TL;DR: When co-parenting turns into a performance, it’s not about the kids—it’s about who’s watching. We unpack performative parenting, the Co-Parenting Olympics, and why some parents suddenly become “Parent of the Year” when court, lawyers, or outsiders are involved.

From gymnastics that disappear after trial to emails written for an audience, this episode names what’s really happening in high conflict relationships and relationship conflict—and why living under constant scrutiny changes how you parent, respond, and survive. Along the way, we’re honest about what parenting looks like off-stage, what actually matters to us, and where performance ends.

Long Description: Few things are as disorienting in a high conflict relationship as realizing that parenting has turned into a performance. Suddenly, decisions aren’t about what actually works for the kids—they’re about optics. Who’s watching. How it looks in writing. How it sounds in court. How it might be repeated by a lawyer, a guardian ad litem, or someone else with power over your family.

In this episode of High Conflict Hell, Jen and JeniLynn talk about performative parenting—what it is, how it shows up in high-conflict co-parenting, and why it becomes so common once lawyers, courts, or outside audiences enter the picture. We unpack how parenting behaviors can escalate around hearings and trials, only to disappear once the spotlight moves on—and how confusing and destabilizing that can feel inside an already intense relationship conflict.

We talk about the Co-Parenting Olympics: sudden extracurriculars, carefully documented dentist visits, perfectly worded emails, and parenting choices that seem designed less for the children and more for an audience. We explore why performance is often rewarded in systems built on limited snapshots—and why consistent, invisible labor rarely makes it into court narratives, especially in high-conflict family systems.

This episode also digs into the emotional toll of living under constant scrutiny. When every message feels like evidence. When you start filtering your words through how they’ll sound “read out loud.” When it feels like you have to perform too—or risk being labeled negligent, uncooperative, or unstable. In ongoing relationship conflicts, that pressure can quietly reshape how you parent, communicate, and even see yourself.

This isn’t about demonizing effort or pretending parenting doesn’t involve showing up. It’s about naming when performance becomes a weapon—used in high conflict relationships to control narratives rather than support children. And it’s about validating how exhausting it is to raise kids inside systems that often prioritize appearances over reality.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What performative parenting looks like in a high conflict relationship
• How parenting behavior shifts during litigation, hearings, and evaluations
• Why some parenting efforts peak during court involvement and vanish afterward
• How performance is rewarded in custody systems while consistency i

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TL;DR: What is a Guardian ad Litem, and what happens in high-conflict custody cases? This episode explains the Guardian ad Litem process, what parents can expect, and why GAL recommendations can feel unpredictable or overwhelming when conflict, fear, and court pressure collide.

Long Description: What is a Guardian ad Litem, and what actually happens once one enters a high-conflict custody case? For many parents, the appointment of a GAL feels like the moment everything shifts—suddenly, a stranger has enormous influence over your parenting time, your credibility, and your children’s future.

In this episode of High Conflict Hell, Jen and Jenny Lynn break down the Guardian ad Litem process from lived experience, not theory. We talk about what a GAL is supposed to do versus how the process often plays out in real life, especially in high-conflict co-parenting cases where fear, power imbalances, and legal pressure are already high.

Parents are often told a Guardian ad Litem is there to “represent the best interests of the child.” But what does that actually mean when information is limited, timelines are rushed, conflict is ongoing, and every interaction feels like it could be misinterpreted? This episode explores why GAL recommendations can feel unpredictable, overwhelming, or even devastating—and why so many parents walk away from the process feeling unheard or exposed rather than protected.

We also talk about the emotional toll of GAL investigations: being evaluated while parenting under stress, managing lawyer involvement, trying to stay regulated while knowing every word and decision may be filtered through someone else’s lens. This isn’t about attacking Guardian ad Litems—it’s about acknowledging how much power the role holds and how destabilizing the process can feel for families already living in survival mode.

This episode is for parents navigating high-conflict custody, considering what a Guardian ad Litem appointment really means, or trying to make sense of a recommendation that doesn’t feel aligned with their lived reality.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What a Guardian ad Litem is and their role in custody cases
• How GAL investigations typically work in high-conflict situations
• Why parents often feel confused, judged, or blindsided by GAL recommendations
• The emotional and psychological impact of being evaluated while parenting under pressure
• How conflict, fear, and court dynamics can shape the information a GAL sees
• Why “best interests of the child” can feel subjective in practice
• The power imbalance parents experience once a GAL enters the case
• Why the GAL process can feel unpredictable—even when you’re doing everything “right”
• How to emotionally survive the process when the outcome feels out of your control

This episode does not offer legal advice. It offers something many parents don’t get enough of during custody litigation: context, honesty, and validation.

If you’re searching for answers about Guardian ad Litems in

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TL;DR Parental alienation and estrangement are not the same thing — but in family court, they get used like they are. Lawyers are uses alienation as a weapon, and the costs are children. Is this a real issue? Can be. Is it being overused by attorneys as a weapon? Absolutely.

We talk about this from both sides — as parents living inside high-conflict custody and as a lawyer watching how courts turn family breakdown into legal warfare. We break down how estrangement gets mislabeled as alienation, why so many moms end up accused of “campaigns,” and how fear takes over once threats of contempt, fines, or losing your kids enter the room.

*****This episode does not provide legal advice. The discussion reflects general legal concepts and personal experience, not guidance for any specific situation.*****

Long Description: What happens when parental alienation is used as a weapon instead of a diagnosis?

In this episode of High Conflict Hell, Jen and JeniLynn break down one of the most dangerous and misunderstood issues in family court: how estrangement gets mislabeled as parental alienation — and how that mislabeling fuels high-conflict custody battles.

We walk through a real, unfolding custody conflict where a child refuses visitation — and how that refusal becomes framed as alienation instead of examined as estrangement. We show how quickly the focus shifts away from why a child is pulling back and onto who to blame.

We examine how ordinary parenting behaviors — communicating concerns, responding to a child in distress, trying to prevent emotional harm — can suddenly become legal evidence once lawyers get involved. And how fast fear takes over when parents are threatened with contempt motions, sanctions, fines, or losing time with their children.

In this episode, we break down real-life examples of estrangement being twisted into parental alienation accusations, including:

• A series of incidents that led to a child’s distance from a parent, including infidelity, discovery through synced devices, and lying
• A child’s refusal to attend visits being blamed on Mom
• A last-minute school-night hockey invitation escalating into a full custody crisis
• Normal co-parenting communication being reframed as a “campaign”
• Courts enforcing parenting time instead of addressing the behavior that caused the estrangement

We also unpack the legal reality behind parental alienation accusations — why the term rarely appears in actual statutes, yet shows up constantly in court filings, contempt motions, and custody disputes. How it becomes a shortcut for discrediting a parent when children speak up about discomfort, broken trust, or emotional harm.

And we confront the question family court too often asks first:

Not “Is the child safe?”
But “What if she’s lying?”

We talk about how that framing turns protective parenting into “high-conflict behavior,” how reactions become evidence, and how fear sile

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TL;DR Lawyers, $400/hour billing, $20,000 retainers, the nicknames that get us through, and the real cost of litigating love. This isn’t legal advice — it’s a real conversation about what happens when family court lawyers turn high-conflict co-parenting into a billing strategy and kids become collateral.

We talk about this from both sides of the system — as parents trapped inside high-conflict custody battles and as a lawyer watching the system break from the inside. We break down how family lawyers escalate cases instead of resolving them, why so many parents end up thinking “my lawyer made things worse,” and how fear takes over once threats of contempt, fines, or jail enter the room.

We also unpack threat emails, “mediation offers” with strings attached, and how legal pressure keeps families stuck in fight-or-flight while the bills keep climbing.

*****This episode does not provide legal advice. The discussion reflects general legal concepts and personal experience, not guidance for any specific situation.*****

Long Description: Do lawyers make co-parenting worse?
In this episode of High Conflict Hell, Jen and JeniLynn answer that question from both sides of the system — as parents trapped inside high-conflict family court, and from the perspective of someone who is actually a lawyer watching the system from the inside.

Because here’s the truth most people don’t realize until they’re already drowning in it: Money is the game. Fear is the fuel. And your children are the leverage.

We talk about what happens when a simple co-parenting disagreement turns into a $20,000 retainer, 96 emails in three months, and nonstop threats of contempt, fines, and even jail — all before anything about the kids has actually been resolved.

This episode pulls back the curtain on how family court lawyers turn conflict into profit and reactions into evidence. We walk through real examples from an active custody case — from kids not having beds, to school trips being framed as kidnapping, to therapy being used as a legal weapon — and show how normal parenting becomes criminalized the moment lawyers step in.

We talk about:

• How aggressive demand letters are designed to trigger fear and reactions
• Why “mediation offers” come with strings attached
• How six-minute billing rewards escalation instead of resolution
• Why so many parents end up saying “my lawyer made things worse”
• And how your ex’s lawyer escalates while claiming to be “just following the plan”

We also dig into how fear drives the entire system. When lawyers start talking about alienation, contempt, fines, and losing time with your kids, parents stop thinking clearly. They defend themselves. They react. And every reaction becomes another billable moment.

From the inside, this isn’t accidental — it’s how the system makes money.

This episode also explores what it feels like to be attacked on two fronts at once: publicly as a “high-confl

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TL;DR: “She’s crazy” is the oldest trick in the book — and family court loves it. In this episode, we embrace the label and talk about how we got branded “crazy, stupid, witches” after years of gaslighting, reactive abuse, and toxic relationship dynamics.

We break down the high-conflict baby mama label — why it’s trending, how 50/50 custody schedules create a literal petri dish for conflict, and how a new partner, a lawyer, or a messy exchange schedule can turn normal parenting issues into “proof” you’re unstable.

If you’re tired of defending yourself, being told to “just ignore it,” or living in a world where your reaction is the only thing anyone sees — you’re in the right place.

Long Description:

“She’s crazy.”
“She’s unhinged.”
“She’s high-conflict.”

Those three words destroy more mothers in family court than almost anything else — because once you’re labeled, everything you do gets filtered through it.

In this episode of High Conflict Hell, Jen and JeniLynn take on the high-conflict baby mama label and ask the question no one in the legal system wants to touch: Are there really that many “crazy moms”… or has modern co-parenting and custody law created a system that makes women look unstable when they’re reacting to chaos?

We talk about how 50/50 custody schedules, constant exchanges, homework forgotten at the other house, last-minute cancellations, and parking-lot confrontations create a petri dish for conflict — especially when you’re forced to co-parent with someone who doesn’t like you, doesn’t respect you, or actively wants to provoke you.

We also get into the role of:

• New partners who whisper, “Wow… she’s crazy”
• Lawyers who profit from reactions
• Therapy language being weaponized (“My therapist says you traumatized me”)
• And how gaslighting and reactive abuse turn your emotional response into “evidence” while the original behavior disappears

We talk about how women — especially emotional, expressive, justice-driven women — get labeled crazy, hysterical, dramatic, and high-conflict for doing the same thing men get praised for: pushing back.

This episode also goes deep into triangulation: what happens when kids come to their mom for safety, and mom gets blamed for “making things worse.” We talk about what it’s like when children say, “Don’t tell Dad” or “Don’t tell Grandma” because they know it will blow up — and how that puts mothers in impossible positions where every choice becomes “wrong.”

We share real stories about:

• Being told “I always thought you were crazy — she’s crazier”
• Exes who are charming in person but brutal through lawyers
• Being accused of giving someone PTSD for reacting to betrayal
• How cheating, abandonment, and emotional whiplash get rewritten as your instability
• And what it feels like when you finally experience a healthy relationship where someone just says, “Okay,” instead of pushing you into a meltdown

This isn’t abou

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TL;DR: Poke. Poke. Poke. Then you react — and suddenly you’re the villain. That’s reactive abuse. In this episode, we talk about what it looks like in real life: cheating, Ashley Madison, gaslighting that makes you doubt your own reality, the silent treatment, and the kind of public humiliation that leaves you spiraling… and then getting told, “Wow. You’re crazy.” We also take it into family court and high-conflict co-parenting, where custody threats and lawyer games are used to bait reactions — and your emotional response becomes “evidence” while the original behavior vanishes. If you’ve ever felt like there’s no right way to respond — because your response is the trap — you’re in the right place.

Long Description: Reactive abuse is one of the most misunderstood dynamics in high-conflict relationships — especially in divorce, custody battles, and family court. It is a toxic relationship dynamic and it what happens when someone pokes, provokes, gaslights, humiliates, threatens, or destabilizes you over time… until you finally react. And then your reaction becomes the story.

In this episode of High Conflict Hell, Jen and JeniLynn break down what reactive abuse looks like in real life — not in a textbook, but in marriages, cheating, Ashley Madison profiles, custody exchanges, text messages, and court filings.

We talk about how gaslighting works in real life: how someone can deny, minimize, mock, or manipulate reality until you start doubting yourself — and how that pressure eventually explodes into an emotional reaction that gets used against you. We share stories of affairs, digital breadcrumbs left on purpose, humiliating discoveries, and the moment you’re told, “Look at how crazy you are,” instead of being asked why you were pushed there.

This isn’t just about romantic relationships. We take this straight into high-conflict co-parenting and family court, where reactive abuse becomes a legal strategy. When one parent withholds the kids, files vague motions, sends provocative messages, or lets their lawyer do the dirty work, the goal is often the same: trigger a reaction that can be reframed as instability, harassment, or “high-conflict behavior.”

We talk about:

• How cheating and secrecy (including Ashley Madison) create emotional traps
• How lawyers and custody disputes can be used to bait reactions
• Why vague parenting plans and holiday schedules become pressure points
• How reactions get turned into evidence while the original behavior disappears
• How gaslighting and provocation spill over onto children
• And how women — especially emotional, expressive women — get labeled “crazy” for responding to mistreatment

We also share deeply personal stories, including what it’s like to watch reactive abuse shift from a marriage into co-parenting, and what it feels like when your child starts being gaslit and blamed for reacting to a parent’s behavior.

If you’ve ever been told you’re “too emotional,” “unstable,” “dramatic,” or “high-conflict” — when

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TL; DR A real conversation about high-conflict co-parenting when guns, fear, domestic violence, lawyers, and the court enter the picture — and the whiplash that occurs when one parent is treated like a saint one day and a sinner the next. We unpack how parenting whiplash becomes a control tactic, how safety concerns get turned into attacks, how the family law system can minimize real risk, and why the “best interests of the children” often don’t align with the safety or wellbeing of the parent trying to protect them.

Long description: Family court is supposed to protect children — but in high-conflict co-parenting, it often does the opposite.

In this episode of High Conflict Hell, Jen and JeniLynn take parenting whiplash out of the self-help world and drag it into its real form: high-conflict co-parenting hell.

This isn’t about inconsistent parenting styles. It’s about what happens when one parent treats you like a saint one day and a sinner the next — praising you, forgiving you, asking to “co-parent peacefully,” and then flipping the moment you raise a concern, set a boundary, or talk about safety.

This is whiplash as a weapon.

We dive into what happens when toxic relationships don’t end at separation — but instead continue through custody disputes, co-parenting communication, and the family law system itself. When guns, fear, domestic violence in relationships, and lawyers enter the picture, safety concerns don’t always lead to protection. Too often, they get turned into accusations.

This conversation goes beyond theory. It’s rooted in lived experience navigating high-conflict co-parenting, domestic violence dynamics, custody evaluations, and family court decisions that prioritize “stability” over safety.

We talk openly about what it’s like to raise children while managing real fear, ongoing legal pressure, and a system that often minimizes risk unless something catastrophic happens.

We unpack how concerns about weapons, intimidation, and volatile behavior can be reframed as “drama” or retaliatory parenting. When courts focus narrowly on the “best interests of the children,” they often ignore the reality that a parent’s safety and wellbeing directly impact a child’s safety — even when the system treats those interests as separate.

Throughout the episode, we break down:

• How toxic relationships continue through co-parenting long after separation
• Why domestic violence in relationships doesn’t always look like what courts expect
• How parenting whiplash becomes a control tactic
• How safety concerns can be weaponized against the parent raising them
• The disconnect between “best interests of the child” and real-world protection
• How fear, guns, and intimidation get treated in family court
• What it’s like to parent while living in constant fight-or-flight
• How children absorb conflict they never chose

We also talk about the quieter damage — the exhaustion, hypervigilance, isolation, and self-doubt that come fro

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TL;DR High-conflict co-parenting doesn’t always stay between the parents. Sometimes it gets handed off to a mother-in-law. This episode breaks down what happens when grandma becomes the parent, boundaries disappear, and pork tips turn into accusations of parental manipulation. We unpack deep relationships that turn superficial, how loyalty to adult children can override what’s best for the grandchildren, and why moms end up blamed for custody conflicts they didn’t create.

Long Description: Co-parenting is supposed to happen between two parents — but in toxic relationship dynamics, it often doesn’t.

In this episode of High Conflict Hell, Jen and JeniLynn take mother-in-laws out of the “babysitter” category and put them where they actually land in high-conflict cases: inside the parenting dynamic itself — where it can turn everything into a burning, chaotic hell.

This isn’t about normal grandparent involvement. It’s about what happens when toxic co-parenting gets passed to grandma — when loyalty to an adult child overrides what’s best for the grandchildren.

This is triangulation as a parenting system.

We dig into how deep, meaningful relationships with mother-in-laws can turn superficial or adversarial overnight, especially once separation, lawyers, or custody conflict enter the picture.

How support turns conditional. How communication shuts down. And how everyday parenting moments — meals, texts, feelings, boundaries — suddenly become accusations of manipulation, disrespect, and conflict.

This conversation is rooted in lived experience navigating high-conflict co-parenting where the pressure doesn’t just come from an ex, but from the extended family protecting them.

When a mother-in-law steps into the parenting role, accountability blurs, power shifts quietly, and the mother raising concerns becomes the problem.

We talk openly about what it’s like to be blamed for conflict you didn’t create — especially when you’re still doing the day-to-day parenting, holding routines together, and trying to protect your kids while being undermined by people who claim they’re “just helping.”

Throughout the episode, we unpack:

• What co-parenting with an ex-mother-in-law actually looks like in high-conflict situations
• How triangulation becomes normalized through “help,” “support,” and silence
• Why loyalty to adult children often eclipses responsibility to grandchildren
• How mothers end up labeled manipulative, dramatic, or controlling for setting boundaries
• How small moments get turned into evidence of bad parenting
• Why blame consistently flows toward the parent doing the most work
• How fear, control, and legal pressure intensify third-party involvement
• What it’s like to parent while being watched, judged, and rewritten by others

We also talk about the quieter damage — the grief of losing relationships you thought were real, the exhaustion of defending yourself over nothing, and the emotional whi

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