There would be something seriously wrong with a father who did not cry over losing custody of his kids. Sounds like the mother's viewpoint is seriously off.

What caused this divorce?

Anonymous wrote:What a sad story.

It's a very sad story. Even though that's my friend, I can't help but to feel sorry for her ex. He's a really nice guy and doesn't deserve any of this.

Why is your friend trying so hard to get the ex out of his son's life? This stuff upsets me. You liked the guy enough to have a kid with him - sorry if it's inconvenient that you can't push him out to have the illusion of a perfect, happy family with Husband #2, but you don't take someone's kid away from them without a damn good reason.

What a sad story.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is impossible to answer as a general question.

Is it always a form of manipulation if a man cries in front of his son about losing custody? Of course not. Is it a form of manipulation in this specific case? It might be. Or it might not be. Do you have reason to mistrust your friend's understanding of the situation?

Normally I wouldn't mistrust her understanding, but when it comes to her ex, I have to. Ever since they divorced and she remarried, she and her husband have been trying to find ways to keep the boy out of his life. They even went as far as trying to get him to sign away his parental rights so her husband could adopt him.

Unless the father is abusive, I find that absolutely unconscionable. And I think a man crying because he lost custody of his son is not necessarily manipulative--absent some reason to think otherwise, I would assume he's crying because he loves his son and is sad that he won't get to see him very often.

I would cry in that situation. I'm female, if that makes a difference.

No I would think he is devastated by the outcome.

Anonymous wrote:This is impossible to answer as a general question.

Is it always a form of manipulation if a man cries in front of his son about losing custody? Of course not. Is it a form of manipulation in this specific case? It might be. Or it might not be. Do you have reason to mistrust your friend's understanding of the situation?

Normally I wouldn't mistrust her understanding, but when it comes to her ex, I have to. Ever since they divorced and she remarried, she and her husband have been trying to find ways to keep the boy out of his life. They even went as far as trying to get him to sign away his parental rights so her husband could adopt him.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, no, or both. Something seems off - how did he wind up with only one weekend a month? Unless he lives very far away, that seems not right.

I wondered the same thing. He only lives about 45 minutes or so away so that's not that far.

Yes, because heaven forbid he actually love his son and be sad he won't get to see him much. Could be crying over the mistakes he's made, crying because he feels put upon (rightly or wrongly), etc.

My ex BIL cries in front of his kids and I know he's doing it to make them feel bad. Manipulative for sure.

There's something of if he awarded so little custody.

This is impossible to answer as a general question.

Is it always a form of manipulation if a man cries in front of his son about losing custody? Of course not. Is it a form of manipulation in this specific case? It might be. Or it might not be. Do you have reason to mistrust your friend's understanding of the situation?

Yes, no, or both. Something seems off - how did he wind up with only one weekend a month? Unless he lives very far away, that seems not right.

Would you think a man who cries in front of their son after losing custody is a form of manipulation? My friend is in this situation. Her ex has been trying to get full custody of their son because he doesn't want another man raising his son. My friend was granted full custody with her ex getting visitation one weekend a month. He explained the situation to their son and started crying like a baby which made their son cry. My friend thinks he's trying to use his tears to manipulate their son, but I think he's a father who's genuinely upset about spending less time with his son. What do you guys think?