My split from my ex wasn’t filled with drama. Despite having a child together, his penchant for disappearing—both physically and emotionally—meant our breakup was rather uneventful. When my daughter and I relocated across the country to join my now-husband, my ex didn’t even bother to say farewell to her.
After the move, I heard from him only once in the first six months. I texted him to inform him about my upcoming marriage, and he didn’t reach out again until more than a year later when an arrest warrant was issued for his failure to pay child support for three years. By that time, I had been married for several months, and my husband was in the process of adopting my daughter. The only thing preventing us from finalizing that was my ex’s signature, which he was unresponsive about, despite clearly showing no interest in being a father. But once the warrant was out, he suddenly became very cooperative. I sent him the adoption documents overnight, and he signed them right away, eager to free himself from financial obligations.
It’s quite amusing that this absentee father has started liking my posts on social media. First of all, I don’t follow him in any capacity—online or offline. My daughter has a father figure in my husband, and we’re thriving as a family. Maybe it’s our happiness that makes him want to keep tabs on us.
Initially, I found it infuriating. How dare he like my posts when he hasn’t even checked in on his own child? What gives him the right to insert himself into my life now, after being absent when we truly needed him? I was furious. Although our breakup was relatively calm, he still made my life difficult as a single mom.
Instead of blocking him, I decided to showcase the joyful life my daughter and I share with my husband. I began posting more pictures of our family outings and moments of my husband being the devoted dad my ex never was. I even shared personal updates on LinkedIn, adjusting my posts to fit the professional platform since that’s where my ex primarily engages with my content.
And you know what? It feels liberating! It’s almost like I’m doing him a favor. He’s witnessing what he’s missing out on with my incredible daughter and, perhaps, learning from my husband what it means to be a true father and partner. For all I know, he’s sitting on the other side of the country taking notes, inspired to improve himself because of how I’m highlighting our life.
None of my posts are intended to be malicious; I don’t publish content solely for him. It’s just when I see him lurking on my profile that I feel compelled to give him something to gawk at. It’s a bit of fun for me. After everything he put me and my daughter through—especially denying her the child support she deserved—he should consider himself lucky that my social media antics are all I’m doing.
Is this behavior immature? Probably. It might be healthier for me to let it go, right? If I’ve truly moved on, shouldn’t I just forget about it? Perhaps, but I’ve taken the high road in every other situation with him. For once, I wanted to indulge in something a little petty.
The truth is, I was done with him long before I met my husband. He was disinterested in our lives when it mattered. It’s frustrating that he now finds the time to monitor my online activities when he couldn’t be bothered before.
So, his consequence is having to watch someone else take pride in raising “his” daughter. As long as he’s following my social media, he’ll see my child thriving with a man who stepped up in ways he never could. All her achievements—documented online—will reflect the love and effort of the man who embraced the role of father.
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Summary: After a lackluster breakup with her ex, a mother finds humor and empowerment in sharing her joyful life on social media, provoking her ex to realize what he’s missing. Instead of engaging directly, she showcases her family’s happiness, hoping he might learn from her husband’s example of true fatherhood.