Didn't really know where else to ask any of this.
My child's father has been sent to prison. It's come totally out of the blue, he didn't tell anyone and we were only told once he was already there, he was an incredibly involved and active parent and we've lost that support as well as his maintenance payments. The financial side is a blow, but mostly my child is devastated and can't understand why she can't see her dad anymore. He won't let the children see or speak to him, I'm not sure why.
I've called everyone I can think of and there seems to be no support for this, her school are giving her some space to talk but we are down £400 a month, I now have none of the additional childcare he provided (for lack of a better word) and I'm suddenly a lone parent after happilyco-parenting for over half a decade.
I also have to reconcile the version of him I thought I knew with the crimes he pled guilty to. I'm in shock as well.
Half of us are sure he didn't do it but can't work out why he pled guilty, the other half are in acceptance that he must have done these things (I'm the latter, I work in the legal sector and can't wrap my head around any other reason than he pled guilty because he's guilty and the evidence was overwhelming).
I don't know who to be angry at or where to go, I feel ashamed and embarrassed and honestly co-parenting in the way we did was a huge part of my identity. I was proud of it. My daughter loves her dad, he's not missed a weekend in 5 years, it's all gone without warning and I feel we've got nowhere to turn. Lots of people seem to expect us to feel a sense of "good riddance" and move on but we can't. He was a fantastic dad and a brilliant Co-parent.