A mum has revealed how she and her ex-husband came to an agreement to co-parent their little girl when they divorced - which involved buying to attached homes and installing an adjoining door.
The former couple got divorced six years ago after realising they were no longer happy or in love, but have remained friends and wanted to ensure they could still raise their daughter, who is now 11, in he best way.
"Neither of us wanted to lose full custody of her or miss important moments in her life, she is the most important person in both our lives and we debated on trying to make it work just for her but realised that would only lead to all three of us becoming miserable so we entered an arrangement that many would view as unconventional," the mum wrote on Reddit's AITA forum.
The couple agreed to sell their family home use the money to purchase two neighbouring semi-detached houses and have a door installed between the two of them, as well as taking the fence down to create one huge garden.
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"The adjoining door is strictly for our daughter's use and neither of us can use it barring any emergencies say a fire, a medical emergency or something being wrong with our daughter," the mum explained, adding that her daughter has a bedroom in each home and can pick where she eats her meals and sleeps.
"I won't lie it was awkward at first but for her sake we made it work and even regained a lot of the friendship we had lost, though it was of course strictly platonic now," she continued.
"Last year my ex-husband married his girlfriend of three years a lovely woman who I'm actually friends with and I was even a guest at their wedding with my daughter being one of her bridesmaids. All in all it's an arrangement everyone is content with except for my boyfriend who I started to date two years ago."
Although the mum's partner understood what he was entering into, he has since been expressing concerns since the relationship has gotten more serious and they've discussed possibly moving in together.
"He has made it clear he wants me to move as he doesn't want to live next door to my ex-husband. I understood that but told him that wouldn't be happening as my daughter had to come first and our arrangement gave her a stable upbringing," the mum continued.
The mum told her partner that although she loves him, her daughter's upbringing will always come first and that means living next door to her ex for a good few years yet.
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