You've all helped me answer my question as to why H has suddenly turned "nice"...and here was another timely answer in my inbox today. Perhaps he sensed my strength and even without me saying a word somehow sensed I was talking to a strong lawyer?...seems to fit, what do you think?
"Why? Because he’s having a “Mr Nice Guy moment”. Don’t get me wrong. He hasn’t turned into a truly nice guy. He’s just cunning enough to know that, in certain circumstances, Mr Nice Guy works better than Mr Nasty. You see, he doesn’t want the marriage to end. Maybe he still wants Nathalie around. It would be far fetched to say he [has suddenly realized that he] loves her. More likely, he doesn’t want to look bad to other people. But… there’s another much more important reason: he’s thinking about how much this marriage breakdown is going to cost him financially. That’s one good reason why abusive men sometimes turn nice, and sometimes nasty, when their partner involves a lawyer. They want to minimize the financial cost to them. Sorry to sound so cynical, but… It’s true. The best outcome for them is if they can get you to trust them to provide for you. Think about it for a moment - Why on earth would you “trust” someone who has a track record of treating you badly? So, what should Nathalie do? I’d certainly advise her to: Ignore his appeals to her better nature – because to all intents and purposes he doesn’t have one Avoid “negotiating” directly with him Communicate, as much as possible, only through lawyers Keep pushing for what is rightfully hers "
