A woman who is now best friends with her ex’s new wife has told how the pair forged a friendship even though they loathed each other when they first met.
Taylor Cole, 27, from Utah, who shares son Beckham, three, with her ex Gentry Hatch, 27, admitted she was threatened by his new girlfriend and later wife Madison Hatch, 22.
The women even fought when Taylor was incensed by Madison posting pictures of her toddler Beckham on Instagram.
But now the pair consider themselves best friends, speaking to each other every single day and enjoying spa days, as well as celebrating holidays and co-parenting Beckham together.
Taylor admitted she feared that Madison, who is studying therapy at college, would usurp her position as Beckham’s mother when she first learned about her relationship with Gentry.
‘I didn’t like Madison,’ said Taylor, a sports reporter. ‘No mother wants to be replaced and the idea that Beckham would like her more than me was hard.’
Taylor Cole, 27, shares her son Beckham, three, with her ex Gentry Hatch, 27, and admitted that she was threatened by Gentry’s new girlfriend and later wife Madison Hatch, 22. Pictured, Madison, Gentry, Beckham, Taylor, Ledger and Cameron
The women even fought when Taylor was incensed by Madison posting pictures of her toddler Beckham on Instagram. Pictured, Taylor, Madison and Beckham
Madison added: ‘I made assumptions about who Taylor was as a person and I didn’t see things from her perspective.
‘We didn’t really like each other but it wasn’t because of each other, it was because of the situation.’
Taylor, who is also a mother to Ledger, one, with her now husband Cameron, said that her strained relationship with Gentry made matters worse.
She added: ‘I met Gentry in college and we went out for two and a half years and I got pregnant by accident.
‘It was a really big deal and a really stressful time. We ended up in courts fighting over custody – it was a very acrimonious split.
‘I couldn’t have foreseen a time when we would be friendly. I tried my best to avoid him and when we did see each other, we would fight with each other.’
The pair now consider themselves best friends, speaking to each other every single day and enjoying spa days as well as celebrating holidays and co-parenting Beckham together
The women finally met at Taylor’s birthday dinner in 2018, but they did not hit it off and later had a falling out over Madison’s Instagram posts of Beckham.
‘I was posting pictures of Beckham like he was my child and from Taylor’s point of view, I was just the girlfriend,’ explained Madison. ‘But for me those posts showed that I was serious about my relationship with Gentry.’
Taylor added: ‘I just felt like I didn’t want someone showing off Beckham on the internet. I had a fight with Gentry about it which only caused more problems.’
But relations between the women began to change when Madison invited Taylor and Cameron, 27, who works in software sales, to her December 2019 wedding to Gentry, a sheriff.
‘When Madison chose to invite me and Cameron to her wedding, I felt like that was an act of solidarity,’ said Taylor. ‘She cared to be our friend.’
Madison also reached out to Taylor to explain she had no intention of taking over her role as Beckham’s mother.
‘I told her that my intentions were never to be his mother,’ she explained. ‘I was just here for extra support and extra love. She texted me saying: “If Beckham has to have another mother, I’m glad it’s you.”
Over the last 18 months, the women have grown so close that they speak daily and consider each other best friends.
Taylor said: ‘I think she’s my best friend, I tell her everything, we share a child. It’s a woman-to-woman relationship, not just mom-to-mom. We speak at least once every day.’
Madison, Gentry, Beckham, Taylor holding Ledger, Cameron
Madison said: ‘We try to have a girls’ night at least once a month. We get massages and we go for dinner. We celebrate most holidays together.
‘We’ve been trick or treating together, we always celebrate Beckham’s birthday together, we have a Christmas party so that one parent never has to miss out on Christmas.’
The pair have even set up a joint Instagram page, @steppedup.coparenting, to encourage other divorced parents to take the steps that will help them bond with their ex’s new partner.
Madison pointed out that there are very few resources available to help women who are becoming stepmoms.
‘I wanted to learn how to be a good stepmom rather than an evil stepmom,’ she explained. ‘So much of the stuff online is negative because so many co-parenting stories are negative.’
The friends shared their top tips to becoming friendly with your ex’s new significant other.
Taylor said: ‘Have a group chat so you all know what’s going on and there are less miscommunications that way.’
Madison added: ‘Start doing little things together that will make you feel more comfortable in each other’s company. And finally have compassion for each other.
‘Co-parenting is very emotional and you have to take a step back and look at it from the other person’s perspective.’