Most people don’t enjoy seeing their exes after the relationship has run its course. It’s normal. When said ex is the mother of your children, though, you have to deal with it — even if she makes it a personal mission to ruin your life.
Despite how hard it may be for someone to endure such a situation, sometimes they’re not even the ones who have it the worst. Their new partners do, as exemplified by Taylor Watson’s case. On July 9, the TikTok star posted a video on the platform sharing how her boyfriend’s ex-wife turned her life upside down by making her the target of constant verbal and physical attacks.
It all started with text messages, in which the woman would repeatedly tell her ex-husband how she hated his new girlfriend and wanted to beat her. She swiftly moved on to texting Watson, accusing her of being “a gold digger and a wh*re,” and eventually, started messaging her family. When the TikToker requested that she stop bothering her family, the woman got physically violent, grabbing Watson by the throat, throwing her against a car, and punching her in the face repeatedly. Knowing that she had suffered a head injury years prior, the ex-wife then pushed Watson to the ground and tried to bash her head against the pavement.
The ex later tried to press charges against Watson because of a kick that left her bleeding from the neck. After the influencer gave her statement, though, law enforcement officers determined that there was no way to press charges due to lack of evidence. Frustrated by the justice system, she reached out to a local advocacy group, which helped her acquire a restraining order against the other woman, and eventually get her sentenced for violating said order.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the restraining order violation solved everything, though. As Watson explains in a follow-up video, despite the video evidence of the ex-wife’s infringement, the woman refused to take the blame. Instead, she accused the TikToker of trying to break into her car, which according to her, led to the violation. The trial went as you’d expect, with the ex getting about three days of jail time, which did little help with Watson’s feeling of unsafety.
Naturally, Watson’s videos shocked TikTok users, who mostly responded to them by expressing sympathy and giving her advice. “NO MAN IS WORTH ALL THAT,” one person commented, as another wrote “Run! Never look back!” Sadly, a lot of folks claimed to be or have been in similar circumstances: “This sounds like my situation… though it hasn’t escalated like this yet, I don’t put it past her.” “I have a similar story! It’s like the crazies have a crazy playbook that they all use.”
According to the Pew Research Center, violent crime has decreased in the U.S. since the ’90s, but it’s still cause for concern. Aggravated assault was the fourth most common crime in 2022, and the most frequent offense in the violent crime category. Thus, if you see yourself in Watson’s story or have experienced any other type of violence, don’t hesitate to find aid! Here is a list of organizations and resources that can help with many different situations.
Unfortunately, terrifying exes are a more common problem than they should be. It must be hard to get back into the dating scene after going through something like this.