Parents Take Custody Battle Onto TikTok in War of the Stitches
A single mother garnered attention and sympathy online in a viral video, before a stitch from her children’s father thickened the plot.
Elizabeth Teckenbrock shares videos to her TikTok profile under the username @morethanelizabeth, sharing content around motherhood, mental health, and more to an audience of over 250,000. On May 20, she shared a video of herself crying while putting cake batter in cupcake cases with the caption: “Being a single mom is making your own birthday cake on your birthday so that your babies can feel happy they are singing to you.”
The video quickly garnered a lot of attention, going viral with more than eight million likes total. People in the comments commented messages of support, with one person writing: “My mom was a single mom for a lot of my life. I watched her cry when she thought no one was watching. You’re so seen. So much respect for you.”
“Being a single mom is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” added someone else. “At times it can be so lonely and overwhelming.”
The plot thickens
However, the sympathy stalled somewhat when the children’s father, Andrew Cormier, stitched the video with his own response.
“Right now I have full custody of our kids,” he said in his response. “This is our parent agreement. As you can see, I have all weekdays and weekends, time sharing with the kids on holiday academic breaks.”
Cormier then went on to claim that Teckenbrock allegedly owed him $21,175 in child support, stole “almost a million dollars” from him, and alleged she faked having cancer. Teckenbrock responded in another video (now deleted) accusing him of being “extremely abusive,” and adding that, despite not having full custody, she does spend time with them and care for them.
“I will proudly say, without a doubt, I know who I am,” Elizabeth said on May 27. “I know that I’m a good mother, that I love my children.”
Cormier has now deleted his account, stopping the public disagreement from going any further. The internet is now divided over who to side with, although one point everyone agrees on is that they hope the children are safe and cared for.
Internet sleuths have dug into both parents, uncovering mugshots of Teckenbrock and finding old social media posts of Cormier with his children to investigate the quality of his parenting. Teckenbrock responded to this once again, stating that she never tried to hide her arrest and even spoke about it openly on her TikTok previously.
(featured image: Elizabeth Teckenbrock on TikTok)
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