Why you shouldn’t badmouth your spouse during a divorce

Divorce can be a stressful and emotional process. It can be tempting to rant to anyone who cares to listen about all the horrible things your spouse has done to you over the years. However, you might want to keep your badmouthing to a minimum as it can do more harm than good in your case.

While divorce comes with its share of stress, you cannot afford to let emotions control your words or actions. Remember, badmouthing your spouse, especially in public forums like social media, can greatly hurt your divorce case.

Here is why you should avoid talking ill about your soon-to-be spouse before, during and after divorce.

It is detrimental to the kids

Kids often find themselves caught in the middle during divorce battles. Despite their innocence, kids usually end up paying the price during bitter divorce tussles, especially when parents opt to use them to get back at the other party. The end result of all this is that children may come to believe that one parent is “bad” while the other is “good.” While this may give you a triumphant feeling knowing that the kids are on your side, constant disparaging remarks will deny them the opportunity to establish a healthy relationship with your co-parent.

You may squander your chance of securing custody of your kids

What’s motivating you to badmouth your spouse? Many parents do it hoping it will alienate their kids from their co-parent. However, you might end up losing your custody rights in the process. Colorado law prohibits you from making disparaging comments about your ex-spouse in the presence of the children. When filing for a divorce in Colorado, the court issues an automatic temporary injunction to prevent either party from engaging in unacceptable behaviors like badmouthing each other.

Even if the comments are factual, badmouthing your ex could mean that you are violating the injunction. You may be held in contempt of court for this, which can result in you losing custody of your kids.

Making disparaging remarks about your ex may sound trivial. However, it can actually have serious legal implications. Constant badmouthing can hurt your kids’ wellbeing and ruin your chances of getting custody.