Melissa Etheridge’s ex, Tammy Lynn Michaels, is blogging again. She’s previously penned entries to her blog about how Melissa has left her sick, broke and nearly homeless, but has since deleted some of those entries. Etheridge claims to pay Michaels $2,000 a month in cash along with providing for all the bills, but Michaels says that’s not enough to get by and that she should be entitled to “alimony, child support and division of the assets.” Her lawyer says she is entitled live in the same manner she was accustomed to, which amounts to $60,000 a month under California law Melissa and Tammy were never married under Prop 8 in California but they did have a huge wedding/commitment ceremony in 2003. They were together for nine years and have two children together, a twin boy and girl who are about to turn four. Michaels claims to have given up a lucrative television career to become a stay-at-home mom to their children, along with helping raise Etheridge’s two older children from her relationship with Julie Cypher, Bailey Jean, 13, and Beckett, 12.
Now Michaels is blogging again, and while it’s hard to decipher her writing it’s clear that she’s broke, scared, hurt and unsure how she’s going to make ends meet. She says that she can’t really get a job because she can only work from 8:30 – 1:45 while the twins are in school. Michaels’ brother is living with her and it sounds like he’s helping out, although she still can’t afford to even pay for lunch at times. Here’s some of what she wrote.
when i went to get cash
just last week
for the three of us to eat
nothingtoday i was shopping for birthday decor
4th next sunday!
little cash for lunch?
nope- not enough funds
no food“pays all her bills”
not entirely truemy medical bills?
yes- insurance covers it all
for a small monthly fee
the house? i didn’t pick it out
they did
the kids’ education?
she chose the private schooling
i’m fine if they’re in public…and i don’t think i know what love is, or a promise. and romance? smoke and mirrors, ladies!!! smoke and mirrors! don’t fall for it! it’s all a line up for bull that’ll leave you with saggy boobs and stretch marks in the end.
and to be honest?
what the f*ck is marriage all about anyway? i thought i did everything i was supposed to do. support support support. love family, be there, love, right? all for naught or have i still everything to learn about love? and that was nothing? or the letting go of this is THEE LESSON of loving. argh.
someone told me that chemotherapy just messes with a brain chemistry, changes the brain, the person, and makes them just in general different. they might b meaner, or illogical, often imbalanced, or whatever. but they just don’t come out the same. hardly ever, i am told. and they can’t help it. it just is.
and i think about that alot too…
someone asked about getting a job. okay. well.let’s talkaboutthisheregirlfriend…… i have “help” until 2 pm a lot. i can’t tell my bosses that i can work each day until between the hours of 830 and 145. tv hours aren’t like that, waitressing ours aren’t like that sadly…. strippers hours aren’t like that, whores’ hours aren’t like that, secretary hours’ aren’t like that, starbucks’ jobs aren’t like that… crossed my mind this morning to get a paper route, though. that’s a quick job, but i bet a lot has changed since i was 11. but thank goodness i was able to go home that day and eat- not like in haiti where you eat dirt cookies. while i drove, i spit brown stomach bile into my cup, and rinsed with water. then when i got home i simply ate a bagel. it’s not really great for my stomach to sit empty right now. like being pregnant, but no baby inside. 🙂 but then my friend and i laughed… cuz once i am able to get my twins so set and solid and older, THEN there’s jobs for me, and i’ll be open.
[From HollywoodFarmGirl.Blogspot.com via Radar Online]
It’s really cheap of Etheridge not to provide to Michaels. She was married to her for seven years, they had two kids together, and Etheridge needs to make sure that Michaels can afford to support their children. Michaels is not making herself into a sympathetic figure by blogging, though. I can’t even tell in that last paragraph above if she’s saying she tried a paper route recently and it made her sick or if she used to feel sick and need to spit in a cup when she did it as a kid. It’s just confusing and frankly comes across as whiny. She has every right to whine of course, but she’s not making a great case for herself despite her very stark reality.
Etheridge recently told People Magazine that she’s ready to date again and that her kids can “can see the reasons that people aren’t together… and understand that it’s more peaceful and happier” now that she and Michaels are apart. In response, Michaels blogged that Etheridge should make her private actions match what she’s telling the media about how she’s striving for peace and harmony. At least that’s what I think she was saying.
She looks like a slightly older Hillary Duff.
I am curious how this plays out in the Gay Marriage debate. Legally, they weren’t married, but if they were a straight couple they definitely would have been married in CA and Michaels would be entitled to half of everything.
I don’t have any particular reason to say she is lying, but also, I have no reason to believe only herside of the story. People may wonder, is it possible to outright lie, or even exaggerate by that much?
I don’t know about her, but I have seen the ex-wife of my best friend do just that, telling people she can’t feed her children while my friend was paying a few grant a month in maintenance, school fees, mortgage etc etc.
Yeah, I’m sure she is completely destitute. Living in a nice house and kids go to private schools. I’m so sad for her right now…..what happened to people saving money ? Am I old fashioned. ?
Yes, ME should be paying a reasonable amount of support for the children. But since when is a healthy adult unable to work to support herself? Does she think she is the only woman to find herself single and struggling to balance children and work? Of course she can get a job. Get that paper route. Sell Avon. Heck, write a tell all book…there are ways to make things work; sometimes you just have to be creative.
Sorry, can’t buy into this “woe is me” crap. If she’s getting $2K a month and her brother is living with her to help out, I imagine she has enough money to eat. Maybe not filet mignon or Chilean sea bass, but you know what? She can clip coupons and look for bargains just like so many of us do every week.
I guess I wonder how the rest of us do it. By no means is Ethridge in the right…she sounds pretty cruel to not take care of her kids…but again, this is one sided. So many women work and take care of their kids. So many of us. It’s obnoxious for her to insinuate that there’s no way that she can do the same.
I don’t think she sounds whiny. I think she is just expressing herself. I am SURE Melissa is going to get a whole CD out of this so why can’t Tammy blog??
Maybe she can get a few bucks by selling her computer.
$2,000 a month in support plus covering all the bills seems fair to me. She’s just going to have to accept that the $60,000 a month lifestyle is no more. There are some people that make it work for much less than $2,000 a month. How about she help herself out and get a job? I’m sorry but I can’t feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t try to help themselves.
To me, this has little to do with the “gay thing” since so many “striaght” relationships play out the same way in “Celebrityville”. Having said that, Etheridge is certainly playing her part as the heartless male.
sorry but if you didn’t live the high life you would be used to living like the rest of us here on Earth…$2000 a month for expenses since all your bills are being paid…come on. Go sell your crzay to people who care
I don’t know but something is off with her “whinings”. May be it’s “I can’t get work because I only have help till 14.30”. Well, get help that stays the whole day, there are lots of women with kids that age who do work, it’s not as impossible as she’s trying to make it. Looks like she’s just not interested in being independent woman,probably never was. I think she was really happy being housewife and is strugling to come to terms with the fact that she can’t afford it anymore.
Why can’t she work? A lot of single moms work!
Oh man, 2k after bills?! That’s terrible! How could anyone afford to eat on that?!
She really needs to let go of this negative energy and try to find a way to not be bitter for the sake of her children. I also think she comes across as really manipulative and vindictive with her blog. Are we really supposed to shed a tear for this chick because she’s no longer living the 60K month lifestyle? There are plenty of part-time jobs she could get. Our office admin works 9-2 every day, with flex time as she needs it because of her child’s schedule.
I am sorry these two feel anger and bitterness towards eachother. When they got together, ME was still pretty hung up on Julie Cypher and it seemed that the younger, blonder Tammy Lynn Michaels was a good rebound for her. But then ME got breast cancer and from what was shown in the media, TLM really seemed to be a very supportive and comforting partner to Melissa. I can’t blame TLM for feeling hurt and blindsided but I think she needs to take a little more control of her life. She should sell whatever house she is in, and move back to the midwest with her children. It sounds like she has a family who loves and supports her and could help her with her children. She could send them to a good public school, and maybe try teaching acting in a middle or high school. She needs a new perspective besides being bitter and angry, and as long as ME controls her finances, she will not find the autonomy that she needs to get through this. I do think that ME needs to pay her money each month because she agreed to have children with TLM, but 60,000 a month seems outrageous. Ten thousand a month seems more reasonable. That is 120,000 a year and a good sum of money for anybody. It seems that TLM is using their children to manipulate ME into giving her more money rather than ME being cheap and ignoring her responsibilities.
Before I had my fiancee’ I made about $2000 a month. I still got child support, but that didn’t cover the cost of daycare. I made ends meet, not using food stamps either. I know the cost of living in California is WAY higher than here in LA, but if I can make a couple grand a month waiting tables, then this chick can do it too. If she can’t afford food, then how the hell can she afford wifi?
Neither one strikes me as a particularly sympathetic character.
This sounds like a typical divorce situation. One spouse wants to move on, the other is left behind. They co-habitated, procreated, lived as a married couple…
These are very rich people and perhaps 60K per month is reasonable (in their world).
It seems like divorce makes people act so righteous and petty.
Pay the money, shut the story down, move on with your lives…
I feel bad to a point. But bitch get a job or some day care or something. Quit acting like you the only single mom to roam this planet. Jesus.
Enough already. I do sympathize with Tammy to a certain point but the whining and complaining really need to stop. I was a single mom with two kids – my husband left me destitute for REAL – I found out after he left that he had defaulted on the mortage and stopped paying all the bills. So I had to find a new place to live, a new set of wheels – everything. I had to find a better paying job to support myself and the kids. It was hard, but I did it. This chick needs to stop making excuses and get out there and start fending for herself. Enough with the victim role playing – be a strong woman and take care of yourself!
Tammy is referring to a paper route she had when she was a child. She’s an extremely hard-working woman who is a very gifted actress, far more so than ME’s ‘talent.’.
For those of you who watch ‘Glee,’ its creator first did ‘Popular’ from 1999-2001, of which Tammy was the standout star. You can get it on Netflix. It’s a fantastic show, I think superior to ‘Glee,’ much sharper and funnier.
Tammy then met ME and became a stay at home wife and
mom: she helped raise ME’s other 2 children, and then gave birth to the twins. She cared faithfully for ME during MEs grim battle with cancer She’s a common sense woman who wrote on her blog for years before ME’s abandonment. I’ve been reading her blog all along so when I see anyone say she’s whining, yes, it gets to me. Tammy’s the last person to live the ‘high life’ and if she says she’s going hungry, I believe her. Something is very wrong in the way she’s being treated. The reference to ‘spitting brown into a cup’ is very worrisome as she’s developed bleeding ulcers from this stress. I’m amazed at those of you who are like ‘get a job.’. She is trying and I’m sure she will. But do you not think she deserves reasonable support until she does? If ME were the ex-man instead of the ex-woman, would you not expect ME to provide Tammy with reasonable support for so many years together?
Do you think it’s necessarily simple for someone who hasn’t acted in 9 years and who is now in her mid-30s to just run out and start supporting herself? Acting is all she knows, for now at least, as she was a waitress while she sought acting jobs 12+ years ago. I’m Totally Team Tammy and I know she and her children will be fine – but I do not think she should have to suffer like this in the meantime when her ex is incredibly wealthy.
What is this bitch eating that 2K a month and all expenses paid is insufficient? I make 3K a year, that pays all my bills, AND i eat. Three squares a day.
The issue is she can’t eat. The issue is she wants MORE. That is a different issue.
She sounds a little mentally off to me – anyone else?
@shelley Oh BS! 2k extra a month after bills are paid is more than enough!
@Shelley-Nobody made her give up her life for someone else. As an adult, you have to responsible for the choices you make in life. Nobody’s saying it doesn’t suck to go through a break-up or a divorce especially when there are kids involved but there’s a point where you just have to “woman up” and move on. Being bitter and whiny is not only counter-productive, it’s unfair to the children who bear witness to the mudslinging.
Also, keep in mind that as someone who is a fan of Tammy Michaels, you might not be the most objective commenter.
damn! melissa’s kids with julie are already teens. man, i remember like it was yesterday when they were all on the cover of rolling stone. f*ck i’m getting old. 🙁
this money crap is some straight up bullsh*t.
i mean this is some ghetto baby-daddy type mess.
i thought someone with her dough would be above this type of nonsense.
pay her the money and stop being a douch! she stuck with you through kemo for f*cks sake! throw her a 7-figure settlement and be done with it. it’s not like you can’t afford it.
cheapskate. 🙁
@RHONYC Tell me about it and I’m only 26!
‘my medical bills?
yes- insurance covers it all
for a small monthly fee
the house? i didn’t pick it out
they did
the kids’ education?
she chose the private schooling
i’m fine if they’re in public’
Does she realize there are people who can’t afford preschool for their kids (hers are pre-school age), don’t have help until 2pm or health insurance?
There are alot of options out there. I work from home b/c daycare is so expensive. If Tammy got back into acting she could then afford to hire a nanny to be on set with her or to watch her kids.
I’d be interested to see why ME isn’t paying more or if is b/c she’s paying ALL the bills. To me it sounds like Tammy would rather get the cash instead of ME paying for pre-school, mortgage, etc. I can understand that but she should say that and not that she’s destitute. Alot of people have it alot worse than her and it is hard to have sympathy for someone who has a home, daycare and insurance.
2k/mo is less than 70$ a day. Can you feed twins, 2 preteens and an adult on that? Sure – with Ramon noodles. Does she buy her toilet paper and shaving cream? Because that adds up. You give your trust to someone, have babies with someone, stay at home and raise children while depending on someone – for almost a decade – and then they leave you and give you less than what they make in a day. That’s pretty sleazy. Now if Melissa is willing to pay for child care while the other one works – that’s a whole different story… which we never get the whole of.
Why does Melissa get to be the one to walk away from the kids? She just leaves and then Tammy is supposed to figure out how to make ends meet and be there for the kids?
How the hell does that work?? What gives Melissa the right to walk away from HER children, tossing in $2000 a month (that’s not a lot) and a few visits??
Disgusting.
I agree she should get her share but there ARE part time jobs out there if you LOOK for them. I know that things are tough, I’m a single mom with NO CHILD SUPPORT. I have had to deal the best I can and it is really really hard but what I DONT do is belittle my child’s father.. Not cool. My son loves my ex husband and he should. Whatever is going on is between the parents only, not the whole world and the children to hear.
Stop whining, take her to court, get more money and get a job. Oh yeah.. STFU!
I agree with Shelley – Tammy is a very, very talented actress. At some point I tought we were going to see her on every single big movie made; I still hope she can get back to acting full time, to support herself and her children.
If she’s that desperate, she could hock her computer, smart phone, whatever game systems are at the house, etc. But start with the computer.
wow, 2,000 a month is not much–my friend has 2 kids and her husband pays 2500 a month..
which does not cover private school, school fees, food, lights, gas, clothing, school supplies regular toiletries for the children, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, money for prescriptions etc.
Melissa is horrible, because she is “giving” HER 0 money for herself.
she’ll get hers. she should write a tell all book.
“2k/mo is less than 70$ a day. Can you feed twins, 2 preteens and an adult on that?”
I feed a family of 6 on way, way less than that. Tammy doesn’t have pre-teens. It is just her and the twin girls. ME has pre-teen kids, I wonder what she pays in CS for them?
flourpot – the preteens live with their mother who is NOT Tammy so she doesn’t have to feed them. The household consists of Tammy, her twins and her brother. And $2000 a month is more than enough to feed a family of 4 including cleaning supplies and toilet paper. That’s $500 a week. Teetee: Melissa pays the house note, the utility bills, the car lease, the kids private school tuition, etc. She pays household expenses, but I think the problem is Tammy wants to live like she used to and wants Melissa to also pay for her non-essentials such as travel, clothing, entertainment, and so on.
Yes, $2000 a month cash is not enough to live like she used to but she’s far from destitute. And daycare can be expensive so Tammy should try to negotiate to have Melissa pay for it – at least for a certain amount of time while she looks for work.
Melissa should be be paying for child care while Tammy gets back into the game. Once Tammy is back working steadily, then ease back on the child care so the two are splitting it.
“2k/mo is less than 70$ a day. Can you feed twins, 2 preteens and an adult on that? Sure – with Ramon noodles.”
I would imagine that the teens live with their mother, not with her. Why would she, as a step-parent, have custody of them? I’m sure she can easily feed herself and her two small children on 2K a month without resorting to “Ramon” noodles. (I imagine you meant Ramen noodles, but whatever).
@ Melissa (#23): AbsoLUTEly! I’ve thought she’s off her rocker from the beginning of all this breakup shiz.
Clearly there is something wrong with Tammy’s mental health. Her blog comments sound like the delusional, confused rantings of someone with some type of mental illness. If I was Melissa E., I would do WHATEVER I had to do to get her to shut the hell up.
@ flourpot — the pre-teens don’t live with her; they’re not her biological children. And even if they did, yes, $70 would cover it. Not sure what kind of food you’re referring to that costs as much as a week or two of groceries would.
lol I kind of like “Ramon” noodles. Kinda makes me wonder what Ramon tastes like. Anyway, wasn’t aware the other kids didn’t live with her. @Cantbelieve it Good for you for knowing how to budget! You deserve a big hug. As for Tammy – I think that may be part of the issue. After having so much, now having so little it really is time to take stock and turn off the cell phone and computer and all the extra crap. Get a landline, hit up the libraray for something to read and get Mellisa to pay for daycare so you can get back to work. I agree, the blogging she’s doing is small and petty. Sure, we like hearing her drama but it really should be kept private if for the sake of the children stumbling across it someday in the future.
I can’t stand Tammy! She seems to assume that a LGBT person “should” be better than any regular heterosexual jerk WTF??? Besides marrying a woman like that would dry me crazy so I can but empathize with Melissa even MORE.
The thing is, Melissa and Tammy live in a different world than most of us do. When a wealthy person abandons a relationship of over 10 years, into which 2 children were born, and their mother *by mutual decision* left a successful career to be a homemaker then yes, that person expects, and under CA law is due, significant compensation.
I honestly don’t think Tammy is whining. I know she writes in a form that can be off-putting and annoying. She can also write beautifully –
if she hasn’t deleted her recent posts about her step-father who died earlier this year, I hope you’ll go read them. Her posts are sometimes free-form and sometimes poetry, and while I think they’re intelligent and quite rational, I think she shines as a writer when she just plain writes.
I think if you’ll consider that she was literally devastated by losing Melissa, to whom she’s shown loyalty and compassion throughout their time together, that she adores her children and is under great strain, you may re-read her blog not as whining but as a woman in shock and pain.
certainly
her pathetic blog poetry
is not making me feel
sympathy
perhaps she got screwed over
haven’t we all?
I can’t believe that her only option
is starvation
and
spitting bile
into cups
I think
that women around the world
face this problem
of being dumped
and taking care of kids
most of them
without the talent
and support that Tammy Lynn gets
even
2000 a month
is better than
nothing
maybe it’s time
for her to find something else
to do with her time
than feel sorry for herself
that she’s not living
the high life
flourpot – $2k/mo is about $66/day. Definitely more than $0.70/day. Yeah, she should be able to eat for that. It may be difficult for someone who is use to much more but it is doable for a family of three.
OMG I am so sick of this whiny a88 woman!!!!
I have personally known SEVERAL single mothers (some who became mothers in their GD teens, were kicked out of school, and disowned by their parents), who have raised wonderful children on SO MUCH LESS than 2k/month “after bills.” These women did whatever it took to provide for their children. WHATEVER IT TOOK. I don’t see, and have not seen (and of course, I don’t know her and I’m not there, but I seriously doubt this woman has applied at, say, Target), Tammy even ATTEMPTING to try any other measures other than this woe-is-me pity party blogging BS.
Just because you can’t get any more “acting” jobs (and maybe this is because I never watched the CW, but I had never even heard of this woman before her involvement with ME) DOES NOT MEAN you should just throw up your hands and say “Oh well, there are no jobs for me. Poor me and my schedule.”
I worked for ten years in retail management. I managed SO MANY WOMEN who were single mothers and had to be home before 3 (or 12.30, or whatever.) We were always able to accomodate anyone’s schedule in that regard. Maybe she doesn’t “want” to work retail, but that’s too f888ing bad when you decide to have children, and your partner leaves you in the dust, and you’re strapped for cash.
Yes, her situation sucks, but it’s an all too common situation, and quite frankly, if she is hoping to get sympathy from other single mothers she is going too far into the wrong direction. Yes, ME is a jerk and is acting just like a man. Yes, it is unfair. No one is disputing that. But there comes a time when you have to accept what has happened and just move on from it, and do what you have to do to live everyday. ESPECIALLY when you are raising children.
Sorry for the verbosity, but GD! this woman makes my a88 twitch.
I think they both push the truth but Melissa does control the money.
Does Melissa think the kids are more happy & peaceful since the split or is it just Melissa that is happier & more at peace?
so her brother lives with her? does he have a job or is he just freeloading? melissa is certainly not required to support him, too. if i understand this correctly, melissa is paying for the house, utilities, private school, clothing, food and insurance. the 2,000/month is extra. this chick needs to get a job and get back her self-esteem.
I dunno…I somehow doubt Etheridge would let her kids go without lunch. I’m sure she screwed Michaels over and really hurt her and all that, but I doubt she’d let her kids go hungry and without a roof/clothes.
I wish Tammy would be interviewed so that her perspective would be more clearly defined and understood. I’m not sure if she’s not receiving what she should be under a legal agreement that is intended to be temporary with something more permanent being neogotiated, or what’s going on in the legal sense.
She had many posts that she deleted and has only posted recently; she’s been ‘silent’ for months and, again, for those of us who think she was terribly wronged by ME, I was glad to see her posting again.
I wish those of you who think she’s whining would consider that Melissa has given countless interviews since leaving this (her 2nd) family, spouting platitudes such as “Life is about change” and outright lies about the mutuality of this decision to sunder the family she and Tammy had forged. By what avenue other than her blog is Tammy to have a voice? She’s a very private person and while she could no doubt have gone the ‘Enquirer’ route, has chosen not to.
I may be wrong but I thought that either she moved in with her brother or vice versa, I
assumed for reasons that relate to financial needs, child care, and/or the comfort of family.
@Shelley I get that this sucks for Tammy. ME is being cruel with the interviews and I am sure that is hard to watch.
I could understand if she were posting about that. Instead she posts about being “poor” when she has healthcare, daycare for the kids (that’s what private school basically is for 4 yos), a house (she complained that someone else picked out the house) and that she only gets $2000 case a month.
Alot of people right now have no insurance and are losing their home.
Yes it sucks to be left by your partner, but lots of people go through that. Complaining never solved anything and isn’t going to fix the situation. Heck she should sell her story or write a tell all.
I’m just not clear if she’s saying she wasn’t given enough by the court to begin with, or if she’s saying she isn’t getting what she’s supposed to be. Heck, I don’t even know if she’s in the same house as during their time together and if so, has it been paid for or not.
I know most of you understandably haven’t been readers of her blog for a year or so as I have. While I don’t know her, and I’m neither gay nor liberal, she has some wonderfully well written posts on there, especially about her family. She had a pretty rough early life and her own mom was a single mom with I believe several marriages. I do think Tammy is very mid-western tough and common sense.
Really she should give an interview to ‘People,’ which I guess is the most respectable of the weeklies.
Sarah:
“$2,000 a month in support plus covering all the bills seems fair to me.”
Maybe in a small town in Nebraska or Backwards, Alabama, but not in LA or any other place today.
Oh please people. Tammy needs to get over it and get a job. Ya, she has one, it’s called being a mother. $2000 is crap money. You cant even find a decent place to rent for under $800 in most places; especially California. No one can live, especially one with two kids, on that income. Clean safe pre-schools alone sometimes run $1000 or more a month, Rent in LA is expensive and thats in the ghetto. No way 3 people can live decently on $2000 a month and pay for housing, food, clothing, school and extras.
With all the money Etheridge made/makes, she needs to suck it up and pay.
what i’m getting from the comments is that there’s a hell of a lot of bitter women here who had to raise children by themselves because whoever got them pregnant turned out to be a douchebag loser.. sorry ladies, just because you got screwed over or weren’t smart enough to use a condom doesn’t make tammys problems and concerns less valid. the rich bitch who used her as a housewife for all these years needs to pay up.
I am in agreement with Ligeia…in that I think Ms Etheridge should pay a decent and fair amount based on her earnings to the mother of her children. Like my ex husband does for our children and like my now husband does for his son. Here in NZ the IRD work it out (that’s like the IRS in America, Rev Can in Canada) based on what he makes…in Canada its worked out by the court and enforced by the family maintenance programme. You don’t pay they cease your assets. Plain and simple..child support is NOT negotiable. You support the children that YOU elected to have. If you are the non custodial parent then that means you pay money towards their living, school ‘being’ costs. Based on what Ms Etheridge makes, $2000 per month plus expenses is not a reasonable estimate based upon her earnings! It is not some sort of moral judgment call (i.e. does this person ‘deserve’ money…)nor is her former partner being ‘whiny’.
As as sociologist I know very well the stats and experiences of women who have been home raising children for many years. It is VERY difficult to get a job, particularly in the current economic climate. Even when things were good, having children often worked against women in employers eyes, during times of economic uncertainty employers will often hire someone with no children over someone who has children as it is seen as less problematic.
This is not about being a sponge or a lazy person. It is about relative advantage and disadvantage from an economic perspective. In this case Ms Etheridge is clearly advantaged, both in her earning power and in that she does not have to take care of the children which foreshortens the kinds of work she can do and the amount of time she can spend working… and her former partner is clearly disadvantaged for the same reasons in reverse.
Can’t afford to eat? Hey, get on the end of the line. This is America, we’re all going hungry now.
Yes, Taya, Ligeia, and DrM, exactly. I think too it’s important to look at the past behaviors of these two people to assess who has integrity and who is more likely to be telling the truth.
Melissa did this exact same thing to the mother of her two older children; she is a musician who apparently wants and feels entitled to enjoy all the pleasures of the travelling life. It’s nice to have a young beautiful wife to care for you while you battle horrendous cancer, and to be able to rely on her loyalty. You come home to a well-run home and well-loved children – until that part of the equation becomes boring because, as Melissa said, “life is about change.”. And that translates to “goodbye little woman.”
Tammy was a very young (24?) actress when she fell in love with Melissa. She’d had steady acting jobs since coming to Hollywood and again, if you want to see the show Ryan Murphy created before ‘Glee,’ please rent ‘Popular’ from Netflix as it’s very sharp and funny, and Tammy shines in it. She left acting with ME’s full agreement to create a home in which friends and family were welcome, very much including ME’s two older children. Despite being so young, she was ME’s
lifeline during ME’s cancer, and then 4 years ago gave birth to twins. She enjoyed being a stay at home mom and knew how lucky she was to be able to do so. She thought this was her family and made the same committment Melissa did at a wedding ceremony some years ago.
So yeah, when it comes to deciding who I think has a heart and soul, and who is honest – Team Tammy all the way
I must say…some of you can’t read. ALL of the bills are paid for including rent and daycare…how is $2000 a month on top of that not enough??? I would kill for that and my husband and I both work full time
Me1st, the concerns I have are: is all that you mention as ‘coveree’ what a court ordered, or is that just what gets paid for if and when Melissa is in the mood to do so? And if it is what the court ordered, are the orders being adhered to? If all that is being consistently provided in a timely manner, then I doubt that Tammy would be claiming to be in need of anything. I just don’t know, which is why I wish she’d either give an interview or be explicit on her blog. Maybe the terms of whatever Melissa agreed to provide are set up to block Tammy from giving details? I hope not.
Melissa has a history of doing this. She did it to the last woman she was in a relationship with too.
So I’m Team Tammy.