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Two parents decided to part ways amicably, refusing to go through a custody battle and instead coming to an agreement themselves – and so far, it’s working out great.
On June 8, Courtany Dobson exposed an intimate aspect of her life now that she and her former partner, John, are co-parents and exes. Next to a carousel of message screenshots, Dobson wrote: “We didn’t go to court. We didn’t let strangers decide when our kids could see one another. We don’t do child support. We pick up the slack when the other parent needs it. We help each other out.”
“Most importantly, our kids are thriving, and we give them our absolute all,” she continued.
Text messages between the former pair – who split up four years ago, according to People – proved they were more than amicable.
The first screenshot showed Dobson telling John she was nervous driving somewhere with their 11-year-old daughter, Harleigh. “Well, just keep your phone on you. What’s the address?” John replied, before adding: “The things we will do for our kids.”
Next, John’s question of whether he can drop Harleigh and their six-year-old son, Hudson, off at Dobson’s was highlighted.
“That’s pretty awesome, let’s go ahead and get them signed up,” another of John’s messages to Dobson read, followed by a message of encouragement: “Smartest thing to do is be on your phone. Nobody will bother you.”
In the next slide, Dobson asked John to pay her for half of Harleigh and Hudson’s expenses. John then responded to let her know that he’d sent the money.
In the clip, the two exchanged some light-hearted comments, kindly asked for each other’s availability, and shared sweet moments from their time with the kids. One particularly heartwarming comment came from John, in which he texted Dobson wishing her a “Happy Mother’s Day.”
Speaking to People, Dobson admitted that she and John will occasionally spend time together, depending on the situation. However, they will always sit together for school events. “We were able to throw both kids’ birthday parties together, and let me just say our kids will forever cherish us both being there on their birthdays,” she noted.
Dobson also confessed she had been the one to refuse a court custody agreement for financial support. When the couple divorced, she just “wanted out.” Now, they’ve reached a healthy place in their relationship where they can be supportive and speak to each other.
“Our words to each other have changed drastically over the years. We used to never even be able to have conversations but now it’s much different,” Dobson told the outlet. “We were definitely not friendly like this after our divorce. It took a while to get to this point.”
She added: “If you were to ask our kids, though, they would say we’ve always been nice to each other because we never showed them that side of us.”
The Independent has contacted Dobson for a comment.
