I gave up custody of my kids because it was too hard – I just thought ‘screw it, I’ll see them when they’re 18’
A SHAMED mum who gave up trying to get custody of her children because it was “very hard” revealed she regrets it now they are adults.
Christine, who did not share her surname, decided she would wait till her offspring each turned 18-years-old to see them.
She did not reveal exactly how old each child was at the time she stopped fighting for custody but admitted they were “young”.
Her decision came following a year-long custody battle with her ex-husband, who is the father of her children.
The mum says that during their divorce, he was granted custody and made it hard for her to see their children.
“I finally just threw my hands up in the air and said, ‘f**k it. I’ll see them when they’re 18’,” Christine said. “They were young.
“There was a fight in court. I kept fighting and fighting and fighting, until I couldn’t fight no more.”
The mum insists that her ex-husband made their children “lie to a mediator” so he could have custody of them.
The family story has played out on American daytime talk show Dr Phil, with Christine’s latest revelation being that she regrets giving up so easily.
Speaking on the show, Christine said that she “thought she had it in the bag until everything started spiralling down” and she gave up fighting for custody.
She blames her ex-husband for making her life “a living hell” during their battle.
“What went through my mind was, ‘this fight is very hard’,” she said. “He was doing everything that he could possible to make my life a living hell.”
Christine added that she “would’ve killed” her husband if she could go back in time and fight for her children again.
Her daughter Kelly, who is now an adult, also appeared on Dr Phil in an attempt to reconcile with her mother.
But for some people, Christine’s regrets were too little, too late.
“The father had to have had some serious grounds for him to be awarded custody,” one critic said about her Dr Phil appearance.
“The way this woman looks at her own daughter would wither a corn stalk! Talk about daggers.”
“How can a mother just give up?” another questioned. “I don’t care if I didn’t have custody, I would have called, emailed, snail mail, social media, etc.
“Even if my daughter thought I was psychotic, when she got older she would have known I exhausted every avenue to see her.”
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