That took me back to dating my MEM. He did just that. He called me ugly names over a discussion on Tupperware. I was surprised and hurt but didn't say anything. He told me his sisters are far superior to me and it hurt but I didn't say anything. He told me I need to try harder to make friends with his mother, everything is my fault and I tried. There were so many instances where this throwing hooks and evaluating my reaction was true. He checked out how much he can get away with to see if I would be a good victim. I wouldn't argue with him, loose my cool, or leave. Once he had scouted out my loyalty enough he decided to keep me.
So if you are dating a MEM, see how he throws you some testers. Testing you if you are loyal to his abuse or if you are going to figure him out early on. He won't have use for you if you figure him out early on. He will keep you if he can play you, abuse you, accuse you, trample on you. All so he feels superior in his partnership with his mother over you.