This was posted on Friday, August 11, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Bert Weiss, the syndicated Q100 morning host, went through a deeply painful divorce in 2015 after 18 years of marriage. But he and his ex-wife Stacey have managed to get past the worst of the negative emotions and say they are successfully co-parenting their two sons.
Many local radio personalities struggle to deal with issues of divorce on air or choose not to reference them at all. It's subject matter that subjects them to serious vulnerability.
Bert, to his credit, has provided his listeners a glimpse of his post-marriage issues but said he's' cognizant not to go too deep in the darkness for the sake of the kids. It's a tricky balance. Yesterday, he posted a note on his Facebook page about the first day of high school for his oldest son Hayden and how he and Stacey chose to go to Waffle House, then take him to school together.
In part, he wrote to the public:
There is so much pain and hurt in divorce. But we have a responsibility to make sure our kids feel loved and secure. Always.
This post was seen by more than 400,000 with 450 shares and 600-plus comments, many about how great they appear to be doing in the co-parenting department, an area fraught with jealousies, hang-ups and emotional complications.
Bert decided to talk some more about it on air Thursday with Stacey pitching in.
"Hailing us as great co-parents was a) very flattering and b) a huge bummer," he said. "I want that to be a standard. Stacey and I should not be honored for that."
Stacey didn't sugarcoat things in terms of how difficult the divorce itself was.
"Bert and I went through hell," she said. "Our divorce was very difficult and very sad. There was a lot of anger and a lot of pain for a long time and I don't care how much is there. At the end of the day, there is an impact on your kids. They didn't ask for the divorce. Don't make them suffer!" She preached selflessness as parents as a key tenet.
And neither did Bert: "There were emotional ups and downs. There are days you're exchanging emails with each other or fighting with each other on the phone... There were days I hated her. There were days she hated me... We were not mature all the time."
But they always maintained the same mantra they did while married: don't argue in front of the kids. "You always have to make your kids feel loved and secure," he said, "and it doesn't matter if the two of you hate each other right now. Guess what? Fake it for the kids. I'm really super proud we have done that."
He said their egos certainly got in the way of their marriage but "when you're co-parenting, you have to put your own crap away. There are no wins and losses. It's just what's best for your child. It drives me crazy. I loathe parents that can't do that. That's absolutely hurting their child because they're hurting their ex." Bert said his parents used him as a pawn in their games so he really gets it.
Both are now seriously dating other people: Bert's been with a woman named Tiffany for more than a year. Stacey's dating a man named Zach.
Stacey even tried to make the potential step-parent deal a positive thing, saying their two sons could eventually have four parents, all positive influences on them. She even said she likes Bert's girlfriend. "I think Tiffany is wonderful," Stacey said. "The boys love her and she loves them. Why would I get in the way of that?"
Here's the audio:
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