By stillnotdivorced - 27/08/2016 01:46 - United States - Boxborough

Today, my soon-to-be ex-wife decided she'll be moving into my apartment complex. She always goes out of her way to pick fights with me every chance she gets, has alienated my children from me and has made what should be a very simple divorce into a ridiculously long and contentious one. FML
I agree, your life sucks 14 639
You deserved it 988

stillnotdivorced tells us more.

OP here. First of all, I want to thank everyone for their support. I get a lot of face-to-face support, and I'm not sure why the support of a bunch of strangers on the Internet is so meaningful, but it is. So thanks! Second, I want to provide a bit more detail. Not much more, as I don't want to say anything that will be too identifying or potentially useful for her if we ever go to trial: Thanks to the fairness of the system here and some actions she took initially, we have had 50/50 shared parenting time with the kids since almost the beginning. So I've been able to spend a lot of time with my kids, and when they forget they are supposed to hate me, it's been great! Then they remember, and things get very, very hard. And regardless of the challenges of having her here in the complex, this move of hers *will* make things easier on the kids - they'll be able to walk from household to household on transition days instead of getting driven. Much less disruptive. So yes, there is a silver lining. I like all of the suggestions of tracking or even recording all of our interactions. I'll have to check into the legality of actually recording, but writing down what happens and is said as soon afterward as possible is a great idea, and I'm going to add it to my toolkit. I also like the idea of having witnesses around. I don't think a restraining order is a possibility without a specific action on her part. But rest assured - if she does something that warrants it (see what I did there?), I will seek one. Thanks again, everyone!

Top comments

My mom is the same way, OP. Try not to let her get to you, or ask the court for joint custody of your kids. Good luck!

Ditto! I didn't think divorcing my mom would be so difficult, but there you go…

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My mom is the same way, OP. Try not to let her get to you, or ask the court for joint custody of your kids. Good luck!

Ditto! I didn't think divorcing my mom would be so difficult, but there you go…

Wouldn't be a damn shame if she tripped and fell down twelve flights of stairs.

jekyllf 13

If anything, she'd probably turn around and get a restraining order on him, forcing him to move.

NereidAlbel 14

Won't work. That she intentionally chose to move closer to him demonstrates a lack of fear, and any attempt at getting such an order would be shut down by any lawyer capable of passing the bar exam.

bitches be trippin all the time, son!

No divorce is simple. Hopefully you'll be closer to your kids, and they'll have an opportunity to see that you're both stable and loving.

I know it's unfair for you to even have to consider moving, but you probably should keep a record of her behavior and still move just for your peace of mind. Get far, far, away. Far. Far. Away.

Kind of ironic that she's trying to alienate him from his kids, but is moving them so that they can be closer to him. Maybe this could actually be a good thing - you can be super close to your kids even if your ex-wife has custody? Hoping this all works out, OP.

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Peace be with you. I went through a horrible divorce awhile back. No kids involved, but my ex stalked me to no seemingly end. He made my life terrible. Stay where you're at. Hold your ground, and see your children.

Lizzy500 16

Accidental thumbs down and I can't undo it. Stupid phone.