the way she views her parents new relationships. She thinks her parents can only have "boyfriends and girlfriends" but not have a defacto or remarry. 

CastleJJ's picture

He is going to lose his relationship with his daughter or he is going to lose his relationship with you. It's a lose-lose situation here but DH needs to make it clear to SD that he isn't entertaining her game. She either treats all adults in the household with respect, or she is no longer welcome. SD is an adult and frankly, too old for this shit. Right now, she knows she can get away with it because DH refuses to tow the hard line. And if he continues to refuse to tow the hard line, you are going to grow to resent him and the situation and leave. As for you, you need to disengage from the kids - no helping with things, no giving gifts, no trying to show you care. SD takes that as desperation to "fit in" and will keep treating you like crap because she holds all the power. 

Block BM, block SD, and be done with the bullshit. Don't entertain their comments, don't believe a word they say, and be the "grown up" in the situation. These are high school mean girl games and you don't have to play. 

Rags's picture

If you are the GF, then BM is "The XW".  She is the "past".  Make sure that DH, BM, and the Skid hear those and any number of other telling decriptors of BM.  Irrelevant, over, the mistake, insignificant, beside the point, neither here nor there, immaterial, baggage, trivial, etc.....  Let your vocabulary run on how she is referred to.  No need to call her names when talking about her.  But make the wording you use sends the appropriate message... to BM, DH, and their spawn. 

Rumplestiltskin's picture

There is no "child" here. Any influence these women have on you is because it's being allowed or pushed by your SO. He is failing you. You have zero obligation to "chase" Princess Snottypants. 

ESMOD's picture

I will start with the bad news here.  BM and SD do not have to respect you.  

But.. here is the good news.  You don't have to have their respect... Why care what people that don't care about you.. think about you.  

Also, that does not mean you have to accept abuse.  SD is an adult.. there is also zero reason why you have to read any of BM's texts.. you know her/BM's opinion of your lives means nothing.. just a bitter and jealous person.  So.. BLOCK her.  or send her an infuriating text like "I am not sure why you think you opinion carries any weight in my life or my husband's.. quite sad that you have nothing better to do than send pathetic texts like this.  I am blocking you and will seek legal recourse if you continue to harass me or my husband."

Now, regarding SD.  while she does not have to respect you and may well be poisoned by her mother's opinions.. that does not mean she should be allowed to act disrespectfully in your home.  there is a difference between respecting someone and being rude or disrespectful.  I have been respectful to people I do not respect.  

What that means is the riot act to your DH.. that he tells his daughter that she doesn't need to like you.. but she will be polite and respectful in the home..  you say hello.. she says hello back.  She is not obligated to carry on some long conversation.. but she will not be rude and ignore you in your home.

If she cannot do that.. I would just not make a point of greeting her either.. she is an adult... she can say the first hello.. you can match that energy.

 

Chalky.hands's picture

I just ignored BM and SO is talking to her now only if it concerns kids. So sad that she thinks her opinion about us is relevant and that she even have a say in the matter. 

 

I agree she doesn't have to respect me or think high of me or like me as a person but she still needs to be courteous. She is not and I told SO we will need to have a conversation with her. I bet he will be all gentle with her. 

She will never say Hello first, I doubt. 

I wish that SO would just let me let go of it at least. 

ESMOD's picture

What is he going to do if you DO let go of it.. and don't say the first hello?  beat you?  I  mean.. he is doing "nothing" to her so he will do nothing to you... right? and if he does get mad.. turn it back on him.. 

She never says hi to me back... I'm tired of talking to a brick wall.. you want me to be cordial.. you set same expectations for her.. let's have her say hello first for a while.. I will be happy to respond.  conversation over.

Chalky.hands's picture

SO will be mad at me if I don't say Hello! 

A couple of weeks ago when she arrived home she didn't greet me, and I didn't greet her either that day. SO was there. She pet the dogs and had a small talk with her dad and then went to her room. Then SO asked me "Did you greet her ?" and made a weird face like Im disrespectful and IM THE PROBLEM!!!!  like he was disappointed and kind of dismissed what I'm going trough as it was a bit like saying that I don't greet her either so it's BOTH our fault. He also said "you're the adult and you should greet your guests". He must think she is a God or something. He has 0 expectations when it comes to her but heaps of expectations when it comes to me.

I greet her maybe 90% of the time and some days I can't be bothered anymore. Let's be honest it makes 0 sense to keep greeting someone who won't reply. It's 100% on her. I've tried for 4 year. 

She doesn't look at me when I talk, she doesn't reply. On Jan 1st: I opened the door for her and said "Hey SD, Happy New Year"....NO REPLY and she even managed to avoid eye contact. 

That's the kind of guest that SO expects me to greet! 

Rags's picture

I agree with DH. You should not lower your standards.

However, it is obvious that DH has no clue what your standards are.  You have standards on how you will be treated and on not tolerating crap from his failed family spawn.

So, don't tolerate SD-19's crap. Confront it.  IMHO disengaging just gives power to the asshole being... an asshole.  So, bare their ass and keep rubbing their nose in the stench they perpetrate with escalating consequences and escalating abject misery until they either pull their head out of their own ass or ... go the hell away.

As for BM, start ripping her throat out and making it clear that she is shit for nothing in your life and in your marriage.  Start pointing out her life failures, her shit parenting as evidenced by her shit children, and letting her know she can STFU and keep her nose out of your life and family or.... you will make her destruction our fondest hobby.

Then .... do it.

Make it clear that she is mistaking you for someone who gives as shit about her.  Tolerate no crap from her. At all. SHe is shit on your shoe, so scrap her off any time she tries to stick her stench into your life.

That your DH tolerates his toxic failed family spawn and his shit XW to disrespect him, you, and your marriage.... does not indicate that he is worth a shit either. 

Take care of  you.  And do not tolerate any crap from your Skids, your DH, or his family on your upcoming trip.  Go and visit your ILs and make sure that daddy/DH knows that his failed family offspring will not disrespect you, him, or your marriage and you will shred them even if it has to happen in front of his family.  If he does not get his spawn under control, that is is on him and so are the steps you take to put them in their place.

Nea

Chalky.hands's picture

That's exactly what I told SO.

He said you should not lower your standards and that's why you need to keep doing the same behaviour that you expect from her (greeting, manners,...). And I said to him

If I keep chasing someone who has CONSISTENTLY disrespected for YEARS in my own home, I do the exact of opposite of keeping my standard. If I keep chasing her I'm actually lowering my standards. And that's the part we don't agree on.

SO will never put consequences on his own kids for being rude to me unfortunately. I've never seen it ever. He will have a gentle conversation with them saying they should respect me but it means nothing as they know they get away if they don't do it.

Rags's picture

It is long past time for gentle conversations with them.

Instead.. "Stop right there. You will not be disrespectful to me. Apologize immediately, pull your head out of your rude butt, and never pull that  rude toxic infant stuff again or you will not enter my home, my vehicle, or have a place in my life. Do not test me."

Then.... follow through.  Do not let DH's lack of testicular fortitude force you  to tolerate or support his parental failures.

Bring immediate consequences to play and escalate them delivering a continual state of increasingly unpleasant abject misery. It works.

Take care of you.

Harry's picture

You are not going to change BM, that's a fact. You must disengage from her block her.   BM has the kids the majority of the time. Not much you are going to do about them.  DH must have your back unfortunately against his own kids.  

Stepdrama2020's picture

Take no disrespect from the rude entitled SD

Dont give a rats a** if DH doesnt like it. Obviously he doesnt care that you are made to feel inferior in your own home. Be loud and clear to SD. Trust me things rarely get better when you have a BM and skids out to make your life hell. Let er rip to SD. Let her know you are the queen and she has to kiss your a** NOT the other way round.

Let DH know that you expect better from him. That you are numero uno ALWAYS.

As for meddling B BM.Block the B. Ignore the B. She is not relevant to you.

Your DH needs to readjust how he views how his wife is to be treated. He is a coward expecting you to placate to the entitled  SD.

If SD doesnt greet you, you call it out. If SD is rude, you call it out. Call it out each and everytime. With any luck the snot wont grace your presence anymore. or until she can become a decent human. Which I doubt will ever happen since BM is her mommie dearest.

Blessings hun

Chalky.hands's picture

If I called her out on not greeting me she would just say a little "hey" that I can barely hear while she is looking away from me. She wouldn't care.

Stepdrama2020's picture

Thank you Rags but I must say I learnt from you and your comments over the years.

My hat is off to you kind sir.

Rags's picture

Thank you. 

Just trying to share my journey to help others.  Not always the kindest process, but... I hope it helps.

Take care of  you.

CLove's picture

Block the bish BM, if you do not wish to respond. If your partner wishes to speak of her, either block it directly or change the subject.

you said: "SO expects me to keep trying and keep greeting her even though she will ignore me completly."

Ohhhhhhhhhh he!! to the nope. You are NOT obligated to princess snottypants shunner in ANY way.

You do NOT continue to "chase" and you do NOT sacrifice yourself on the altar of his failed family attempt. Nope nope nope.

Sorry you are continuing to have this in your life, it truly sucks.

Stepdrama2020's picture

OMG too funny what a perfect new term to give some of these SD's.

CLove's picture

JK.

I just get so mad when I read this stuff. OP - your partner is not understanding a few basic concepts:

1. As pointed out above by ESMOD - you do not need to have their respect. Thats internal to them. Who cares how they FEEL. However their external behaviors of respectfulness is what you are after and she is not behaving in a considerate way, not even close to treating you with respectful behaviors. Greetings, at minimum.

2. Teaching them? At this point there is no teaching, their are behaviors and actions and consequences.

3. He has this tendency towards infantilising SD? Well thats a different issue and not your problem. Id point it out in a humorous way like "oh shes not a baby shes old enough to get married already and have little babies herself!!!" 

And those comments of "your the adult" actually have nothing to do with allowing yourself to be treated badly by miss snottypants! By saying that hes talking down to you as if YOU were the child.

Chalky.hands's picture

Clapping

1. Completly agree. I want to be treated with respect regardless of her personal opinion about me. 

2. Exactly! And so far there is no consequence at all. 

3. I agree that's his problem 

CLove's picture

Well disengagement is consequence for SD.

Partner needs a HUGE re-training. Hes got it all wrong.

Chalky.hands's picture

I know right!!! It sucks that I'm forced to accept the disrespect AND keep chasing. 

As SO said to me, you teach her respect by showing her what respect means. It's such bullshit. At 19yo SHE KNOWS what respect means and she CHOSE to be disrespectful. 

SO said "enforcing respect" doesn't work and he won't force her. But he will SHOW her. 

According to SO if I stop greeting her (even though she doesn't reply) I'm the one being disrespectful and lowering my standards LOL.

Aniki-Moderator's picture

I refuse to stoop to someone's lower level. I'm better than that. So are you! Greet SnotD and expect nothing in return. You're being gracious and she looks like an ass. "Hello." Smile, and walk away.

Dogmom1321's picture

Nope. Absolutely not. Don't give BM or SD the time of day. Did you really agree to go on vacation with someone who won't even look you in the eye? I would find a way to get out of it somehow. Doesn't sound like fun for ANYONE. 

My SD13 is like this. No acknowledgment at all. Perfect example here: She walked out the front door yesterday without saying a word. No clue where she was going or when she was coming back. I made dinner in the meantime and DH, myself and DS3 sat down and ate together. An hour later SD13 barges in and says "are we having spaghetti?!" I simply said, "No I already cleaned up." Plain and simple. If she can't say bye, then I shouldn't be expected to make dinner plans around her. 

If SD13 directly asks me a question, I don't ignore her and will always respond. Otherwise, I will not be the first to greet or make small talk. 

And block BM too. 

 

Yummy mummy's picture

I relate to your story. Reading the comments, I'm also gaining on how to handle my own SS9. It's never easy to be around someone else's kids, especially because they have totally different values to yours. The parents have different parenting styles, which is ok, but they must instill some basic life skills & values in their kids. 

As for BM, I endured the abuse from her until I blocked her. She got my no from SS22's cellphone She used to tell me I should expect such for choosing a man with kids. 

Evil4's picture

Your SO is so full of shit!!!! I experienced both my SD34 shunning me while living with me full time for oer 7 years and with a shunning piece of shit in my workplace. I'll talk about SD first. H did nothing at all. I was in agony because I wondered why my own H thought so little of me that I deserved that treatment. He would do nothing. He once gently talked to SD but never took it further and that only emboldened her. I arranged for counselling as a last resort because I told H that I will not have our bio DD23 together witness her mother bending over and taking it up the ass just for the sake of a man. I will leave. I also didn't want our bio DD to turn out anything like SD, who was a mini-wife on steroids. 

Well, H and I saw the therapist and in our first session, the therapist told H that silence is assent. SD is the type of person who needs to be explicitly told something and to suffer consequences. Continuing to do something like kiss her ass only rewards her for what she's doing. In H's infinite wisdom he thought that if he "loved her to death," she would be inspired to change. Well, the therapist ripped H a new one and then gave me crap because I had been implementing my own strategy of attempting three contacts a day with SD and each and every time she rejected me and it never worked. I did this for months and months, more like a couple of years daily and it never worked. By this time I hated her fucking guts but did it for H because I was stupid and was afraid to lose him so I degraded myself to try to win him over, only it doesn't work. My self esteem got lower and lower and we ultimately ended up in marital counselling. Anyway, the therapist told me to knock off the attempts because I was literally handing her three opportunities a day to reject me and make a fool out of me. I'm to shun the bitch right back. Preferably H would ship SD off ot her BM's and not return until she can be respectful to me and DD.  Well, H couldn't stand the thought of SD not living with us, so the plan was that I'm to treat her how she treats me. H ended up giving me his blessing on that once the therapist explained that we can no longer reward SD and give her power for what she's doing. H then turned to me in our session and said the exact words, "if she gives you snot, give her snot right back." So, I did. 

Then I had a situation at work. We have "Shunning Bitch" as we call her. That's actually her nickname. She shunned us and created a nasty hostile work environment while every single week in our branch meetings she'd literally get rounds of applause. She got special provisions given to her that the rest of us didn't. One was that she got to continue working from home full time after the pandemic while the rest of us had to go back into the office. We felt very deflated that it was not only OK, but rewarded that this woman could abuse us and the rest of us weren't important at all. We tolerated that for over 7 years. Stupid upper management through that if they coddled Shunning Bitch, she would change. The head hauncho knew that morale was horrible so he got an organizational psychologist to come in and assess us. She ripped the head hauncho a new one and said that by kissing Shunning Bitch's ass, she's getting rewarded for how she treats the rest of us and her behaviour gets reinforced. Things changed and now she's gone and what a difference!

So, to make a long story short, your SO is too chicken to stand up to your SD. He's making excuses when he says that he's teaching her respect. He's actually rewarding her and giving her power and she's likely heady from knowing that your SO has you bowing down to her and chastizing you like you're a child and telling you to be the one to say hi. Your SO is degrading you and your SD knows it.

Unfortunately, if you are afraid enough of losing him, you won't want to go far enough to risk losing him, so nothing will change. It wasn't until I came across a post on here from a former member who said, "you accept the love you think you deserve." I went back to individual counselling to gain some self worth and self esteem and I reached a point of being more afraid of continuing to live that way than I was of losing my H. There was also a MAJOR case of mini-wife syndrome that managed to ramp up despite SD no longer living with us. It was unreal. Anyway, I let H know the score and about the changes I required "before the sun sets today," and other strong wording. I told him that a man not having my back is a deal-breaker.

You don't have to take this, but you do have to be willing to risk your relationship. That's what makes it so hard. If you are at that point, don't look it as your SD winning. Look at it as you winning because you chose yourself and you do not have to continue the dysfunction and shoddy treatment. I was at the point of having physical symptoms, some of which were scary.  No man is worth that. Your SO will not change because he doesn't have to if you're not causing any consequences for him. You will have to be the one to take charge and change the direction of your relationship. 

Good luck! You can do it!