Paramour Clause And Previously Known Individual
(South Carolina) ex and myself have a paramour clause in our divorce agreement. It is simple language, no introduction to children until 6 months have passed since the relationship began, no overnights with children present until 1 year of relationship. Other party can protest violent criminals or hard drug users. Ex and I are fully aligned on neither of us exposing kids to a parade of partners staying over.
My now girlfriend split from her ex a while after I did. Shes the long time best friend of a neighbor. My children (live with me majority of the time, ex has supervised visitation every other weekend due to mental and physical health challenges) have been friends with neighbors kids and girlfriends kids long before there was ever a relationship between myself and her. My ex was hermit and never got to know neighbors, much less any friends of neighbors.
If either of our kids are present, we hang out exclusively in mixed company. Never behind closed doors, and never any PDA or anything that could be perceived as such. Relationship is not disclosed to children, though they have picked up on it 2nd hand, when other neighborhood kids have told them about her being at my house solo when they have been at their mothers. We are about 1/2 through the 6 month kids in the dark period.
It hasn’t been an issue yet, but I look for it to pop up at some point when ex is having an off day on the mental health side. My goal isn’t to accelerate things with the girlfriend and context of her existence to my kids, but rather avoid having to force either them or me from isolating from our existing friends group through the duration.