Disclaimer: This post isnât necessarily about my own situation. Some stories are inspired by shared experiences, conversations, and the patterns too many of us recognize all too well.
The Child Support Conversation Nobody Wants to Have
Since Iâm going through a divorce, my feed has suddenly been flooded with videos and think-pieces about child supportâand I canât help but wonder where the disconnect is.
When youâre married, youâre already contributing to your childrenâs needs. You help pay for food, clothes, medicine, activitiesâall the invisible costs that keep a household running. No one questions it then.
So why does that sense of responsibility suddenly shift after divorce? The only real difference is that instead of your share being spread across grocery bills and daycare receipts, itâs transferred directly to your ex. But itâs still for the same things as before.
You helped bring these kids into the world. Supporting them shouldnât feel like a punishmentâitâs simply the continuation of what you were already doing.
Itâs the same bills, same mouths, same love…just a different mailbox.
Make it make sense.
The Book of James (and Other Fairy Tales)
Recently, I commented on a video by parenting plan coach Samantha Boss. She was explaining something incredibly simple â that child support is court-ordered. Itâs not optional. It doesnât matter if you âdonât feel like paying it.â
Apparently, that was too much truth for a âmanâ named James.
No profile picture, no posts, no friends â just an empty account with a loud opinion. He decided to inform me that, quote, âYeah, thatâs the problem, hun. It goes to you and not them directly. Heâll be paying you and for them when he has them. You wonât use it all for them, youâre not fooling anyone. Maybe the broken courts.â
Oh, James. Bless your fragile little heart.
I informed him that my entire world revolves around my childrenâthat I live, breathe, and break my back for them daily, while men like him sit online crying about âbroken courtsâ because accountability feels unfair.
When he fired back with the ever-classy, âNow get me a beer, toots,â I had to laugh.
âJesus,â I told him. âYou canât even commit to your own misogyny correctly. Itâs âmake me a sandwich,â not âget me a beer, toots.â Half the reason women left men like you is because you canât even follow directions.â
Silence.
That silence? Thatâs what happens when logic meets ego.
Because the thing about men like James is that they donât want a conversation â they want control. They want women to shut up, stay small, and smile while doing double the work with half the support.
The Math Still Adds Up
Do not ever accuse me of not putting my kids first.
Everything I doâevery choice, every sacrifice, every late nightâis for Evie and Ellie. Iâve sold things that meant the world to me just to make sure they had what they needed. Thatâs what real parenting looks like.
And yes, I get itâsome women blow the check on themselves. But if the kids are fed, clothed, and safe? Youâre not funding her lifestyle. Youâre just paying her back for fronting your half. đ
Thatâs not greed. Thatâs accountability.
This post isnât about the outliers. Itâs for the responsible parents â the ones navigating single parenthood with integrity, doing their best to keep things stable for their kids, and still getting labeled âgreedyâ for expecting the bare minimum.
Because when someone refuses to help support the life they helped create, yesâitâs infuriating. Not because of the money, but because of what it says: I can walk away, and youâll just figure it out.
For the Women Still Fighting
My heart is with every woman fighting this same fight â the ones who stretch themselves thin, carry the weight of two people, and still get called selfish for expecting basic support.
You are seen. You are valid. You are not âasking for too much.â Youâre asking for what your kids deserve.
Because if the courts wonât validate your struggle, I will.
Iâll forever stand beside you…and make grown men cry about it. đ¤

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