Fairy Tales and Other Stories as told by Circe and DD

The Day Diana "Screamed at and Threatened" DD

DD's claim: "I asked my dad to drive me to my friend's house and Diana screamed and yelled at me, threatened me, called me a spoiled brat and got in my face. Who would want to be around that? I'm afraid to go over there."

Circe Smith writes later that day in an e-mail to John: "My shock and horror stems from the fact that you allow your pit-bull Diana to verbally and aggressively approach my daughter and intentionally attempt to demean her and insult her for reasons that are ludicrous. Yelling in DD's face because your day was "completely ruined" because she was so selfish to expect to be taken to Anna's, who lives 4 minutes away"? Really John, you find this behavior acceptable?"

DD's text to John a year and a half later, after refusing to visit John for the third month in a row:

8/31/2011 3:39:00 PM To John from DD: You would rather stick up for Diana, than ME. You would Honestly rather do that! That breaks my heart.
8/31/2011 3:40:54 PM To DD from John: Diana would still drive across town for you if you needed it. When say you hate Diana and that she's mean I will not support you.
8/31/2011 3:43:00 PM - To DD from John: I have stuck up for you countless times and you know it! All these lies won't be tolerated. What did Diana say or do to you that was bad?
8/31/2011 3:47:01 PM - To John from DD: Dad!!! You've watched Diana SCREAM in my face SO MANY TIMES. You've let her call me Spoiled and Immature and Selfish and Snobby and Disrespectful!! I made those opinions based on what Diana has done to me. I DON'T CARE what she tels people about me. I don't care what shes trying to make you think that she thinks about me. She had no right. I DIDN'T ASK for ANY of those things. I DON'T WANT MONEY OR GIFTS! You guys are BLIND as to what I want!! You are letting Diana impose herself on SO many people who do not want to be around her or hear from her. You are letting her disrespect ME. YOUR DAUGHTER. Why? Why can't you just love me and be here for me?! Why can't you accept the fact that there would NOT be problems for anyone without Diana! Do you like what I'm doing to you? Do you not want to see me ever again? Its been 3 months. There is just no getting through to you.
8/31/2011 3:51:47 PM - To DD from John: I want to see you every time you are supposed to come out and YOU say no. I will see you again. Bank on it. I have to go now.

EM 02/16/2012 from Circe to John (she is still talking about it): "You let your "girlfriend" verbally attack, threaten and impose her nasty, negative, abusive self on our daughter while you stood by, watched, and did nothing to help her! Then to add insult to her injury, you have the nerve to deny to everyone that it ever happened. That makes you just as guilty in her abuse!"
EM 02/12/2014 from DD to John: "... even though you had told me that i was welcome in your new home, and your new family, there was not a single part of me that wanted to be around that horrible woman after the first encounter that we had in the kitchen at the Prouty Rd. house that day, over me wanting to go to my best friends house."

The Day Diana and DD Shared a Text Conversation During School Hours

This incident actually resulted in Circe going down to the police station to file a restraining order against Diana (obviously a restraining order was never granted). DD had deleted the text conversation, so Circe never even saw it, nor did she try to verify if it even truly happened. DD told her mother that Diana "harassed her" all day at school, trashing Circe because DD didn't want to come out to John's house for the weekend. Instead of trying to find out the truth, Circe sent John an angry e-mail about it.

Circe's claim, in her own words:
"Your girlfriend , while un-provoked, verbally attacks your daughter while at school and fires off 4 hours of personal attacks towards me that have no bearing on the the situation at hand while you sit and allow it ....and you want to suggest that I need to work on civility? Talk about unfounded; the woman doesn't even know what she is talking about. She has heard your one-sided warped opinions of me and you believe that this constitutes a non-bias accurate assessment of my parenting skills. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. I think I have 30 or 40 supporters of my parenting techniques to off set the ramblings of one controlling girlfriend. And the general "disdain" you mention in reference to my concern for your present living arrangement? I honestly could care less if you moved to the top of a Tibetan mountain as long as it didn't involve my daughter."

DD's Claim of Abandonment

DD tells everyone she meets that John abandoned her at a very young age, and in fact has "NEVER" been there for her at any point in her life.


8/18/2011 10:03:18 PM - From DD to John: "You weren't there enough throughout my life. I'm sticking up for myself because I am tired of waiting for my dad to be there. You never were. And just because you want to be now doesn't make up for anything. Thank you for being there when I was having a hard time with mom. But, I'm not anymore. So STOP dwelling on the past. This is because of you righht now. If you would look at the reason why I don't want to be at your house. I HATE being screamed at and being a target of someone's rampage. I won't put up with it. Diana has her good days, but not often enough for me to stick around. She has no right to act like she is some significant figure in my life. I HAVE a mom and I don't need another mom. Its not me that can drive and I'm not the parent. I could be so much worse. And you're complaining about the kid you have and are disappointed in her because you chose to step out and expected her to have some of her come with you. There are two sides to this story. And some are more right on one side and visa versa. All I know is that it isn't my job to be the grown up. So, i'm going to be a stubborn kid and wait until my dad wants to come spend time with me at my mother's house. And if he never does, then I'm going to spend a lot of years waiting."

The Day Circe Claimed John "Kidnapped" DD

Circe's Explanation, two years after the event:

Let's clear something up once and for all, John:

You gave me TWO days advance notice that you wanted DD on JULY 4th (2010)! And I agreed, but I asked that the visit didn't interrupt the plans DD and I had with Tracy for the same weekend.

But, because you can't READ A CALENDAR, you had THE WRONG DAY OF THE WEEK, you took DD on the WRONG DAY than that you had asked for. And when I tried to explain that you couldn't take her because you are not allowed to just waltz in and change plans, you ignored me. You thought you had the right DAY, but you had the WRONG DATE !!! So you asked for the 4th, I said ok to the 4th, but that is NOT THE DATE you obviously meant to ask for....If you would have said the day, I would have said, "That is Saturday. We already have plans for Saturday." and what would have been the end of the story. But that is not the day the 4th fell! July 4th was a SUNDAY !!!!

So, because you are too stupid to read a calendar, you screwed up everything! DD knew we had plans to go see Tracy, but because you lied to her and said you had everything all worked out with me (which you really didn't, because you asked for the wrong date!), she thought she was suppose to go with you instead of going to Tracy's .. .....BUT, then, you turned around and lied TO ME by telling a different story !...

"DD WANTS to go with us....so I am taking her" you said.

DD had NO IDEA that she didn't HAVE to go with you! Because you told her you had it worked out with me.....BUT you Didn't....! You had your days wrong, you fucked up everything, you didn't have the maturity to admit you were wrong, you took my daughter from her home, out of the county. In the car you and your loser girlfriend complained about me, in front of DD, intentionally for DD to hear, for an entire car ride and an entire visit with Jane and Tom....ALL of which was 100% out of the confinements of the divorce agreement,,,,and YOU have the nerve to think I didn't have the right to call the police???

And the ONLY REASON I DIDN'T call the police was because I felt sorry for DD that she would have had to see her father pulled over by the police. She didn't deserve that. But you don't really care if DD sees drama, because the entire day was nothing but drama !

And then you were too stupid to realize that you screwed up and it wasn't until DD and I talked AFTER that day was over, that DD and I were able to figure out where the screw up happened. SHE was the one that put the pieces together, because YOU TOLD HER the same WRONG DATE TOO!!!!!! How can any "adult" be so irresponsible????

(And you wonder why I worry about her being with you? Why I have to call to see if she is ok??? DD use to tell me all the time, "don't worry about me when I am with dad. I can take care of myself."

Back to that day.........

So, I get upset with DD because I assumed she chose to blow off her plans with Tracy and I . But, it wasn't her choice at all, It was yours. Because you screwed up, lied, and bullied to get what you wanted.

And because I didn't know yet that it was YOUR choice and NOT HERS, I told her it was rude of her to change plans and decide to go with her dad when we had had our plans made for weeks. And, my words upset her terribly. But I never would have said them if I had known YOU were the one who MADE HER GO (on the wrong day!)

And you saw her crying....but NOT because of the reasons you think!!! You and captain control freak, Diana, thought I was saying things to intentionally make her cry! I was saying things with the misconception that SHE chose to go with you.....BUT THAT WASN'T THE CASE WAS IT John?????

No! SHE WAS CRYING because YOU TOLD HER I said she could go! (Ya, i SAID she could go... ON SUNDAY THE 4TH! LIke YOU asked for !!! But, you are so clueless, you tell everyone the wrong date, and your claim of , "mom said it is ok" was FALSE!. it was ok for SUNDAY! So, one minute, poor DD is thinking, " mom said I could go with dad. Now she is telling me I am rude for going with dad! NO WONDER SHE WAS CRYING !!!!! You FOOL ! You put her in a situation that confused her, upset everyone, put her in the middle and created a mess....

So, she had no idea what she did wrong...All she knew was that Dad said "mom said you could go" and then the next minute, mom was mad she went.....

And WHY????

BECAUSE YOU FUCKED UP EVERYTHING and wouldn't admit your mistake!!!!!!!!!

Yet, you want to blame everyone else for your screw up!

Do you get it yet, John?????

YOU SCREWED UP THE WHOLE THING!!! BLAMED ME!!! AND THEN MADE YOUR DAUGHTER BE SUBJECTED TO HAVING TO BE IN THE CAR WHILE YOUR DRAMA PLAYED OUT BECAUSE YOU REFUSED TO BRING MY DAUGHTER BACK WHEN YOU DIDN"T HAVE PERMISSION TO TAKE HER!!!!!! If there could have been jail time to be had due to stupidity, than you deserved it that day! My husband Bob was right to encourage me to call the police for you taking her with out my permission for that Saturday. But, I choose not to for DD's sake. And you can't even begin to understand yet how you created all of it and I did you a favor by not turning you in.

But you and Diana think you are above the law about everything, so that day was just more of the same arrogance that so defines your every action.

The visitation agreement that you so conveniently refer too, (only when it suites your agenda ) says clearly you are not allowed to make plans with out notice and just announce you are taking DD from her residence with out permission. But, you ignored that.

You don't like that fact??? TAKE IT UP WITH THE POLICE!

And when I relayed the 4th of July story to him that same evening, he agreed about your screw up on the 4th! YOU BROKE THE LAW! When you took her from my house with out permission, out of the county with out my permission, that constitutes my claim of kidnapping. So, go whine to someone else that thinks you are exaggerating about my claim. Because the truth is, you, by all terms and definitions, kidnapped her that day. And to pretend you did anything short of that is simply another example of you and Diana's arrogance and ignorance.

kid•nap
[kid-nap] Show IPA
verb (used with object), -napped or -naped, -nap•ping or -nap•ing.
to steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud, especially for use as a hostage.

AND LET THE WORD FRAUD BE UNDERSCORED HERE!"

(Note from John: Contrary to Circe's claims, plans had been made for weeks and she knew which day the party was. Also, it was formally "my weekend" for parenting time. This is the biggest example of gaslighting I have in writing. It's amazing how Circe twists this story around, a year and a half later, and of course conveniently forgets about all the threats she made to DD about making her break up with her boyfriend for daring to defy her. Circe obviously believes this version of events.)

The Day John and Diana Took DD Shopping

During a rare visit, John and Diana took DD shopping with them to Old Navy to buy some new shirts for Diana's younger son. While there, DD asked for a sweater that was on sale. John gladly bought it for her, and DD left happy and satisfied.

Later that day, Circe sent this e-mail to John:
"John, this is an oportunity for you to show DD that she is important, cause DD is pissed that you will not handle this like a dad that she can respect. And I and can't stand it. I hate hearing stories from DD like "they made me go to old navy and Diana's son gets arm-fulls of clothes, but when I asked for a $4 sweater, dad and diana looked at me like I was a selfish, worthless, person. It was $4!!!!". HOW COULD YOU DO THAT? DD doesn't deserve that. Why couldn't you take Diana's son shopping some other time when DD wasn't there? GOD how can you guys be so clueless? Actually, no. That was intentional. Diana did that on purpose and I hate her for that. That's just plain mean! DD hates Diana. And stuff like that explains to me why. DD tells me she is afraid to be at your house cuz she never knows when Diana will snap. She feels judged. DD knows she comes last in your life. That breaks my heart! My daughter doesn't deserve that."

The Reason They Went To Court

Publicly, Circe claims that the reason they had to go to court was because John wanted to take custody of DD away from Circe.

EM from DD to John 02/12/2014: "You think by going to court to attempt to force me to move an hour and a half away, into a house with a woman that I hate, that has done nothing but lie and manipulate you and herself into this situation that i should have some sort of appreciation for you. But, you are so wrong. You went about this entire ordeal in the completely wrong manor, whether you like to think so or not."

However, in Circe's own words per this voice mail, it is about money: "And okay, I'm a fool and an idiot for telling you this because you probably, I don't know, don't deserve for me to do this, but I'm going to do it anyway, and I have to tell you, and my husband took everything that's been going on to a lawyer and there is no statue of limitations when it comes to us being, um, I can't think of the word when you can't follow a court order, contempt. Contempt of court. And, um, if you look carefully at our divorce agreement, it's very clearly stated that you're supposed to be responsible for my medical insurance also until you get remarried, i don't know what page it's on but it's very clear that it's there. That number, comes to THOUSANDS of dollars, that you would be held in contempt to repay me. And my husband is just like, in his mind, I'm owed that. For me, if any of that ever happened, I would just put it in DD's savings account... Ultimately, EVERYTHING you earn, ultimately should benefit DD.

And in this e-mail: "It has been a choice, on my part, not to enforce this part of the agreement, but since you have been stating for the past year that you want to follow the agreement exactly, I find it necessary to remind you of the parts of the agreement you have chosen to overlook. So, once you have a method of compensating me for my insurance premiums, then we can move forward in the other details you would like me to work out concerning DD coming to your apartment for your visits or parenting time."

Also, Circe told DD that if they had to go to court, they would put DD in a foster home until custody was decided.

EM from Circe to John 01/2011: "It is not unreasonable for a court to give temporary custody to a family member or foster home while a domestic suit over custody is being completed. That statement that I made was to reassure DD that I was going to try and avoid that from happening. I wanted to let her know A, this is serious and i am approaching it seriously because her well being is at stake. B, I needed to hear and understand exactly what her situation was at your house and know that she wasn't jsut blowing things out of proportion so that I wasn't getting riled up for nothing. Do you understand what I just said?? That's called giving you the benefit of the doubt."

What Really Happened

The Day Diana "Screamed at and Threatened DD" - What Really Happened That Day

Early one Sunday morning, 13-year-old DD called John from the Wakeman Road house (her mother was not there) and asked him to come and get her. She told him that she wanted to spend the day with him and his new girlfriend, Diana. This made John happy because DD had been acting funny ever since he started dating Diana six months prior. She showed little interest in wanting to spend any time with Diana or get to know her. Diana had been very understanding and accomodating over DD's hesitation. John was hopeful that a good day together would be a positive step. He was even more thrilled and excited that it was DD's idea to have a day together! John left immediately to get DD while Diana got out of her pajamas and ready for the day.

As soon as she got in the car, however, the truth came out: DD didn't want to spend the day with John and Diana after all. DD really wanted to go to her friend's house, but her mother was sleeping and had refused to come out there and pick her up so early on a Sunday morning. Since it wasn't his weekend, DD knew lying to John was the only way to get him to drive over and pick her up.

"You know," DD said when she got in the car, "I have a headache now and I don't want to spend the day with you and Diana not feeling well... can you just drop me off at my friend's house instead?"

John reluctantly agreed, and stopped by his house along the way so DD could at least say hi and to let Diana know what was going on. "Change of plans," he told Diana when they got there. "DD has a headache, so I'm just going to take her to her friend's house for the day."

When Diana saw the disappointment on John's face, she knew exacly what happened. John was really hurt this time. Diana smiled sweetly, and said the following to DD in a normal tone of voice: "Hi honey, good to see you. You know, I see what you did, and it's not cool. Don't do that again, ok? Have fun at your friend's house. We'll do something fun next time."

Of course DD wasn't exactly happy that Diana saw right through her lie. She turned around and got back into the car without saying another word. John took DD to her friends house, and that was all he saw of her that week.

That's all. No screaming, no yelling, no calling of names. Afterward, John and Diana had a discussion about their disappointment and DD's behavior. They decided that next time DD tried to trick John into a ride to a friends house by saying she didn't feel well, he should just take her home and let her mother deal with it.

The Day Diana and DD Shared a Text Conversation During School Hours - What Really Happened That Day

This is the complete text conversation between Diana and DD over DD's refusal to visit her dad - again - with the excuse that she was angry at John - again - for "putting Diana first and moving in with her" one month ago. Circe sent a text to John to let him know that DD wouldn't be coming out that weekend because "he put Diana first in his life". In reality, 14-year-old DD wanted to spend the weekend with her boyfriend, but having to be at her dad's new house across town made that difficult. Diana decided to reach out to DD and let her know that if she just owned up to wanting to see her boyfriend instead of her dad, they'd be flexible - but that DD also had to make time for her dad once in a while, too. Diana knew that school policy prohibiting use of phones during school meant that DD wouldn't see her message until study hall or lunchtime. If you look at the time stamps, you will see that this conversation took place in spurts between classes and that Diana made no demands for DD to respond right away.

1/6/2011 8:11:05 AM - To DD from Diana: Pls dont complain to your mom that your dad puts me before you. A) he doesn't & B) you put your boyfriend, your friends & now apparently her before your dad all the time. Is that right?
1/6/2011 8:12:33 AM - To DD from Diana: I love you honey but that's not right. I'm getting pretty tired of people dissing your dad all the time. Someone has to be in his corner because he is not wrong.

1/6/2011 10:42:26 AM - From DD to Diana: I'm also getting tired of everyone dissing my mother. she has done nothing wrong. she's supporting me, and caring for me. the only reason i "put my boyfriend before him" is because my dad was the one who chose to move, and leave me here. So, i'm not going to act like that doesnt affect me, and act like that doesnt hurt.

1/6/2011 12:10:53 PM - To DD from Diana: DD, you've been seeing your boyfriend for 9 months now and skipping visits with your dad all this time. Why are you pretending that all of a sudden your dad's moving is the reason you don't want to visit now? You've been like this w/him the whole time.
1/6/2011 12:12:27 PM - To DD from Diana: I'm not mad at you, I am just trying to understand. No one is saying anything about your mom. You told your dad in october that you understand why he has to move. You told him it was ok with you.
1/6/2011 12:14:03 PM - To DD from Diana: You put your boyfriend before him a long time before he moved. Before your boyfriend, it was your other friends. It's understandable, but not fair to blame him for your choices.
1/6/2011 12:16:23 PM - To DD from Diana: Honey, I love your dad and you and I don't like to see him sad OR mad.
1/6/2011 12:19:41 PM - To DD from Diana: Again, DD, no one says anything you haven't said [about Circe] at one time or another. You are trying to find excuses for your choices, hon.
1/6/2011 12:21:51 PM - To DD from Diana: Your mom loves to confuse and make things difficult. If you want to stay home so you can visit with your boyfriend, it's ok. But that's YOUR choice & you should own up to it instead of picking fights with your dad so you can use it as an excuse not to come out. Again, you blowing him off for your boyfriend has been going on a lot longer than the 30 days he's lived across town.

1/6/2011 12:21:52 PM - From DD to Diana: actually ive been there when youve continuously talked about my mom in front of me. and i wont be around that. im not mad either. i just dont want to come out. turn it any way you want but, that's my choice, and it wont change any time soon. im sorry.

1/6/2011 12:28:33 PM - To DD from Diana: Well, I think you can see that you're acting very childish. Do you think your dad is going to move back to his old place because you are acting like this?

1/6/2011 12:31:24 PM - From DD to Diana: i didnt say i was blowing him off to see my boyfriend. but, alright.

1/6/2011 12:31:52 PM - To DD from Diana: I'm pretty suprised, and disappointed, too. I know you're better than this. Your dad deserves better and you know it.

1/6/2011 12:32:00 PM - From DD to Diana: Hahahaha. Bye Diana.

At this point, DD and Diana ended their conversation.

DD's Claim of Abandonment - What Really Happened

From the moment that John and Circe were separated, John was an active part of DD's life. Whenever possible, he would drop whatever he was doing at a moment's notice to pick her up and drive her to a friend's house or other activity. DD spent time after school with John. John also gave DD and her siblings regular music lessons. Outside of his child support obligation, John paid for DD's school lunches, music lessons and cell phone and also split 50/50 all of her school fees and activity fees. Any time that Circe demanded he take DD shopping for clothes or other items she needed, John would oblige. He attended her baseball games, her basketball games and all of her vocal and instrumental school concerts. John took DD on a family trip every summer (often to Disneyworld) and for four years in a row, they went together to a week-long jazz camp at a local college. John found many opportunities for DD to play with his professional musician friends and she was able to get her foot in the door for many happy events. As time went on and DD became a pre-teen, John found that he saw her on a casual basis only when she needed a ride somewhere, or for a few minutes when he would attend DD's concerts. DD spent less and less time with him and more and more time with her friends. When he asked Circe about it, she said it was "normal" pre-teen behavior and encouraged John to let DD set her own schedule.

TX 8/31/2011 3:47:01 PM - From DD to John: "Why can't you except the fact that there would NOT be problems without Diana! Do you Like this? For you not want to see me ever again? Its been 3 months. There is just no getting through to you."

9/30/2011 9:23:11 AM - From DD to John: "I talked to my mom. If you drive all the way out here [for parenting time], I promise I won't be home. You need to realize what is going on. You still don't get it. But, I will not see you tonight."

Facebook Post 06/03/2013: "The goal was to remove you both from my life. Permanently. You are as, if not much more, irrelevant to me now as you have been for the last three years. "

TX from DD to John 12/19/2013 8:16PM: "This is my life, and I don't want you to be a part of it. End of story. No apologies. You asshole. Just leave me alone. There is something extremely wrong with you. I can't beg you enough to stay out of my life."

EM from DD to John 02/2014: "I don't need to tell you that you won't be the one walking me down the aisle, or that the reason i am so terrified or being fat is because of you, or that i only invited you to my graduation because that is the last time that i plan on having contact with you before i go forward with my new life, and i can't wait until you see how happy i am going to be without you."

The Day Circe Claimed John Kidnapped DD - What Really Happened That Day

John had planned to take DD and Diana to meet his friends Jane and Tom in the next county for their annual Fourth of July pool party. DD and their son Josh had been friends since they were babies and loved seeing each other, so she was very excited for the visit. She looked forward to it every year. Since Circe had been working harder to interfere with his parenting time, John had warned her well in advance what his plans were for that weekend so she could not act surprised. Circe did not object until the day actually arrived and she realized that Diana was going along, too. At that point, Circe told DD that she was not permitted to leave with John and Diana to go to Josh's house. She called DD as they were about to leave for the party and told her that she wanted DD to go with her to her friend Traci's house for the day instead.

DD was upset when her mother told her this. She really did not want to go spend the day with Circe's friends - she wanted to see Josh. They had their plans made for weeks and DD did not understand what the problem was.

Circe launched into a meltdown and became completely enraged. She threatened to ground DD for an entire month if she dared to go to the party with John and Diana. DD burst into tears and crumpled into Diana's arms, crying uncontrollably at the thought of being grounded for the entire month of July. Diana tried to console her while Circe and John roared angrily at each other over the phone.

Finally, getting nowhere, John hung up on Circe and decided it was time to just be on their way. They got in the car and got on the highway. Diana noticed that they passed Circe when they got on the exit ramp - she had been on her way to John's house to fetch DD, but now it was too late.

A few minutes later Circe called DD's cell phone. She told DD that she just got off the phone with DD's boyfriend and had told him he wasn't permitted to date DD anymore because she dared to go with her father instead of her. DD cried uncontrollably in the back of the car all the way to the party. Circe then called John's phone to inform him that she was calling the police to tell them that he had kidnapped DD. Of course, John advised against that.

Circe's phone calls and text messages were relentless. John had to turn both his phone and DD's phone off completely for the day to stop the continued harassment from Circe. Of course, with all the drama the topic of conversation at the pool party was naturally focused on the situation and what to do about it. DD and Josh had a good time together well out of earshot of the adults at the party. If they discussed the drama, DD did not talk about it with John. DD was very angry at Circe for the drama and the trouble that Circe had caused between DD and her boyfriend, but Circe's threats did not come to pass and that relationship continued uninterrupted.

The Day John and Diana Took DD Shopping - What Really Happened That Day

John and Diana took DD with them to Old Navy clothing store. Old Navy was having a winter blowout sale and Diana's younger son needed some new things to wear to school. John suggested that DD look at the sale racks and see if there was anything she wanted. She proudly returned a while later with a pretty sweater that had been marked down to $2.99. John said, "Wow! $2.99? That's a great deal! Go buy ten more!"

"No thank you," DD replied. "This is all I want."

"Are you sure?" John asked. "Whatever you need, let me know." But DD said she didn't want anything else, so they paid for their purchase and had a great day together before John took DD home.

When DD got home she told Circe that she had a miserable time at John's house, that she hated Diana, and that Diana yelled at her and made her feel selfish for asking for a $4 sweater at the store.

Both John and Diana had previously purchased hundreds of dollars in clothing, shoes and other things that DD had asked for in the past without hesitation, so this story confused them.

The Reason They Went To Court - What Really Happened

The reason that John and Circe went to court was because Circe had been denying visitation with John for over a year. John tried to work out a parenting schedule with Circe without involving the court, but Circe would have nothing to do with it. DD also refused to cooperate because she wanted to spend her weekends with her boyfriend, something her mother encouraged her to do. Any time John and Diana tried to contact DD or attend one of DD's concerts or other school events, Circe would beome enraged and drama would ensue, ensuring no one had a good time and that DD was stressed beyond belief. Circe and her then-husband Bob C. blocked John from all contact with DD via cell phone, e-mail and facebook and refused to let him visit DD without their supervision. After three months of no contact with his daughter and Circe's refusal to work things out, John was left with no choice but to turn to the court for help establishing a regular parenting schedule that everyone could live with. The court case was filed in September, 2011 at the beginning of DD's Sophomore year when she was 15 years of age. It was continued and delayed until a decision was made in March 2013, toward the end of DD's Junior year and just before DD's 17th birthday.

The claim that Circe filed was due to a typographical error in their divorce agreement of 2001 that states John was to pay for Circe's medical insurance premiums "until he becomes remarried". This was supposed to read, "until SHE becomes remarried", since clearly John cannot insure an ex-spouse on his medical insurance. Since she was remarried, Circe would be covered under her own husband's insurance policy. At any rate, neither of them were following that paragraph of their divorce agreement since Circe became remarried. Because she knew the truth of the typo, Circe had never questioned it in the past - but because she needed a diversion in court, she demanded John pay up.

Circe also falsely claimed that DD had been abused while under John's care, that John was a "deadbeat dad" who did not pay child support or carry health insurance for DD, and that John never supported DD for clothing and other financial obligations that aren't outlined in their support order. It was then on John to prove to the court that these claims were not true.

The outcome of the court case was this: Because John could not actually prove the typo was supposed to be "until SHE becomes remarried" and Circe refused to admit to it, the court decided that a fair resolution would be for John to pay $10,000 to Circe for past insurance premiums over the next three years as spousal support. John's petition for court-ordered parenting time with DD was dismissed due to the fact that DD was one year away from the age of majority at that time and clearly no one could force her to cooperate. Since John had exhausted his savings, he was unable to fight for parenting time any longer. There was nothing left to do except to accept the loss and move forward in the hopes that someday, DD will realize that what happened to her was, in fact, PAS. He hopes that DD will realize that while he did everything he could do and spent all the money he had to spend in order to bring them back together, Circe did everything she could do - and spent thousands of dollars of HER own money - to tear their relationship apart.

Also quite clearly, the outcome of the court case proves without a shadow of a doubt that it was never about which parent had physical custody of DD. It also confirms that John was and is current on his child support obligations; that he had, in fact, supported DD financially in other ways that were not outlined in the Child Support Order (such as paying for her cell phone and music lessons for over seven years); that any and all claims of abuse against John and Diana were unsubstantiated (false); and that DD had been (and still is) covered 100% under John's medical insurance policy as ordered by the Child Support Enforcement Agency. In other words, despite Circe's false accusations, John was not and never had been a "deadbeat dad" - otherwise, those things would certainly have been addressed in the court's findings. Also, the fact that DD was NOT placed in a foster home during the 18 months of court proceedings proves that Circe was lying to DD about that too. Both parties were ordered to pay their own court costs and attorney fees, further proving that John was not "at fault" of anything and was within his rights to petition the court for help.

In a bizarre twist, during the court proceedings, it was discovered that Circe's then-husband Bob C was caught up in his own proceedings in another county. He was $25,000 behind in his child support obligations, had been held in contempt for harassing his ex-wife, and was in trouble with the court for living with Circe outside of the court-ordered agreement. His own three children were forbidden by the court from visitation with Circe, and Bob C was forced by a court-order to maintain a separate home in the same city as his ex-wife. Within a few months of the end of this court case, Circe and Bob C were divorced (Circe immediately moved in with a new boyfriend). Circe and Bob C. are now in foreclosure proceedings for several years non-payment of back taxes. (All of this information is easily found on the Internet if you search county court records.) So ironically, who is the "deadbeat" in this situation?

In Circe's own words per this voice mail, the court case was always about money. She says: "And okay, I'm a fool and an idiot for telling you this because you probably, I don't know, don't deserve for me to do this, but I'm going to do it anyway, and I have to tell you, and my husband took everything that's been going on to a lawyer and there is no statue of limitations when it comes to us being, um, I can't think of the word when you can't follow a court order, contempt. Contempt of court. And, um, if you look carefully at our divorce agreement, it's very clearly stated that you're supposed to be responsible for my medical insurance also until you get remarried, i don't know what page it's on but it's very clear that it's there. That number, comes to THOUSANDS of dollars, that you would be held in contempt to repay me. And my husband is just like, in his mind, I'm owed that. For me, if any of that ever happened, I would just put it in DD's savings account... Ultimately, EVERYTHING you earn, ultimately should benefit DD.

And in this e-mail, Circe talks about withholding visitation to extort extra money from John: "It has been a choice, on my part, not to enforce this part of the agreement, but since you have been stating for the past year that you want to follow the agreement exactly, I find it necessary to remind you of the parts of the agreement you have chosen to overlook. So, once you have a method of compensating me for my insurance premiums, then we can move forward in the other details you would like me to work out concerning DD coming to your apartment for your visits or parenting time."

Also, Circe told DD that if they had to go to court, they would put DD in a foster home until custody was decided.

EM from Circe to John 01/2011: "It is not unreasonable for a court to give temporary custody to a family member or foster home while a domestic suit over custody is being completed. That statement that I made was to reassure DD that I was going to try and avoid that from happening. I wanted to let her know A, this is serious and i am approaching it seriously because her well being is at stake. B, I needed to hear and understand exactly what her situation was at your house and know that she wasn't jsut blowing things out of proportion so that I wasn't getting riled up for nothing. Do you understand what I just said?? That's called giving you the benefit of the doubt."

Note from John: If any of my family members wish to see the official court documents that back up these claims, they are welcome to contact me and ask for them. I have nothing to hide from you, and would love to prove my claims with the truth.