A colleague of mine has recently been told out of the blue that his wife wants to divorce and she wants to move back to where her parents live with the kids that is 1.5-2 hours away. There were no arguments or any cheating (as far as he is aware)
Of course I only l know his side but he seems to do his fair share of parenting and family life and is nothing but kind and respectful and helpful to everyone at work.
His kids are 11 and 6 and he would love to have them 50/50 but this is impossible with her wanting to move so far away. The eldest wants to stay with their mum and the youngest hasnt been told yet.
He has had one appointment with a solicitor who basically told him the court would take what the children wanted into account especially the older one and it he would probably be better off accepting every other weekend and there wasnt anything he could do.
Does anyone have any useful resources, support groups or advice for people but especially men in his situation. He is feeling really sad that he not only will he not see his kids daily but he will only see them every other weekend. He looked into moving too but the commute to his job would become too expensive and long. They earn roughly the same but she is in a job that could be done anywhere and is in demand whereas his is more specialised. This means he cant even see them for tea one night a week etc.
We are all trying to support him as he is feeling really sad but were looking for some resources. I asked his permission to post here and will share the results with him. I have made it as anonymous as I can.