Editor’s note: On April 15, 2009, we posted “Bob’s” story—Leaning on his family while battling his wife. Well, the battle continues. Bob is asking the Lovefraud community for suggestions.
I recently received the email below from my P ex-wife and wanted to share it with your readers. I would like someone to analyze this to get some insight and commentary on this situation. It is so reminiscent of what I have read on Lovefraud.com and in books and comes really without surprise; it just surprises me of the lengths she will go to try to falsely trash me in an effort to obtain custody of our kids. The allegations are either fabricated or extremely exaggerated. She has a knack for manipulating people to write letters for her and support her. She has no fear of me and really no fear that I will endanger our kids; she knows I would never hurt them. This is all blowing smoke, but there is motive.
A quick background: Post-divorce with joint custody, she moved out of state to be with her lover and took me to court to move the kids with her. Her motion was denied and the kids still live with me in my state during the school year, but she moved regardless. Her child support to me was tripled by the court order, and that has angered her. She lies to my kids about the circumstances of her move and casts blame at me for us being so far apart geographically.
During the custodial evaluation, up to the hearing and after the order was handed down she has been on a vigorous campaign to portray me as angry and hostile towards her. Apparently this is the only way she could convince the courts to give her custody. She stopped paying me for children’s expenses after the court order was received, attempting to elicit angry emails from me. That was over a year ago and this continues to this day, even after I took her to court this year to force payment of children’s expenses. After that court order, she still refuses to pay me what is legitimately owed. She is very angry and vindictive, but she conceals it from others very well.
Note, I have been to her home on only three occasions to drop off or pick up my kids and she lives over 1,000 miles from me. She travels to my state with regularity to pick up and drop off the kids at my home without any fear of me. The characterizations of me”—hostile, angry, vindictive, inconsistent, unbalanced, unstable, threatening, harassing, bi-polar—”are a common theme in her emails.
Bob:
I have just returned from a meeting with local law enforcement. I met with them because I fear for my safety and the safety of our children. Your actions, writings and overall demeanor are unstable, inconsistent, vindictive, and threatening.
During this discussion, I shared the following:
1) Our guidance from the Court.
2) years of correspondence between Bob and me, highlighting particularly the exchanges that were most hostile, threatening and vindictive.
3) A tape of Bob’s wire tapping of my phone while I lived in (city removed).
4) Several documents that prove Bob’s attempts to hack into my bank accounts, my AT&T account, my email account and one credit card account.
5) Data I have collected through Bob’s emails of him stalking me, including one today where he has details of my flight information that I did not provide to him. There are several other emails that confirm this pattern of behavior.
6) A written statement from the Summer Camp employee that he interrogated in August, complete with her statement that he appeared unstable and made her uncomfortable. She also confirms that he explicitly told her that he had sole custody of the children and that I was not allowed to make the decision I had made when enrolling him in his summer activities.
7) Evidence suggesting Bob’s taping of the children’s and my conversations.
I agreed that I would follow up this information with an opinion from my therapist, since she has been privy to the daily deluge of drama and interactions and has formed some opinions, based upon what she has read.
The officer confirms that there are red flags in this situation that do not need to be ignored. His suggestion is that I state first my concerns in writing directly to you. I am once again asking you to stop this harassment and contemptible behavior immediately. If you continue, I will have no choice but to proceed with the process of highlighting these situations and writings to the proper authorities and to seek protection for myself and our children.
This is not a threat and these are not games. Your anger, vindictiveness, and nonacceptance of the rules we were given have resulted in harassing and predatory behaviors which are at a minimum, disturbing and at the extreme, dangerous.
Our community saw a triple murder within the last two months at the hand of their father, a white-collar banking manager. The background and circumstances of this heinous crime were eerily similar to our past two years. I will no longer take the chances of what your volatility, instability or hostility might lead to.
Angie
Sadie and AKA Bob,
It is bittersweet. I am happy to have found two people who know exactly what I am going through. It has only been 4 months of such behavior for me, and I pray it does not escalate to what you are experiencing.
I am sorry to hear of your situation, but I am happy to find someone who knows my pain.
I keep reading “NC” and “don’t respond”
Bob, do you fear as I do, that if you don’t respond to the baiting that you will look like you don’t have concern for your children?
that’s how my P baits me.
Unfortunately, although my attorney is getting the idea, she will often encourage me to respond. She’ll tell me what to write. It will still be followed with accusations of my irresponsibility and poor parenting.
Recently she wrote this letter to his attorney.
I AM NOT REACTING. but this is still REACTING and I fear it will continue to REWARD him, but if I do nothing I will go CRAZY.
My client has indicated to me that over the past several weeks, your client has repeatedly degraded and attacked her and her parenting skills on several occasions. Further, he has yelled at her regarding paying child support, paying daycare, and about the separation agreement. He has also verbally attacked her regarding getting HIPAA protected information from his work, which is a false allegation, and continues to berate my client regarding the daycare provider’s care. All of these actions by your client have been documented by recorded conversations and/or emails and texts from your client, most of which I have reviewed, which clearly show that my client is not provoking these actions by your client. Your client has also left a message on the daycare provider’s answering machine telling the daycare provider that “he cannot go see his son” which is completely false and is putting the daycare provider in the middle of the litigation between our clients.
My client will not tolerate this treatment. Should your client have anything to say to my client other than when and where to meet to exchange child, or regarding child’s health, then please advise him to contact you about it instead of my client. (Contact about child’s health should simply involve questions about child’s health and regarding doctor appointments, and not turn into false allegations that my client has not properly cared for their son). Should your client continue to harass my client, she will report the incidents to the police and/or seek an Order of Protection.
We are both hoping that perhaps once he realizes that every time I see him I am tape recording him, he will SHUT UP and leave me alone.
I continue to have faith in my attorney to do the best for me.
banana,
I’m concerned about the costs you are incurring everytime your attorney must deal with the nut ball for you. That could be playing into his hands.
I’m sorry this is happening, but you don’t have to respond emotionally to the bait. Remember they are vampire emotions and that’s what he wants. He willl only stop when he sees that you, like him, HAVE NO EMOTIONS. You are a gray computer, with no keyboard, no lights, no mouse only a processor running silently in the background. There are no buttons to push and no lights will blink.
Practice a monotenous response.
blueskies,
Wonderfully insightful regarding scapegoating… I hadn’t thought of this, but I do believe you are correct.
Thank you!
Banana
” do you fear as I do, that if you don’t respond to the baiting that you will look like you don’t have concern for your children”
The fear of knowing we will be portrayed poorly is a valid fear……BUT….then we must look at the reality….WE CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. Except….continuing to be the good parent we have always been. We can’t change our parenting styles for the appearance of being a ‘better’ parent to the S or the social workers or the courts. It is a tactic they use to keep us on the DEFENSIVE!!!! We are already good parents (assumably), and our concern for our children will NOT be defined during this time.
This is another valid reason for NC…..when we are removed from the influence they have, we can see and think clearly…..we do not feel the need to respond to each accusationa as we have during the duration of the relationship with the S. We were primed to defend….
We do NOT need to.
remember his words….whether written or verbal, are just that WORDS!!! NOISE……
Anyone can say anything…..YOU CAN”T STOP THEM!!!!!
It’s like allowing a dirty dog loose in your home….you can’t prevent the hair from flying, you can’t prevent the dirt clods from falling off on your couch……
You can place the dog OUTSIDE….and only then can you prevent your house from getting dirty!!!!
“but if I do nothing I will go CRAZY.”
I suggest you redefine what doing nothing is. NC is NOT doing nothing……NC is making a stand……albeit a ‘silent’ stand.
We don’t always have to ‘yell and scream’ to make a sound…..ya know…..
It’s about trusting yourself, trusting the process and trying something new……
Think about it when you ask someone a question, or to do something…..how do YOU feel when they don’t respond???
It’s frustrating and you want to confront them, but don’t know how….and it tends to silence you after a while. THEY have the power…..
WE NEED TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX FOLKS>>……..
Take notice of each time you feel empowered by ‘shaking it up’….doing something out of your own normal realm of response…….AND LIKing what you get….the feeling, the empowerment, the better outcome!!!!
THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT!!!!!
These people only know our buttons because we have shown them…..over time….
NOW…..think of it as a room you are familiar with…..your bedroom…..you can get up in the dark and make your way to the bathroom or kitcehn or even down the stairs in complete darknesss, and trusting you will not hit your face on the door, or fall down the stairs…..ALL IN DARKNESS!!!!
(You are the room they feel confident making their way around, even in the dark)
NOW……what happens when you move all the furniture around and leave doors to closets open and items laying on the floor…….CAN THEY STILL GET TO THE BATHROOM WITHOUT TRIPPING AND BANGING INTO STUFF????
NO…..they reach for the lightswitch……they need to know where things are located in order to be successful at navigating their way, AND with confindence……
SOOOO…….NC IS MOVING ALL THE FURNITURE AROUND IN US…..they will try and reach for the lights……but we have moved that switch too!!!! THey will bring a flashlight……it is not enough light to see us with……
GET IT? Shake it up…….move your buttons around……and we can only do this if we do not provide them with a roadmap of our emotions.
The next gift that comes from ‘shaking it up’ is they don’t like it, they don’t know how to ‘get through’……then they provide us the documentation of behaviors and control we can use in court.
The mask slips, the frustration of lack of control sets in, the behaviors become more noticeable……THEY SHOW THE CONTROLLING BEHAVIORS in court, to friends…..etc….
It’s a natural evolution for them…..and we are more able to predict the next attack, move, accusation and be ready for it.
Legally.
It all boils down to going against our own grain.
Have faith……trust yourself!!!!!
You WILL be amazed at the outcome!
Erin, GREAT analogy about moving the furniture and the light switch.
That is exactly what we all have to do. take the buttons off the panel, give no access to the emotions.
Take a page from their own book, show them any face but your real one. Withdraw emotion and they are lost at sea. Then YOU have the power.
I loved your blank computer analogy….
Same concept……and whatever it takes to connect with the point huh!
Dear Banana,
NC NC NC!!!!!! You will nbot “GO crazy” and as long as you keep RE-acting to his ACTING you “ARE crazy” (said with love!) sugar as long as he can [PUSH A BUTTON AND YOU JUMP you are his PUPPET. he knows just which button to make you jump and keeps you OFF BALANCE. The ONLY way you can obtain and keep balance is NC.
NC except e mails to him of lwhen and where to pick up the child. If Possible, have the child delviered to him by someone else so that you do NOT have to see him or talk to him. HIRE someone if necessary instead of spending money on the lawyer. IF HE IS NOT GETTING REACTIONS FROM YOU FROM PICKING UP THE KID then he will LOSE INTEREST IN THE CHILD.
He is using the child as an AVENUE TO GET TO YOU! You are paying attention to him and what he says (WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTS!)
Erin is RIGHT, NC is “not doing anything” it is taking a FIRM STAND that YOU WILL NOT BE MANIPULATED BY HIM.
Sure it is a quiet thing. But it is a BIG STAND and best of all THEY HATE IT! Cause they can’t manipulate you if they can’t talk to you.
IGNORE EVERYTHING HE ACCUSES YOU OF. IGNORE WHAT HE TELLS OTHERS (DOCUMENT IT IF YOU WANT TO , BUT NO RESPONSE to him)
He will start actin gup a bit more when you go NC because he always got you to react in the past, and so he will “up the ante” to get you back into line with his CONTROL and hun, this is what it is, YOU ARE ALLOWING HIM TO CONTROL YOU.
STOP IT NOW!!!! Don’t make me get the skillet out! ((((hugs)))) and my prayers for you! Love oxy
Banana,
You know the saying,-“You can fool some of the people some of the time, and you can fool all of the people some of the time, but not ALL of the people, ALL of the time!.”Sooner or later, if you just act normal, love your kids, people will see what a great mum you are, the school will see it too. They are not stupid. By their fruit you will know them.. You are a good tree. and your good fruit is there in the world for all to see, and your exP s bad fruit is obvious to everyone but him. As you know, they arent as smart as they think they are, and their lies get found out very quickly! To be a smart lier, you needa very good memory.! Love, good wishes and {{HUGS!}} Gem.XX
No wonder they can push our buttons, they installed these buttons in the first place!Love, Gem.
Gem…..
Sometimes they have them on remote control!!!
🙂