“My ex-wife gave a speech to my new wife on our wedding day"

Real Fix

Credit: SWNS /  Steve Bourdo  A woman gave a speech on her ex-husband's wedding day addressed to his new partner - and the pair get along and have dinners together.  Leah Bourdo, 39, read the emotional speech to her ex-husband Steve Bourdo’s new wife, Shonda, 35, on their wedding day in July 2023.  Steve, 38, and Leah have two daughters together, Kennedy, 13, and Harper, 11, and have worked hard to be able co-parent well.

Transcript

00:00A letter to his new wife.

00:04Tomorrow we will have the same last name. For those of you who don't know, I'm still bored away. I can't get a last name.

00:11A last name that I took long before I knew what it really meant to be married.

00:16A last name that I still have because I've learned

00:19what it really means to take someone's last name.

00:22A last name I'd only consider changing again if I was absolutely certain it was forever.

00:28But most importantly, it's the last name

00:32that's shared by two special little girls named Kennedy and Harlan.

00:39I'm shaking.

00:43You see, I never planned on being mom one of two.

00:46I never dreamed that I would have to share such an important role with someone else.

00:51There was a time when the thought of watching him go to life with someone else would have been absolutely devastating.

00:57Let alone to witness him ask someone else to be his wife.

01:02There was a time when civil co-parenting seemed impossible,

01:05let alone being able to form a friendship built on mutual love for our daughters.

01:12But all of that,

01:14with those things that seemed absolutely impossible became a reality when you came into our lives. Long before he found you,

01:21I was praying for you.

01:24I prayed first for someone who would love our daughters just as much as I do.

01:31I prayed for someone who they could trust and count on and who they knew would have their backs no matter what.

01:37I prayed for someone who understood the concept of putting the kids first and why it had to be the driving force behind every decision we made.

01:44I prayed for someone to make kids really happy because I know our girls needed and deserve to see what a happy marriage looked like.

01:53Lastly, I prayed that she would be secure enough in herself and her relationship with him that she would be okay with the co-parenting

02:01relationship we now had

02:03because it took us years to build.

02:06Not only would I have prayers answered when you came along,

02:09my expectations were defeated so many ways.

02:13It's hard to believe you're even a real person.

02:16I've told you this before and I'll tell you again,

02:21but I couldn't have hand-picked a better woman to step into this role.

02:27So now I just want to thank you. Thank you for loving our girls like they were your own.

02:32Thank you.

02:34Thank you for respecting the relationship that him and I have for the girls.

02:39Thank you for being willing to have a relationship with me that has grown into a friendship.

02:46Thank you for taking an active role in their upbringing and being the voice of reason when tough decisions had to be made on their behalf.

02:52And finally, thank you for not trying to replace me, but instead becoming absolutely irreplaceable.

03:00Welcome to the home team, Bonus Mom.

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