A WOMAN shared an insight into her unique living situation, which involves a close co-parenting relationship with her ex.
While they were in the process of their divorce, the former couple agreed to continue living together but that’s not the weirdest part of the set-up.
In her viral video, TikTok user Megan (@minimeyer2.0) explained why she and her former partner decided to continue living together post-separation.
They revealed that co-parenting their daughter was the main reason behind their unusual decision.
The pair also explained that living together in one house was helping them save money.
But what really caught people’s attention was the fact that the woman’s new man is also living under the same roof.
Megan, who welcomed a son with her new partner, detailed the story behind how they met in a video.
And to her followers surprise, it turns out she has a longer history with her new man than her first husband.
It turns out Megan first met her now fiance when she was 14-years-old.
She described how they were “instant best friends” and “inseparable for years” before starting an on-and-off-again relationship at 17.
When her fiance decided to move away and join the military, Megan downloaded a dating app and was married to her now ex within a month and a half.
However, her childhood boyfriend returned home from basic training hoping to rekindle things.
“Clearly that’s not where my head was at,” Megan explained, revealing that her boyfriend was “not super stoked” to hear about her new beau.
She said that her former boyfriend had never communicated that he wanted to start a life together.
The pair decided to distanced themselves, eventually going no contact.
Megan and her ex were married for two years when she got pregnant with their daughter and they moved to Tennessee.
However, two years later, in October 2023, they decided to move back to Megan’s home state of California.
THERE are an increasing amount of blended families making it work around the world, with some of them even taking that extra step and living together.
And in a post on the Supernanny website, clinical psychologist Dr Victoria Samuel has revealed her three of her top tips to make a blended family work and to avoid common blended family pitfalls.
Prepare for intense feelings
“For a new blended family to be formed, a breakdown of an original family must happen, so it’s normal for children to experience intense and sometimes overwhelming feelings: anger, disappointment, sadness, grief, guilt, worry and insecurity,” she said.
“When parents remarry or move in with a new partner who has children from a pre-existing marriage, a child faces further threats to his sense of stability.”
To help this process, ensure you accept and listen to all your children’s feelings “without judgement or suggesting immediate solutions”, and “convey an acceptance of their experiences with concern and empathy”.
Agree parenting roles
“It’s absolutely crucial to show a united front,” Dr Victoria said.
“The younger family members need to know that rules will be consistently and fairly applied, by both adults, to all children in the family.”
In a bid to put across a “consistent approach”, take the time to “openly discuss your parenting values with your new partner”.
“Talk about those taken-for-granted beliefs you have about family life: what behaviour you expect and what you won’t tolerate,” she added.
Push a problem-solving approach
“A great way of avoiding simmering resentment is to arrange regular family meetings,” Dr Victoria suggested.
“Take it in turns to chair the meeting and avoid interruptions and shouting with the pass the stone technique: to be allowed to talk at the meeting, the ‘stone’ (a pen or apple or whatever you have to hand!) has to be in the speaker’s hands.
“There is only one stone, so only one person talks at once.”
The couple had also agreed that their marriage wasn’t working out and filed for divorce.
While her ex stayed behind in Tennessee to sell their house, Megan took their daughter and moved to her hometown.
She reached out to her former flame for help finding a job and within a month they had gotten back together.
And that wasn’t the only sudden development as the pair found out they were expecting their son.
Panicking about finances and breaking the news to her ex, Megan began considering moving elsewhere.
So she was delighted when her ex suggested they move somewhere cheaper as he couldn’t find a job in California.
Megan eventually told her ex about her pregnancy over the phone as they planned their move to South Carolina.
She said that it understandably took him a while to wrap his head around, originally keeping his distance from her new partner when they moved in early 2024.
However, the two men eventually grew closer, with Megan commenting on how they developed a “friendly dynamic.”
But both Megan and her ex continued to struggle with the cost of living and eventually came up with a unique compromise.
They decided to live together as one big blended family and within a few months had pulled off the “outlandish” dream.
And while the set-up works for them, and especially their daughter, not everyone is so understanding.
“This is a crazy dynamic,” wrote one confused viewer.
“What!? I had to replay to make sure I heard correctly,” said another follower.
“Cackling because this could nevaaaaa be me but honestly, how fun,” commented a third person.
