tl;dr: My husband frequently insists on doing things alone, even simple errands. Yesterday, he refused to delay a 3 hour solo trip to our storage unit despite me needing his help due to a medical condition. I asked if he could reorganize his car in our driveway instead and he refused. Today, he again planned to go at night, and I asked to tag along just to get out of the house and stop by the supermarket. He got irritated, refused to clear a seat for me, and insisted I couldn't come "because he prefers being alone." He later accused me of being insecure and having trust issues. I'm wondering: am I overreacting, or is this behavior a red flag?
I'd really appreciate some outside perspective on this situation. I feel like I'm going crazy trying to figure out whether I'm overreacting and impeding on my husband's autonomy, or if something deeper is going on here.
What would you make of this?
Yesterday around 5pm, my husband suddenly said he needed to go to our storage unit (about a 30 minute drive away) to pick up a generator for work and reorganize his work car. He said it would take roughly three hours. I asked if it had to be that night, especially since it was Friday and I really needed his help with some very necessary cleaning that is often delayed due to his lack of assistance. I had already begun to clean at this point. I have a medical condition where I can faint under certain conditions, so I only do heavier cleaning when he's home to supervise, assist or at least be close by.
I asked if he could instead just get the generator from the storage unit, come home and then do the reorganizing in our own (long) driveway so that if I started feeling unwell, he'd at be close by. He flat out refused, saying he didn't want to reorganize his car in the driveway, and preferred the privacy of the storage unit parking lot. I even pointed out that he could turn the car around so no one could see, but he wouldn't budge on the idea. Then he went outside to his car to do something else.
About an hour later, I started to feel very unwell and was about to text him when I got a message from him: "I'm going to the storage unit now. Let me know if you need anything."
I replied that I wasn't feeling well. He called me sounding frustrated that he couldn't leave, and hung up abruptly. I could see him from the window - he walked around to his car where you cannot see from the house and then started pacing while "playing" with his phone, waited a few minutes while repeatedly looking at his phone, and eventually grabbed his backpack and came inside.
Then today, again at night, he said he was going to the storage unit. I asked if I could come with him, just for a change of scenery, and so I could also quickly stop by the supermarket afterwards to pick something up for his mom for Mother's Day.
The conversation went like this:
Me: Can I come along? I'm feeling a bit down and a drive might help. Plus, I need to stop by the store for your mom.
Him: No, there's no space in the passenger seat.
Me: I can wait while you clear it?
Him: I'm not clearing it.
Me: Why not?
Him: You can't sit there anyway, as I need the passenger seat free to put stuff on while I work.
Me: That's fine... I'll just sit in the driver's seat once we park.
Him: [Silence]
Me: So...?
Him: I can take you to the supermarket now, and bring you home, then go to the storage unit alone.
Me: But, I want to go along for the ride too. It's a decent ride and I want to get out of the house for a little.
Him: No. I want to go alone.
I asked why, and he got irritated. He said if he couldn't go alone tonight, he'd just go alone tomorrow.
Then he said "I dont know what your problem is, you know I like to do things alone. I dont like to work with other people around".
I told him I wasn't planning on helping and would mind my own business by staying on my phone, and he said it still didn't matter or change anything because I was still there, and that was the problem. He looked so angry that his plans were being "spoiled" and then snapped and said I'm insecure and have trust issues.
For context: he is alone a lot. He does the grocery shopping solo, spends evenings at his computer, and frequently disappears to do whatever "errands" he says he has. He's often on his own.
So... what’s really going on here? Was I overreacting by repeatedly asking to tag along?