Gay Fathers’ Coparenting Experiences with Their Ex-Wives

Abstract

This grounded theory study examines postdivorce coparenting experiences of 16 fathers who had children in the context of heterosexual marriage and later identified as gay. They described coparenting experiences as either mostly cooperative or uncooperative. When ex-wives accepted them as gay men and good fathers, the gay fathers described their coparenting as cooperative. When ex-wives expressed homonegativity, the fathers described coparenting as uncooperative. These fathers also reported more adversarial divorce proceedings, more intense anger, and less ability of their ex-wives to move on postdivorce. Although the fathers in this study are fairly racially and generationally homogenous, their stories provide insights into a unique cultural context older white gay men may experience when navigating coparenting with ex-wives.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2021.2008285 .

Keywords:

• divorce
• coparenting
• gay father
• religion
• familial relationships
• qualitative research