Gary Shirley has come out to explain the rant about his now ex-girlfriend that mysteriously disappeared from the Teen Mom star's Twitter account almost as quickly as it appeared. His reason for going off on his cheating ex is sure to break your heart. Gary isn't mad at Kristina for breaking his heart ... he's mad at her for breaking his daughter's heart!
His daughter, of course, is Leah Shirley. With ex-girlfriend Amber Portwood in prison up until a month ago, Gary has been a single father to the 5-year-old for quite some time. But he hasn't been a monk during that time.
Frankly, it's no surprise that Leah knew her dad was dating ... or even that she'd met Dad's new girlfriend. Single parents who share custody have an advantage when it comes to dating -- they aren't with their kids all the time, so it's easier to hold off introducing a child to a new flame.
More From The Stir: Amber Portwood's Prison Stint Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Her Kid
Generally it's wise to keep kids away from your new partner ... at least until you know it's serious. It's just too confusing for kids to have new mommies or daddies floating in and out of their lives, especially at 4 or 5 when they don't really understand how dating works.
But with Amber in prison, Gary wasn't just seeing Leah some days of the week; he had her 24/7. So Kristina and Leah met. It happens.
Things seemed to be getting pretty serious with his new flame; they even celebrated Thanksgiving together. But it was right around the holiday when the mysterious tweet appeared (and disappeared). It read:
Give a girl a promise ring after 9 months of dating, find out she’s in a relationship w someone else after she said she broke up with them f**k!
A promise ring? That's a pretty big commitment. No wonder Gary was mad that he was being cheated on. But it turns out there's even more to the story:
[Leah] really liked her that’s what tears me apart!
Aww! Poor Gary! And poor Leah!
This may be the single biggest challenge of dating when you're a single parent. It's not finding someone ... it's figuring out how to protect your child's heart from being broken.
Usually the best way is to keep the two apart for as long as possible, until you're really SURE this is a "thing," but even then ... there are no guarantees. Heck, even marriage isn't a guarantee, or there wouldn't be divorces!
The best any parent can do is really be there for their child post-breakup. As much as you're hurting, you need to put it aside and help THEM through it.
Fortunately Gary does seem to have really stepped up for Leah, and he really seems to have her best interests at heart.
What do you think of Gary's daughter getting caught up in more relationship drama?
Image via Twitter