09.26.2025 – My co-parenting journey
Hey there, I’m Dr. Aislinn Rea, your co-parenting guide, coach, and cheerleader. And truthfully? I’m one of you.
If you’ve found me here, it’s because I’ve been looking for you.
I was once in your position. I was you. A single parent navigating challenging dynamics, trying to co-parent while feeling lost, confused, heartbroken, and overwhelmed.
I’ve been through it all:
- Custody battles and child welfare involvement
- Legal disputes and rigid adherence to agreements just to keep my peace
- Parallel parenting and broken communication
- Last-minute changes and unsafe situations for my children
- Trauma responses, therapy, survival mode, despair, and the grim belief that “this is just how it’s going to be until they turn 18”
I know what it feels like to receive well-meaning advice like “just grey rock them,” “stick to the agreement,” or “just survive.” I also know how soul-crushing it feels when that advice doesn’t heal the dysfunction. Divorce doesn’t magically fix what was broken between two people—it often complicates things further. Two homes, two cultures, two sets of rules.
But here’s the miracle: it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Over the last seven years, my family has walked through the fire and come out transformed. My ex-husband’s wife is now one of my best friends—a sister, truly. Together we’ve created a blended family built on trust, respect, communication, and shared values. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t quick. But it was possible.
What made the difference?
- Hitting rock bottom in the middle of a custody battle and realizing it didn’t have to be this way
- Breaking down ego, defensiveness, blame, and shame to build from the ground up
- My background as a social worker and researcher in child welfare and family functioning
- Copious amounts of individual, couples, and family therapy
- Spiritual practices that grounded and guided me
Now, years later, I am living proof that it’s possible to reimagine family. My kids are thriving, and so am I.
I don’t want you to suffer the way we did. That’s why I coach parents like you. I want to give back, to share the tools and frameworks that changed my life, and to help you transform yours. You can build something new: a way of being family that honors your dignity, your children’s wellbeing, and a shared future that’s bigger than conflict.
What was possible for us is possible for you. That’s how to be family.