Truly Unruly with Marcus & Jessica Trufant

My Ex-Wife Is SABOTAGING My Happy Marriage | Truly Unruly Podcast

Marcus Trufant

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0:00 | 31:17

This week, Marcus and Jessica dive into a listener email from a remarried dad whose ex-wife can't stand his new wife — despite her being an incredibly loving stepmother to the kids. What started as cold looks and sarcastic comments has escalated to near-brawls at their daughter's high school graduation. They break down the jealousy, unhealed trauma, and co-parenting chaos behind it all, and ask the real question: is she upset about the new wife, or just upset that he moved on and she hasn't?

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SPEAKER_03

You're listening to Truly Unruly with Marcus and Jessica Truefon. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to Truly Unruly with Marcus and Jessica Truffont. My name is Kel. That's Marcus.

SPEAKER_04

Hey, hey.

SPEAKER_03

That's Jessica. How are you guys doing? How are things? It's been a minute.

SPEAKER_00

I know. It's always been a minute. Things are good. They're going. You know, winding down and winding up.

SPEAKER_03

Somewhere is here, but y'all kids are out of school, right?

SPEAKER_00

Our yes, all of them will be out tomorrow. Our two youngest ones were out on Friday. But yeah. Yeah. So yeah. How about you? How are you?

SPEAKER_03

I'm good. Uh I told you guys before we started recording, I have a cluster headache that wants to turn into a migraine right now. But I know the remedy. So to you folks out there that suffer from cluster headaches and migraines like myself, drink peppermint tea. And it's working.

SPEAKER_04

What's the definition of a cluster headache? I don't know if I've heard that term.

SPEAKER_03

You know those headaches you get with are like different spots of your head. Yeah, and then sometimes like your eyes start the water and stuff like that. And it's like isolate, you get like the headache in like isolated spots. Is it contagious?

SPEAKER_04

I think I'm getting one through the screen. So here you do. Keep that shit over there. Go out.

SPEAKER_01

Keep it over here. All right.

SPEAKER_00

I've had one. I was doing this earlier. Like, hmm, can I relieve this headache? But mine's hormonal.

SPEAKER_03

Imagine having a headache like this, and it's like 108 outside.

SPEAKER_04

Gotta do it. And we're hovering around 70 and some change. I know that don't compare. Or it's probably hotter than 70.

SPEAKER_00

I think the weather lied. It's like 85. What the fuck?

SPEAKER_04

Well, we're not complaining. Of course.

SPEAKER_00

We are not. Kinda though. But not really.

SPEAKER_03

Don't do that. Alright, you guys ready to talk some some some some stuff? I got a I got a good email. I got two emails. Which one do you want to talk first? Do you first want to talk about ex-wives tripping? Or do we want to talk about your favorite topic, Marcus? Financial stuff.

SPEAKER_00

Wait a minute.

SPEAKER_03

Pick your pick.

SPEAKER_00

Ex-wives tripping? Well, what is that about?

SPEAKER_04

Let's get into that. I like that. All right, here we go. Ex-wives tripping.

SPEAKER_03

That is spicy. Here we go. Dear TrueFants, I need your help. Uh, I was married for 12 years, and my ex-wife and I have three kids. We divorced several years ago, and about two years ago, I remarried. My new wife is honestly one of the nicest people I've ever met. She treats my kids like they're her own, helps with homework, goes to their games, and has a positive influence on their lives. The problem? My ex-wife absolutely can't stand her. Uh at first it was just cold looks and sarcastic comments, then it turned into complaints about everything my wife does. If my wife buys the kids new shoes, it's a problem. If she helps with the school project, it's a problem. If she breathes in the general direction of my ex-wife, somehow, that's a problem too. Things have gotten worse when my kids started occasionally calling my wife mom. Um nobody forced them to do it. It happened naturally because she's been there for them and they love her. Uh, my wife always tells them they only have one mother and that she doesn't want anyone to excuse me. She doesn't want to replace anyone that hasn't helped. Okay. Uh I guess, okay, so what else is it?

SPEAKER_01

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_03

Uh the breaking point came after my oldest daughter's high school graduation. Oh, this is recent. Uh, we're at a reception celebration. We're at a reception celebration, celebrating, and my ex-wife got so angry that I honestly thought she was about to challenge my wife to a cage match between the dessert table and the coach. Oh shit. Uh thankfully no punches were thrown, but it was close enough that several relatives started paying attention. I want everyone to get along for the sake of the kids, but I feel stuck in the middle of a family feud that never ends. How do I help my ex-wife move forward without making things worse? Gohawks, thanks. Shit.

SPEAKER_00

Wow, this is very detailed, very uh descriptive. Um yeah. Sounds, I know. It sounds like the ex-wife is having a hard time and really uh possibly mad and feels threatened. And at some point you kind of ask, why? Why are you threatened by another woman who is not the biological mother of the kids? Why are you threatened by this woman? That like just bottom line, why are you acting? Why are you letting somebody else pull you out of character? And what are you complaining about? What's the problem about her buying your children's? What is she supposed to do? I bet the the ex would be complaining if the woman wasn't buying the children things. So it's like, ah shut up. It's like, um, but it's it's it's I why are you so mad? Why are you so mad? Ask yourself that. Really think deep. Why are you so mad that this is happening? Is it because you can't control it? Can't have your hand in it? Like, what is it?

SPEAKER_04

All of the above. Uh you're mad, you're, you're, you're angry, you're probably sad, you're hurt, you're disappointed. Um, even I think it said in the email, fear um of being replaced, or she don't want nobody else calling her mom, et cetera, et cetera. So it's all of that stuff bottled up in one, which on one hand potentially um to be expected from um a time. Well, they've been divorced for Hella, though, I think is whether that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00

Man, say this is this is getting a lot of things.

SPEAKER_04

Right, but still in general, the the trauma could feel fresh to her. It's not an excuse. I'm just trying to, I guess, kind of understand. Um uh, but yeah, she she needs to find a way to take a step back and come out of this um spiral that she's in. That's all I can say it is. And I know I don't want to diminish um, I guess, the love for your kids and all that kind of stuff, but she's putting herself in front of everyone. Yes. Right? Her own happiness and fears and um jealousy that she can't be with the kids 100% of the time. And like I said, some of that stuff is valid, but you gotta step back. This is what happens when you go through a divorce.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_04

Right? Uh things are not the same. And she gotta figure that out. She gotta find a way to figure that out and take a step back and be an adult, right? And and I'm gonna give her a short pass. I don't know how long they've been um divorced, but I guess in the beginning, that's the human kind of response. I'm upset, I'm angry, I'm jealous. I like I don't want nobody taking my spot. But now, I mean, I don't know how many years it's been that you gotta think about the kids. If you are really gonna be about your kids, you gotta make it work.

SPEAKER_00

Well, when you start to impact other people, it's a problem. And I the problem is I don't think that person is aware that they're jealous, upset, angry. Because when once you realize that why? Then you start to go, why? Then you figure it out, then you do something about it. And another thing, if she is feeling all these types of ways, communicate it. If you're feeling hurt by something, or if you are feeling just have a conversation with your kids. I know you're calling, and and you know, uh the the daughter's high school graduation. I don't know how old the kids are, but um you can say that you are calling this this this woman mom, and I'm uncomfortable with it. But if that's what you guys choose to do, that is your choice. But again, mom is just it's just a word. Um, obviously, it's a title that you can apply to people who aren't your mom, but they know who their mother is. They're not going to all of a sudden change their spots and become this woman's uh kids. She has her own. You think she's gonna put them before? Yeah, right. So, anyways, I mean it's like, let's put it into perspective here.

SPEAKER_04

Um, how old are the kids? I know you say one.

SPEAKER_03

Doesn't it say it just it doesn't say it just says he says we divorced several years ago, so several to me, that's more than five. Uh one kid just graduated high school.

SPEAKER_00

Right. There's one, there's a couple, there's a few.

SPEAKER_04

So as far as going to the kids in the communication, yeah, on one hand, but at a certain age, I don't think it's fair to put them in a position to where they could be uncomfortable just because the woman's uncomfortable, right? She can maybe go to the wife or go to the dad and be like, okay, I'm uncomfortable with the kids calling her mom, but if the kids are feeling that way, she shouldn't make them feel uncomfortable about that.

SPEAKER_00

No, it's not about making them feel uncomfortable. It's just because she is uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_04

So what? That's not for her to put that on the kids.

SPEAKER_00

You are right about that. And so I was thinking if she opened, communicated openly and said that is your choice, and I will accept it, and I eventually will be okay with it, especially if the kids are older, you have that conversation. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_04

Period of age, and that's what I mean. If they're younger, do not have that conversation.

SPEAKER_00

But if they're older, fuck yeah, I'm gonna say that to my kids. And I'm gonna tell them I'm uncomfortable as fuck. But at the same time, I know my place, I know who I am to you guys.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_00

That's it. You should be able to talk openly about those things. Because she's gonna go to them and be like, guess what? I don't like that. And they're gonna be like, What?

SPEAKER_04

Well, there's some kids that could be sensitive and be like, Oh man, I think I'm hurting mom's feelings. So I know I love the new woman. Like, I like my new mom too. So what do I do now? Type of energy.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I mean, I don't know. I guess it's up to the um individual. I, me, I am pretty open. So I would probably share that with my kids and tell them that I am working on it. I don't know. Instead of exploding and displacing and misplacing all of the people.

SPEAKER_04

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00

You could do that, uh you could do that too. But what are they gonna say to you? I wonder what they would say. Sorry, that we'll tell the kids no.

SPEAKER_03

You know what I think this is a classic case of? I mean, granted it's just an email, we don't have more details, but I think this is a classic detail of, or a classic example of, excuse me, of he's happy and I'm not sure. I don't think it sounds like she doesn't even I don't it doesn't sound like the mom has a dude. That's right, along with a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00

You would be minding your fucking business. You would be minding your goddamn business.

SPEAKER_02

You would be minding your business. That's exactly it. And so she has nothing else to occupy her fucking time.

SPEAKER_00

You'd be like, oh, she's your mom. Well, this is about to be your dad.

SPEAKER_03

Something. But like, I think that's what this is a classic case of. Of I remember, here's an example. I remember a call, old colleague of mine had gotten divorced from her ex-husband. They were divorced for years, right? He remarried, whatever. And I remember her having a heart-to-heart with me one time, and she said this to me, and I looked at her and I was like, ooh, you need to go talk to a therapist, sweetie, not me. She said, I didn't like I hated being married to him, but why does he get to be happy and I'm not? And I was like, Ooh, Lord. You know what?

SPEAKER_00

That's a legit question coming from a broken person. Like, that's legit. Like when you're in that space, you do ask those questions. You do. It's just natural.

SPEAKER_04

And that's why I was saying earlier, like, not that I'm giving her a pass, but I understand where somebody like that could be. Right. That's in that space. You're spiraling out. It's a lot of stuff going on, and um, it's not a good feeling, right? It's to feel like you're being replaced on the mother front and as the ex-wife, right? That's a lot to uh right.

SPEAKER_00

But for me, that would inspire me to just get some business of my own.

SPEAKER_04

And not everybody's built like that to start with, right? And you can grow into that and you go through your trauma and all the stuff, or your crash out and all that, and then you figure it out.

SPEAKER_00

Or I would be like, okay, this woman is not a bad woman. Like, I could understand. I don't know. I don't know how this woman. Well, he said that she treats them so kind. So that's why I'm like, why are you so mad and threatened? I don't know. Uh, but I do understand when you hear a child calls, even if your teenager is calling somebody mom, you know, I would be taking aback. And then I would be able to.

SPEAKER_04

She don't tell them don't do it.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, I would have to get into my feelings, understand why I am feeling the way I feel, and that's because I am mad, I am unhappy myself, I am broken, I don't have any business to mind. Um, I have not been able to release the past. That's another thing. Why are you tethered to that past like that? Unfucking tether that shit. I don't even like you cannot move forward when you're tethered to the past. Hello? So it's just get out of here. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03

No, I I thought I agree a hundred and ten percent. It's just I don't know. It sounds like two with this divorce when they got divorced. I'm not gonna sit here and try to blame it on her and say that the husband was a level-headed one because you don't you always say you don't know what goes on in the someone's household behind closed doors because he could have been doing whatever. But I don't know. I'm leaning towards the the the ex-wife here. Seems like the common denominator is that she's the problem. Might be the reason why she's possibly single now and ain't got no man and can't mind no business, and got ain't got no business to mind. And that sounds like uh her problem. You never know. Yeah, you never know, but I don't think she's gotten fully healed from her divorce to be freaking out like this.

SPEAKER_00

And jealousy and all of that kind of can make you act out of character. It can. The crimes of passion and all that fucking shit, it can make you act out of character, and she's just doing it on a like a basic, uncalled for level.

SPEAKER_03

But I just oh go ahead, Marcus.

SPEAKER_04

No, I'm just saying I'm not like I'm I'm a teen woman, but is this like a uh woman? Yeah, but this this is kind of like a basic type of thing, like that we see all the time. I know. Fuck, why? I mean, it's in the movies, it's just a part of the game, right? Okay, I'm getting a divorce, there's a new woman, and not saying it can't be the other way, of course, for a man, but this is a lot, and maybe it's just a stereotype. Uh-huh. Crash out in these types of situations. And I mean, I was gonna say it was a woman thing, but I don't want to get uh that's crime accounts. They just express it differently, but the picture has been painted that this is a woman type of thing that's coming back after things are finished. Yeah, and I haven't had enough misery, so I gotta give some back and make sure that this dude is unhappy.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And they say the woman, the other woman that's happy, and she's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, I wasn't happy, so fuck that. I'm still not happy, so you're not gonna be either.

SPEAKER_03

No, there's proof of this too now. There's proof of this being a woman thing. Because lifetime made a career. Listen, lifetime made a career making movies out of situations like this. Let's keep it open. That's what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00

Lifetime made movies out of uh painting women to be fucking unhinged, crazy people.

SPEAKER_04

They've done the research, though.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_00

How dare you guys dedicate a whole network?

SPEAKER_03

Like a whole network to women crashing the fuck out. Like women crashing it a buck. Let's keep it a buck here.

SPEAKER_00

But I don't know. I feel bad because you've gotta become aware of your behavior in order for you to change it. And clearly there's no awareness behind what she's doing and why she is doing it. It's just feeling and crash out. So there's nothing in between, there's no thought, just feeling crash out. So um, I mean, good luck.

SPEAKER_04

She needs some help, she needs somebody to talk to and um to get her thinking um differently, just give her some different options, right? But again, it's not easy. So I I understand where she's at from doing my research from the Lifetime movies, like we just talked about. But um we've seen this, so we're not surprised, but we know that it's easier said than done, right? You know, relationships could uh leave scars in many ways. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Now, let's not get it twisted. Dudes be tripping too. We all know some very sensitive dudes, so there's that's I want to.

SPEAKER_00

Excuse me, we're hearing about dudes murdering. It's an emotion in these crimes of passion, not activity.

SPEAKER_04

Men should be able to express their emotions without being called sassy and soft. There's nothing sensitive and all this stuff.

SPEAKER_03

But there's nothing negative about the word sensitive. That's the that's the way that you're translating the word sensitivity.

SPEAKER_04

Oh fair.

SPEAKER_03

I've been saying though.

SPEAKER_02

Like what the negative about.

SPEAKER_00

You know what we're talking about. You put a little twang on the two thoughts on it.

SPEAKER_04

You put a little something on it, yeah. But you got these guys out here sensitive, so I was like, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, like Ralph Tresvan said, come on. You need a man with sense.

SPEAKER_04

But that's why, like, yeah, the albums and stuff didn't carry over like they were supposed to, his solo career when you compare him to Bobby and such. Like, all the sensitivity and stuff like that. It really wasn't hitting.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, let's do that comparison. Look at Bobby now because he wasn't sensitive. It's my prerogative. Look at you, look at look at him now on stage. But he lived in the manual fucking ghost circles around him.

SPEAKER_04

Bobby got Whitney. Bobby was living for the sits.

SPEAKER_00

Are we celebrating that or celebrating it for a time?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, man. Shout out to the people, man. Shout out to Bobby, shout out to Whitney. Remember, Whitney was the one that got Bobby on that, on that on that part.

SPEAKER_04

Telephone man, Bobby. On the staff.

SPEAKER_03

You got him on that shit. Uh, real quick, do uh what do we think? Like, I want to go back to the part of the mom crashing out, but like the kids witnessing all this, especially like the older kid, like the oldest kid that's in high school, that just graduated high school. That's 18, that's an adult, right?

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Do you think like with the kids? I I don't know how old the other two kids are. I assume they might probably are middle schoolers, maybe one or two might be in high school. But right, do you think this slightly might change their perspective on their mom? Of like, yo, you're bugging. Like this lady's hella good to us. Why are you like, why are you tripping? And then it's almost like they start leading towards the other lady. So then the mom starts crashing out more because the mom in her head is like, I lost my family, or I'm losing my family. This woman took my family. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00

Like, yes. I think it depends on the kid. I think there are, you know, there are systems and different types of connections and relationships with mother and to each child. And so I think for the for the most part, if the child can see it and really understand it and not be swayed by their mother, they will see her very clearly. And it will drive them the other way. Lots of resentment. She doesn't even realize she's about to get slapped in the face with all that. But then there are maybe one kid that is very sensitive, like Marcus was explaining, and that will um uh come to her defense and not realize her behavior until much later, or maybe not even at all. Right. So, but there are consequences for that type of behavior, and it will be reflected in one, two, or possibly all of her kids. Not a good idea. You're not considering, like Marcus said, this person is not considering their kids when you're crashing out in front, like what what message are you sending? And you got to be careful because you also don't want anything like some some restraining, or you don't want to get, you don't want to go there, you don't want to crash out to that point, then you're really fucked. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Fair, fair. Yeah, I knew a guy like that here in Vegas with his extra.

SPEAKER_04

I want to hear the story.

SPEAKER_00

What crashing out what? Which place?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, well, this this happened at kids baseball. Okay. I'm coaching. I've heard of some of the things. Doing what I do as a parent, doing my thing. You know what I'm saying? Kids playing, my kid, everyone's playing, but we're playing baseball, right? And I guess the ex-wife didn't like the new girlfriend because the new girlfriend, the new girlfriend was actually the one that was kind of the trip. And they ended up putting a restraining order on the new girlfriend so she couldn't show up to any of the baseball games. She couldn't come within a certain amount of feet. So I remember asking, like, oh, such and such isn't here. And they're like, oh, well, yeah, she can't, cuz. But then they had ended up getting to a place where I'll shit you not, it was one game, and I was like, I'm looking, I'm like, oh, they're both here. So I went and talked to the ex-wife after the game, and she's like, Yeah, we had a nice come to Jesus, and we, you know, da da da. We had a talk, and I was I took the restraining order off, and we can be civilized now, blah, blah, blah, blah.

SPEAKER_00

See?

SPEAKER_03

Mind you, these were two Cuban women that got into fisticuffs that actually fought. That's how far this got.

SPEAKER_00

But see, people to get it out of restraining orders and you know these are like 50-year-olds with kindergartners fighting.

SPEAKER_04

It don't matter what age, bro.

SPEAKER_00

I have seen a lot of crashes out between wife and ex. I have seen some crashes. I have seen some. Um and wife ex-girlfriend.

SPEAKER_04

It's part of the game, man. It's part of the dynamic, man. There's there's these deep feelings involved. So I like to see that the crash out could happen. You can come to fisticuffs and all this kind of stuff, but then you guys come back together. Not that I like that part, but I'm talking about the end. Okay. This is the moral of the story, right? You know, we went through all this and now we're together, and now we're gonna do the co-parenting thing properly, and we're gonna make this thing happen.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04

Not that it's a good thing.

SPEAKER_00

I'm not saying it's good, but so let's get a let's get a ring, a cage, let's fight it out. I like it. And then let's let's work it out.

SPEAKER_04

Sometimes. That's the process for some.

SPEAKER_03

So the other part is I I'm thinking from the the the ex-wife's point of view, because you know, we're putting a lot on her for just freaking out. And like I said, we've gotten the story just from one side, and it's it, and it's from the you know, the ex-husband or whatever. There's this part of me that feels like this new, the new woman he's with, might be a the woman that he might have been cheating on his wife with, his ex-wife with, and ended up getting with her and marrying her. Because no one just I feel like no one just freaks for her benefit of the doubt. No one just freaks out like that, like how she is.

SPEAKER_00

True. Um people do freak out.

SPEAKER_04

I disagree.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, people do freak out for less. I disagree, but but there might be some fuckery in that way, and that's what I said. That's makes the wound even more the the assault in the wound, the wound is open. I wasn't enough, and the loop isn't closed, so yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I agree. There's there's probably something there, but again, that still doesn't excuse me.

SPEAKER_00

But that also means that everything that's going on. On top of it, so good luck to the new woman.

SPEAKER_04

Is he a loser or did he again? We don't know the backstory.

SPEAKER_00

I don't know, but you cheat once, uh, and then you marry her. Chances are he was cheating.

SPEAKER_04

Chances are there's always two sides, man.

SPEAKER_03

So well, I just wanted to throw that hypothetical out there. Who knows? But these people are all fucking crazy. Uh, what do you guys want to leave advice with for this man to tell his ex-wife so they can get to the other side? What is your what is your c your closing closing words and your advice for this man?

SPEAKER_00

I don't know. Just just continue to do what you're doing and let her crash out and show like they were saying that family members were starting to take note. Continue. Let her destroy herself, and you continue to walk forward with your uh current wife doing what you're doing. I wouldn't stop anything or do anything because she is freaking. That's her burden to carry, it's not theirs.

SPEAKER_04

Um, where I'm at with it, the the my advice for this man would be to have a heart to heart, even though I mean it might not resonate the first day, second day, or third day.

SPEAKER_00

The possible cheating man have a heart to heart, even if it's possible cheating.

SPEAKER_04

What's done is done, and they're no longer together. Tell this woman I don't hate you. Um I would appreciate, well, I want you to be in the kids' lives, so let's find a way to come to a common ground, right? I know this hurts and this is nasty and all this kind of stuff. The situation is what it is, but we haven't been married for I don't know how long, so let's get to a point to where we could do better for the kids.

SPEAKER_00

And what can I do to support better support your crash out?

SPEAKER_04

I wish you the best. Godspeed. Damn. In the conversation.

SPEAKER_03

My my my my little piece of advice. Nigga, run, run, run, nigga, get away from that bitch. That bitch crazy.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And for the crazy wife, if she keeps fucking with you.

SPEAKER_04

Restraint or I would two piece.

SPEAKER_03

Hey, he well, that that's a conversation he needs to have with the city.

SPEAKER_00

And either that's verbally, or like we said, get the cage, but you're gonna have to stand up for yourself.

SPEAKER_04

But the dude needs to have a conversation.

SPEAKER_00

Well, hopefully, you know, like if the dude steps in, but if not, hard to hard, then you have to take matters into your own.

SPEAKER_04

Then give her some game and just be like, yeah, this is what it is.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

All right. Good stuff, y'all. Marcus Chufon, Jessica True Fon. My name is Kel. Uh, good episode, good advice. Live in a strange world. Uh bitches be tripping. Uh, you can follow us on all things social at truly unruly underscore podcasts, and you can send us your emails at truly unrulypodcast at gmail.com. Of course, like and subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform. Catch the visual over on YouTube. Cool. Till next time, y'all.

SPEAKER_01

Peace and much love.