Taryn I came to this same conclusion a few months ago when I knew my daughter was going to be gone for a month in the summer living with her Dad and his GF and her kids. Her father is so inconsistent at times and volatile that I knew my daughter would need someone. Funny I finally started to be polite and accepting of his new life and last night my daughter informed me that her dad broke up with her (again). Unfortunately over the summer my daughter had time to bond with the Gf and her kids so now she is feeling the loss too.

All I can say is once I backed up and stopped treating the GF like the enemy (because really he was the one who left me) my stbx became a lot more cooperative so that I was able to finally get the house sold, a separation agreement signed and a new house purchased. Maybe it is what you will need to do to make things easiler for you and the kids.

Christine