Don't Tell Me I Can't…live With My Ex

Reckon you couldn’t peacefully co-habit with your ex? Think again, says mom-of-one Kate Wolters…

- Leign Herman

Kevin and I have been living together for just over three years now and we share a four-year-old son, Nicholas*. We might look like just another couple living and raising a child together, but Kevin and I are no longer in a romantic relationship.

I have always wanted to have children, but I was really struggling to follow the conventional path of meeting someone and settling down in order to make this happen. Romance just wasn’t working out for me – until I met Kevin.

We chatted for a while via an online dating website before we met in person and, right off the bat, Kevin was open about how he didn’t want kids. In fact, his strong views on the topic made it seem like he was one phone call away from booking a vasectomy! But I liked him and we ended up dating for about eight months before our differences became a problem. Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach a compromise on kids so we called it quits.

We remained close friends and one night, when both of us were between partners, one thing led to another and we ended up in bed together. A few weeks later, after I realised my period was late, I booked an appointment with my doctor. As luck would have it, I was pregnant.