The War They Don't Tell You About

Army veteran and father of two, Anthony has been fighting in family court since his second son was two years old. What he's been through reads like a horror story: 3 days a month of custody despite being present since birth, false domestic violence charges, child support orders in two different states for the same child, lawyers who refused his case, and a system that financially penalized him every time he asked for more time with his son. In this episode, Anthony pulls back the curtain on the reality of interstate custody battles, the weaponization of family court, and what it takes to survive when the system is designed to break you. From traveling between California and Idaho for years just to see his son, to going pro se when no lawyer would help him, to finally connecting with advocacy organizations fighting for equal shared parenting—Anthony's story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. He discusses the stark contrast between co-parenting his first son Christian in California (healthy 50/50 from birth) and the nightmare custody war over his second son Joaquin in Idaho (currently in year 8 of court battles). The difference? One mother who co-parents. One mother who weaponizes the courts. Anthony also shares how people like Jessica Taylor (who literally bought a house in Idaho so he'd have a place to stay), Mark Ludwig from Americans for Equal Shared Parenting, and Idaho legislators working on the Child Custody Task Force became his lifeline when the system tried to erase him from his son's life. Currently fighting to make his temporary 50/50 custody permanent while his ex demands child support despite making double his income, Anthony's battle continues. But he's not fighting alone anymore—and that's the message every father needs to hear.