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Question #1: What do I do in this situation? At the minimum, I think I can refute in a positive way her theory of me "moving out for my family". Without assigning blame, I have mentioned to her how positive this two home setup has been as it has reduced conflict and given her space. Do you think talking to her about how her actions caused the situation will help? OR, do I continue to focus on the positives of the two home setup? At some level, I feel REPETITION is key - I feel I need to repeat my story (of how better the two home setup is for the family) to counter her entrenching her story (that I am doing it for my family and that I would abandon the kids).
What I've been advised is to say something along the lines of "that's your mom's opinion; I don't agree for these reasons."
And then, this is key: Ask your kid(s) what THEY believe and listen to their concerns.
I was in a similar situation; my daughter said "
Mama said you abandoned us because you didn't want a family." I told her that wasn't true, I stayed close by because I loved her and wanted to be involved in her life, but I couldn't stay married to her mom because we didn't get along. She said something like "
Now I don't know who to believe" but I said she didn't have to believe either of us, she was free to make up her own mind, but I'd always stay nearby and would always be her father.
I took a similar approach when BPDxw said awful things to her about my FOO; told her I didn't agree with her mom's opinions, and asked D what she believed and why.
This advice was validated by my D's therapist, BTW. He said kids know more than we think, and are only looking to you to help them navigate the lies they're getting. It's important to let them make up their own minds, and if they see one parent not making sense, or telling them stories that contradict their own lived experience, that parent will lose credibility with them.
Question #2: I realize that I need to talk to my older one (when he is with me) about how he feels about all this (I am focusing on the older one, as younger one is not the age to have a conversation). He calls it 'the problem' and sometimes would ask me to solve it. I didn't have a good answer for him. What do I talk to him about? Should I ask him if he really thinks that I would leave him - and assure him? ...
Yes, absolutely.
And I'll add you shouldn't take some of this stuff lying down. If this all gets ugly and moves to a divorce, you should have all this documented, and be prepared to fight back, and show your wife has a pattern of attempting to alienate the kids from you.
Staying separate from a BPDer without the clear legal and financial boundaries of a divorce is playing with fire... you could get burned here.