In a candid Reddit post, platform user Tasinglemom recently shared a troubling encounter involving her daughter’s estranged father, Jeff.
Despite Jeff’s initial disinterest in their daughter, he resurfaced with demands for parental rights. One thing led to another and during Christmas dinner, the mom discovered the main reason behind this.
Shockingly, Jeff wanted to use their daughter to help his grieving wife cope with the loss of their own child.
As much as she wanted to distance herself and their daughter from such a manipulative scheme, the Redditor had to endure a persistent battle over her family’s well-being and even safety.
After years of silence, the father of this woman’s daughter resurfaced in their lives
Image credits: LightFieldStudios / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
But the reunion was far from pleasant
Image credits: gpointstudio / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: MART PRODUCTION / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: tasinglemom
What happened to the couple is tragic, but this isn’t the way to move forward
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The loss of a child creates unthinkable emotional upheaval and can destroy even the strongest people and marriages.
Research on bereaved parents found that they experienced more depressive symptoms, poorer well-being, and other health problems that could lead to marital separation.
Debra Schoenberg, JD, who has been a family law attorney for over three decades, specializing in numerous areas, including high-conflict custody matters, says that there is no right way to mourn or grieve; therefore, she believes it is vital to understand that people will cope in their own way and at their own pace.
“The couple will have to learn how to communicate their feelings and share any hopelessness, helplessness, confusion, anger, depression, or guilt they might feel,” Schoenberg writes, adding that “it is important for parents to go through the grieving process, however, and in some cases, the process could take months or even years.”
So bypassing it with plans like the one described in the Reddit post doesn’t sound like a good solution at all.
Instead, the father of the woman’s daughter and his new wife should seek genuine interaction. “Those who come together could seek comfort through family members and friends or try to seek support groups in order to establish new connections with other couples who have been through the same ordeal.”
As her story went viral, the woman joined the heated discussions in the comments
Later, the woman issued an update on the situation
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Image credits: Gustavo Fring / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: tasinglemom
People were glad that she was prioritizing her own family
