Melissa Etheridge

[Mutagen]

Jul 5, 2010 14:28:13 GMT -4 waytoocheerful said:

If a male celeb pulled this shit - trying to get out of paying his wife support when she gave up her career (whether she was a bartender or an actress) to stay home and take care of the children - most people would think he was slime. I like Melissa's music, but I am really beginning to think she is slime.

I completely agree. Tammy sounds a little nutty, but Melissa looks like a straight up jackass.

[mrspickles]

I haven't been paying too much attention, but it seems like we have had reasonable, fair sounding comments from Melissa, and crazy bitter non-sensical ramblings coming from the ex. I agree that asking for no support sounds douchy, but maybe it refers to spousal support for Tammy, not child support. There are all sorts of reasons people (male and female) ask the court not to award spousal support, and they aren't always evil. Admittedly, sometimes they are though, so maybe I should just wait until I know more.

[Sunnyhorse]

I can't see any good reason for Tammy not to get spousal support, though -- she quit her job nearly a decade ago to bear and raise their children and nurse her wife through breast cancer treatment, sheesh, and it's gonna be hard for her to get out there and get acting jobs again. Melissa strikes me as the quintessential deadbeat dad and a real asshole.

[Witchie]

Jul 5, 2010 15:18:37 GMT -4 Mutagen said:

Jul 5, 2010 14:28:13 GMT -4 waytoocheerful said:

If a male celeb pulled this shit - trying to get out of paying his wife support when she gave up her career (whether she was a bartender or an actress) to stay home and take care of the children - most people would think he was slime. I like Melissa's music, but I am really beginning to think she is slime.

I completely agree. Tammy sounds a little nutty, but Melissa looks like a straight up jackass.

She should be held to the same standard men are. Tiki Barber is pulling the same bullshit & people everywhere are raking him over the coals.

I have seriously lost a lot of respect for Melissa. Tammy was your wife. She didn't work, while you did. Pay the damn spousal support & move on with the rest of your life. Team Tammy!

[incognito]

Jul 5, 2010 15:59:06 GMT -4 Sunnyhorse said:

I can't see any good reason for Tammy not to get spousal support, though -- she quit her job nearly a decade ago to bear and raise their children and nurse her wife through breast cancer treatment, sheesh, and it's gonna be hard for her to get out there and get acting jobs again. Melissa strikes me as the quintessential deadbeat dad and a real asshole.

I completely agree. If a spouse puts her life on hold for you, if she puts your career first, and then you later split up, damn straight she should be entitled to some spousal support.

[huntergrayson]

I agree that Melissa seems like the jerk in this situation but think it's odd that Tammy's blog claims she was completely blindsided by this but that they "pinkyswore" to file for separation in the fall - so she knew that they were getting divorced but is shocked that Melissa moved up the timeline? Hmm. Though that would indicate that Melissa has found someone new and wants to move onto her.

In most cases, there would have to be a very good reason for the courts not to reward any support whatsover to someone's wife of ten years/mother of their children - blog poetry aside, I don't think Tammy has demostrated any sort of instability that would warrant offering her no support. I mean, she gave up her life/career for Melissa -- why should she be left with absolutely nothing?

[margojata]

A day after Melissa Etheridge filed legal papers to end their domestic partnership Friday, Tammy Lynn Michaels has taken to her blog twice in one day to say she was not only blindsided by the filing, but has been left basically broke with their kids, borrowing money to pay for gas.

In court papers Etheridge requested joint custody and asked that she not have to pay Michaels any support.

But according to Michaels the pair had agreed not to do anything until the fall:

SMACK!!!!!!!!!!!!
FILE FOR DIVORCE!!!!!!
even though we both promised
agreed
handshook
pinkyswore


no filing until after tour
in the fall

her broken promises
told to me by
headlines

Etheridge has two older children in addition to twins that Michaels gave birth to in 2006. In her first posting on Saturday, Michaels writes that in 2001 she put an indefinite hold on her successful acting career to help care for Etheridge's older children while she was on tour.

i gave up my managers, agents, contacts, all that good stuff, because i stepped directly into potty training a small boy, and carrying around a small girl on my hip. both excellent souls. and i was a very huge part in raising them for many many years while She with the Guitar focused on her Guitar.

And she goes on:

the other week i had to borrow money from a friend. two weeks ago i had to scrape together $1.25 to pay for gas. i know she doesn't want to give me money. trust. i'm borrowing cash left and right from people to get through this summer, and feed my kids, with a stomach full of ulcers, thank you. no stress here. :-)


how's that spiritual tour coming along?


so now.... to open the lap top.... and read the headlines.... when i just spoke to the fame crawler yesterday.... she could have mentioned it..... and hmmm.... wants some custody of kids.... interesting.... but no $ support for me... interesting as well.... so so so interesting, there, melissa. practicing what we preach is always hard for americans, i think. (is that why you and rick warren got along so well? ) oh, the nights of promises.... "tammy, if i ever leave you, it's because i'm crazy, and you have to come find me and get me and save me!!! we have to be together forever!" (remember that one, lucky?)

Not giving her money ... that's so F'ed up.

[huntergrayson]

Melissa was friends with noted homophobe Rick Warren? Geez, is she gonna perform at Rush's next wedding as well?

I will say though that Tammy needs to can her online venting real quick and let her lawyers handle everything from now on - I know there have been cases where Facebook status updates and the like have been used as part of custody/divorce hearings and I wouldn't want Tammy's understandable frustration to backfire on her somehow.

[margojata]

Melissa was friends with noted homophobe Rick Warren? Geez, is she gonna perform at Rush's next wedding as well?

And actively sought out a friendship with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Midlife crisis breakdown? Bizarre.

[Ladybug]

I agree that Melissa is being the jerk in this situation. Pay up, Mellissa, support your kids and take care of their mom.

Tammy, turn off the computer and buy a journal.