Mom shares the mentally taxing experience of co-parenting with an ex and it resonates with many

Breaking up with your partner is hard and adding children to that equation makes it an even more complicated situation to navigate. This scenario often causes people to go into co-parenting and be around individuals who don't bring out the best in them. Maia Knight (@maiaknight) shared her own struggles with it in her recent video. She discussed how this experience has changed the way she lives her life and is impacting her mental health. Through everything, the biggest priority is her kids. In this difficult experience, she is leaning on people who are in the same boat.

Knight captioned the video, "I’m hopeful that life will get better and easier, but this s**t is hard. Love you guys and I’m so thankful for you." She begins the video by sharing how she is going through the worst experience of her life while co-parenting with an ex. The mother poured her heart out, explaining to the viewers how co-parenting feels like being stuck in a toxic relationship that one wants to leave. “Like, imagine the worst relationship you've ever had—the worst breakup you've ever had," she said, "Normally you just wouldn't have to see that person ever again, like yeah, it sucked and you dealt with it and you got through it and now you're moving on with your life." Unfortunately, this cannot happen when one has to co-parent with their ex. The individual has to interact with their partner, whether they like it or not, for the sake of their children.

The mother goes on to talk about how bad this is for an individual's mental health. They cannot escape a presence they know is bad for them because of their responsibilities. Her main goal through it all is to protect her children, but oftentimes she gets so exhausted that the endeavor becomes difficult. "I do not want my kids to deal with that," she said, "But there's only so much you can do, you know? I don't know." She further added how this has altered the way she lives her life. Prior to this, she was so much more open about her life on social media, but this experience has caused her to be more withdrawn.

However, she is still grateful for social media because of the people she has been able to link up with through the platform. These are people going through similar things who show up for each other to provide support. She signs off with a hopeful wish for her family: she and her partner can figure everything out for her children. The mother ends with, "It sucks and it's so hard, but it is what it is."

The comment section that resonated with her, extended their support. @user373647483 wrote a suggestion to Maia for dealing with the ex, "Document everything! Times you exchange the girls, everything they’re wearing, if you have a conversation in person, even write yourself an email." @justicebeaver00 shared how they navigated the tricky situation and commented, "It’s hard. What worked for me was removing the emotion and speaking to him like I was his HR manager. Hope this helps you."