A man who welcomed his wife’s ex-partner to their home with a warm embrace, seeing him laden with gifts for his daughter, had no idea he was being filmed. His wife shared the now-viral clip on social media, and the trio are using their platform to show that blended families can be happy when love and respect come first.
Krystiana, a content creator, married Ryan, who works in finance, in 2018 after they met at a gym three years prior. Living in Las Vegas, together they parent four children: Jaden, 16; Ava, 12; Tegan, 2; and Maverick, 1.
For Valentine’s day, Michael—Ava’s father and an active co-parent—called Krystiana and said that he wanted to drop off a gift for Ava.
“So I said, ‘Okay, I’m gonna record you because I’m feeling like this is gonna be super cute,’” Krystiana told The Epoch Times. “I got my camera and was recording.”
Ryan, who answered the door that day, thought the visit was simply a surprise for Ava and didn’t know that his wife was filming his interaction with Michael on the driveway.
After going inside the house, Michael even took time to hug and dance with toddler Tegan, Ryan and Krystiana’s daughter, with whom he’s close.
The heartwarming moment has since gone viral, amassing over 56,000 reactions, with supportive comments from netizens.
Speaking to The Epoch Times, Ryan reflected: “The way the video grew on social media was way beyond anything we ever expected. It was honestly just a genuine moment that we happened to be able to capture on film ... whenever I see [Michael], we always hug or we talk a lot; he and I have a really good relationship.
“If Michael and I had problems, it‘d be hard for me to parent Ava and set rules and boundaries. But he and I have such a good relationship that whenever it comes to parenting, Michael says, ’Hey, listen to him ... he has my approval to parent you.'”
People have loved her video, said Krystiana. Many have reached out for advice, yet those who claim that their own blended family could never achieve the same level of closeness make her sad, as she wishes everyone could have good, healthy co-parenting.
Ryan describes his relationship with Krystiana as “a pretty steep learning curve,” as this was the first time he dated someone who had children. The two were in a relationship with each other for a while before Krystiana introduced Ryan to the kids.
Jaden and Ava were just aged 10 and 5 when they were first introduced to Ryan. He recalled that the early days with Jaden were “easy.” With Ava, however, it was more challenging.
He explained: “It was really hard for her to understand why her dad lives somewhere else from her mom, and then there was also the natural dynamics of learning to respect or see another male adult as a parental figure in her life ... I don’t think it could have happened without Michael’s support, and helping Ava understand that I wasn’t ’replacing' her dad.”
Today, the blended family work hard to spend time together at family-oriented sports events, including Ava’s gymnastics meets, despite their hectic schedules as Krystiana and Ryan parent four kids together, Michael and his new wife—whom Krystiana credits as being “like the glue to our family”—parent six.
For Krystiana, Ryan, and Michael, the formula to co-parenting has been simple. They owe their success to a healthy relationship, open communication, and putting the child first.
“You can’t have an ego or be stubborn,” said Ryan. “I’ve seen both Michael and Krystiana make sacrifices, and do things to help each other when it wasn’t in the best interest of their availability or schedule, to make it work for the other person.”
Krystiana echoed similar sentiments as Ryan: “You just have to compromise ... it’s just so much easier to get along than it is to fight, and you have to put the kid first.”
Ryan also shared his philosophy in raising four kids with Krystiana.
“It sounds really cliché, but a lot of it is being on the same page, being a united front,” Ryan explained. “We’re trying to raise [the children] to be independent and creative on their own but to be respectful. We want to help make them as well-rounded and able to succeed when they grow up as possible.”
Ava’s Valentine’s Day joy is emblematic of the family’s success. Her relationships with both her father and stepfather have grown as a result of positive parenting, said Ryan, adding: “I think we just try to keep as happy and as calm, as fluid and easy of a family dynamic as we can.”
“Ava is able to have all of her parents but without us being together,” said Krystiana. “She just gets two ‘bonus parents,’ and I really think that she’s thankful for that ... it is so good for the child to be able to see healthy co-parenting. If you put the child first, then everything else should fall into place.”
