Yeah pretty much what MIL was putting in his head, he was my brothers friend, We were online friends and when I lost a good friend to suicide he really helped me stay positive, our friendship grew to much more and he convinced me to relocate after being long distance for a while... so I left my job, friends everything to start a life with him... my brother actually changed his mind about him being okay with us dating once he realised we were serious but by then we were in love... I couldn’t really find my feet when I moved in with him so was just temping trying to find a nice school to work at with good staff, he proposed very early on and I said yes but wanted a long engagement because I found him quite full on... he bought me a car, expected ne to live with him and not rent elsewhere quite early, took over my phone bill, slowly but surely I relied on him more, we were a great couple but he was the dominant personality... I was quite emotionally vulnerable after losing my friend and I’d broken off with someone who was nasty to me not long before him and I started to see each other as more than friends... we had a lot of issues, I got him to stop doing drugs and cut down on his drinking, I got him on track for promotions and we talked a lot about our past experiences and childhoods etc... we know each other very very well, he knows I was assaulted in my 20s and that I never truly recovered I had PTSD... but with him I finally came out of my shell and we were best mates and more...at the time his mother didn’t live nearby but she moved 5 minutes away as soon as she found out I was pregnant (tried to buy land directly behind ours too eeek) ... when there was distance between us her brief visits were easier to deal with but now she Iives 5 minutes away and tries to get in our business a lot. To be fair she’s way better than her mother who’s a terrible person (and I don’t say this lightly). So it’s inter generational toxic patterns... him and I were a great team especially before she moved nearby, we had bumps and he had some serious health issues but we made it through all of that. I’m a stay home mother because when I got pregnant we found out the next week my husband needed brain surgery, and I got extreme morning sickness I had to quit my study and my job... During his illness he was moody, often angry, controlling, and sad but I knew it was just because he was sick and scared I’d leave him... U had our baby and not long after that a close family friend who was like a little sister was killed by her ex bf (I took it really hard) but I kept it together for our child... my husband got the surgery we were waiting for he made it through we made it through, and things between us improved a lot. Our only child is 4 now and I’m still stay at home because he works long hours for good money and I love being a mum. I also love making a nice home for us and we plan to fix our home up then look at having another child after that I’ll look at relaunching my own career. Yes I’m reliant on him financially so yes he does hold a lot of power so if he says no I can’t do something then I pretty much can’t... but in this situation I stood my ground because I want my daughter to feel capable and have those positive experiences I was lucky enough to have as a kid, and somehow for me raising her, heals a part that’s a bit broken in me. I’m trying my best so I do doubt myself often. I love hiking it costs nothing and there’s a sense of freedom and achievement and peace I get from it.