A mum living with both her ex-husband and her new girlfriend has shared how they split parenting duties.
Linda Fruits, 33, from Sunrise, Florida, US, made headlines earlier this year after revealing she asked her former partner to father her new child, who was born in May.
The thoroughly ‘modern family’ welcomed Arlo last month, nearly two years on from Linda ending her marriage to Christopher Haerting, 36, after eight years together.
The pair, who share sons Elliot, four, and Owen, two, split when Linda realised she is a lesbian.
Six months after meeting now-girlfriend Maddy Gross, 36, in November 2021, Maddy moved into the joint family home and they asked Christopher to be their sperm donor.
Now, he acts as father alongside the two mothers, forming a three-person parenting team under one roof.
Linda gave an insight into how the dynamic works, saying: ‘We decide what role we each take on every day by looking at who’s working, who needs a break – and who feels like cooking!
‘We keep things fair between the three of us with open communication and understanding.
‘There being three of us rather than two absolutely helps. Anyone with kids would agree – the more hands the better!’
In a video posted to Instagram, Linda revealed what a typical day looks like in their unconventional household, with two mums, one dad and three kids.
She explains in the clip: ‘Since we [Maddy and I] take over the night shift, Christopher takes over getting them ready for school in the morning.
‘I need my coffee first, and then I jump in and pick up where he left off.’
While Maddy looks after Arlo, Linda and Christopher split helping the older children get ready for school and preparing breakfasts.
They also use ‘gentle parenting’ where necessary – such as when Owen learns a swear word and Elliot and Linda argue.
After dropping the eldest children off at school, Linda then heads home to Arlo while Maddy cooks them breakfast.
The three parents continue to split parenting and household duties throughout the day, with Maddy seen doing the family’s laundry, both mums looking after the baby while Christopher works, and Linda doing the afternoon school run.
‘I wanted to pick up Elliot by myself today, which is another benefit of having three parents in one house, so we could reconnect, I could apologise, and we could rebuild from this morning,’ she explained.
In the evening, Christopher looks after the boys and helps with preparing for bed and reading bedtime stories.
They end the night having ‘secret fro-yo’ in bed after the kids are asleep.
Speaking after Arlo’s birth in May, Linda said: ‘The family is doing great – the boys are so excited.
‘They ask where the baby is as soon as they walk in the door, pick them up from school, cry over who gets to sit next to him in the car, it’s adorable.
‘They were so excited to meet their brother. They are so in love with him, they say it multiple times a day. ‘
The mum-of-three continued: ‘I had one job when the baby came out, to announce the gender.
‘I was so excited the baby was here and my girlfriend was safe that I completely forgot and it didn’t even matter.’
While Linda and Maddie care for Arlo and try to squeeze in naps whenever possible, Christopher takes the other two boys – often for the weekend.
Not only does it offer them all some respite, it gives Christopher the opportunity to spend some alone time with his oldest sons and make plenty of fun memories.
‘We are taking it day by day to see what we all need at any given moment, and can all in grandma for backup as needed,’ Linda added.
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