Before engagement he was my best friend. Charming. Funny. Extremely caring. I could confide in him, trust him. He was the "calling you in the middle of the night to make sure you're okay" when I mentioned I had a bad day kind of guy.
It changed after engagement though. He started getting picky about my dress, my fingernails, and said I needed to go to a salon because I have "raw beauty that hasn't been chisled yet."
I know it seems weird and I don't know why but I keep blaming myself...was I immature?
I come from a conservative family and he would constantly manipulate me to say things to him and say hes afraid of my religiosity. He said it will break the family and take attention away from him and our future kids. I assured him this wasn't the case, family is first for me. He used religion for his advantage when he wanted tho, and make me feel very guilty.
Once he was talking sexually and I said I wasn't comfortable with that and he said I was "mentally immature for marriage" and "he's afraid to have children with me" and "I need to "grow up" because this was the real deal, and would often make me kiss him on the phone. When I wouldn't, he said he's going to a strip club to call all the girls there my name until I was his, and would constantly joke and say he was interested in marrying my friends--he was always trying to make me jealous. Mind games.
I started taking some religious classes which he despised. To prove I'm not stubborn and too rigid he said I needed to promise not to take any classes and go to hooka bars with him otherwise he was going to break the engagement. And he would say "Why can't you do this for me? I can't believe you're going to make me break this because you don't want to go to stupid hooka for me. Are you that selfish?" Families were involved, I felt trapped, so I agreed.
He hated my honesty. Once he asked me if I was attracted to him. I said of course, I was marrying him! He said "Do you want me to lose weight?" I said "I am very very attracted to you and weight is something that fluctuates. I need to lose weight too so maybe we can work out together!" He got upset at me, and sulked, even though I tried very hard to emphasize I am very attracted to him. And turned it around and said, "I can't believe you called me fat." I never did. He made me feel like the devil, though he would always call me short and I'd laugh it off. He couldn't ever laugh at himself. Ever.
Another time he showed me a pic of an engagement dress his family picked out and asked my opinion. I said it was very pretty to be nice, but he kept insisting if it was my taste and I said it wasn't what I was used to but I'd love to wear it and he got mad and said "Jeez. You don't like anything our family likes. Well I don't like your taste." I don't know why or how he came to that conclusion and I told him that was rude and didn't talk to him until he called to yell at me for ignoring him, calling me immature, arrogant, I can't see past my own nose, stupid, crazy, comparing me to his 2 year old niece, I can take my ego elsewhere he'd find someone else to love. He was upset I was on Facebook earlier that day, and said "You look like a mental case in your new profile picture. You know I liked the other one better. But do what you want." I tried explaining my side, how it was unfair for him to disrespect my taste and he said "Stop getting emotional. Jeez...you're so sensitive! Did I hit you for you to be this sensitive?" I was in Canada at the time visiting family and so he said, "The cold is making you crazy. You think I'm going to let you visit Canada anymore? Yeah right! You're surrounded by too much family...you've forgotten who you are." And then "you can wipe your butt with the cloth I don't care!" And then he called back and said "Don't make me yell at you. Don't make me embarrass myself. I love you. Put water on the fire instead of defending yourself. Promise you won't leave me, my love?"
He controlled the finances too and would always be picky about what I wore--he wanted me to wear tighter clothes and more make up. Once he said "I want to show you off to the world"
When I broke and told my mom, my family decided to end it. He cried saying I broke his trust and I should've talked to him, and that I threw his love away. I feel guilty. So so guilty. Did I do the right thing? Was this abuse, or just his frustration/sensitivity/him getting emotional? Was I unjust?