AI summarized TLDR at end if needed.
So I separated from my spouse in February, but didn’t move out until May. I discovered her sexting a guy online after she had been giving me the classic “idk I just don’t feel in love anymore” line for a few weeks, and I have no proof of how early it started but she had been sketchy (to include sleeping with her phone under her pillow, silencing all notifications, and changing her passwords) since December, when things were “fine.” She did end up flying halfway across the country to screw this guy.
I have proof of all of this via screenshots I got when she slipped up.
All of that is just context, however. My main concern at this point is my daughters, who are 4 and 5.
They seem to be taking this hard (needless to say) and I am deeply concerned their mother will try and spin the story to make them mad at me as they get older. She has already done this with old friends we had. The only people who still talk to me are the few who actually cared enough to ask my side, and they saw the screenshots (they’re incredibly damning for my ex).
I have read quite a few stories on here of cheating ex’s (more so than even normal mutual divorce situations) turning a man’s kids against them.
For context I have 50/50 now.
I was the model father when we all were together.
-my spouse literally never gave them a bath or changed a diaper barring the few times I was on a work trip
-I picked them up and dropped them off to/from daycare about 80% of the time
-I spent the most time with the girls both in chores and in play (and it wasn’t even close, my spouse was averaging like 12 hours of phone time a day).
-I never yelled or screamed at my wife, and the few times I yelled at my kids it was due to an impeding safety event… ie: “STOP, THERES A CAR”
My concerns now are:
-their mother has them doing some big activity or trip EVERY WEEKEND she has them. On my weekends they’re often so exhausted they sleep later and just want to sit around (wild for them).
-I’m now the boring parent due to not planning as many activities (this was true even in the marriage, admittedly) and then they’re so exhausted I feel bad for making them do stuff
-their mother got in front of the narrative and made all the “moms” think I abandoned her. So now all the girls’ friends are kinda off limits to me.
-I have a great house now, but their mother kept the old house, so it’s more familiar and decorated. They don’t hate my house but they like moms more.
-my youngest is angry, but too young to really know or say why. Pretty expected given the situation and how their lives went from suburban ideal to this.
-my oldest actively says things were better when we all lived together. I just say “sometimes mommies and daddies have a problem they can’t fix. We both love you no matter what.”
-their mother had apparently been telling them I chose to leave. Which is kinda true, although she’s leaving out the part where she was telling another man how she’s going to cum for him.
-I am a lot less exciting than I used to be. I was the silly dad who remained fun and chipper even while doing 70%+ of the household and child rearing chores. Now I feel like my soul is gone and I don’t have enough of a spark to even be entertaining. This is the one actual failure I feel I’ve been guilty of during this time.
Basically idk what to do. I’ve read a lot of stories here about children (especially daughters) taking moms side, even when the mother was the objectively wrong person and the father wasn’t trying to make anyone take a side.
Anyone have any cautionary lessons, success stories, etc? I just want to remain in my girls’ lives and have them love me. All I ever wanted was my family, and if I lose them too I feel I’ll have nothing left.
TL;DR: My ex-wife had an affair, and we now share 50/50 custody of our 4- and 5-year-old daughters. I’m worried she’s already shaping the narrative to make me look like the one who abandoned the family and may eventually alienate the kids from me. Despite being a very involved father, I’m concerned that her bigger outings, keeping the family home, and telling the girls I “chose to leave” could influence them as they grow up. I’m looking for advice, cautionary stories, or success stories from parents who’ve been through something similar.
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