I'd like to tell you the story of my uncle, for the sheer sake of possibly finding some hope that things do get better. This a story of a man fighting for his daughter, and stopping a controlling woman from taking away a person's right to be a parent. Everything is 100% true, aside from the fact that my now ex-aunt's name has been changed, along with their daughter's (my cousin).
First, you have to understand that my uncle, Matt, is a good person. He'd never harm a fly, much less his own daughter. He worked hard to provide for his family and gave them the world. He treated his wife, Janelle, like royalty, and Matilda, his little girl, was his princess. They were his world...So why, why did Janelle suddenly decide to ruin all of that?
When Matilda was around two-years-old, my uncle got up to go to work just like any other day. He kissed her and Janelle goodbye and went about his day. Fast forward eight hours, and he comes home expecting to be greeted by his wife and child, but to his avail, that isn't at all what happened. In the time Matt was gone, Janelle has packed her and Matilda's things, and has left the house to stay with a friend.
Matt eventually gets ahold of Janelle, and they talk things over and agree that Matt should come by said friend's house for further discussion. Thinking the problem has been resolved, Matt agrees to swing by. Little did he know that this would be the beginning of a long fight for his precious Matilda...
When Matt arrives, he casually knocks on the door as any normal person would do. After waiting almost five minutes on the doorstep with no answer, Matt turns to leave...but isn't allowed to, as two police officers are blocking his path as they run towards him and tackle him to the ground. He is confused. One minute he's coming to a friend's home to work out an apparent issue with his wife, the next he's being arrested and charged with harassment.
He doesn't find out until over a year later that when he had arrived at the home, his wife had locked herself and Matilda in a closet and then said Matt was "pounding on the door, yelling that he was going to kill them". The problem? None of that ever happened. The first of her many lies from Janelle.
After the incident, Matt was released from custody, but it's already too late. Janelle and Matilda are now over eight hours away in a completely different state.
Over the next three years, Matt and Janelle fight a bitter fight for custody of the two-year-old little girl. Just like on the aforementioned night the police were first called, more lies seep out of Janelle's mouth, and does anyone question her or hold her accountable?! No! She's the mother, so obviously she knows best. He accused Matt of molesting Matilda and physically abusing her. This prevented him from even seeing his daughter for over an entire year.
Like I said before, this is a good man we're dealing with. He would never hurt Matilda nor his wife, but does anyone investigate her outrageous accusations? Does anybody even ask for Janelle to take Matilda to see a doctor that would give any type of proof that sexual abuse had occured?! Of course not! She's allowed to spew whatever BS she can muster into the courtroom, and is Matt ever given a say? Nope!
Matt was denied access to his own child for over a year just because his "wife" didn't want to share custody of their daughter...and why? Because she cared about Matilda's well-being? Because she thought Matt was a danger to her? No! Because she didn't want to pay child support. Because God forbid she go to work one day of her life, when really it's as simple as popping out a kid and accusing the fathers of abuse.
And yes, I said fatherS. Because Matt wasn't the first person Janelle decided to take around the bend, oh no. Janelle has done this three times, with three seperate men, and three separate children. She marries them, gives birth to their child, then uses them until she's bored. She then flees with said child and digs your grave in court when you try to stop her.
But guess what? Like I said, it gets better. Janelle isn't the brightest crayon in the box to say the least, and since she's already done this several times before, she's only muddied the water for herself. It's the boy who cried wolf all over again. People are only going to believe the lie so many times before it comes back to burn you...oh, and burn her it did!
After those three agonizing years of just trying to see his daughter, Matt was given primary custody of Matilda, and now Janelle is forced to fork out a little over $200 every month to pay HIM in child support. Janelle sees Matilda about one to two months out of the year, but Matt decides when and where.
And yet, all through this, even though Janelle accused him of the unspeakable, Matt has never once denied her access to their daughter. He has never aranged for them to exchange Matilda then blown it off at the last minute. He has never slandered Janelle in front of their child; in fact, he praises her, telling Matilda that she's lucky to have such a great mom. He is a GREAT father, and unfortunately missed out on over a year of his daughter's life simply because his wife wanted more money.
Matilda is now six-years-old and thriving. She lives with her dad, step-mom, and three step-sisters. She's in ballet, and gets straight A's in school. She loves her family and her friends, and she's now the happy princess Matt always intended for her to be.
