Divorce.

Divorce is never easy on a couple, or on a family. Everyone knows that. When you go through a divorce you like to try and keep things private and you go through a lot of emotions. What people never understood was we went through it too, and we had the whole world watching. It broke news and that was it, let the flood gates open. We had paparazzi everywhere, we had questions coming in galore. It was difficult, we had nowhere to run, and we have to be extremely careful what we say. Our kids were being harassed for information about what was going on, we had stories in the news that weren't true, and so much more.. It was devastating. We were watching our lives fall apart and there was nothing we could do. We felt helpless and angry that people were so inconsiderate about it.

We went through the paperwork and the lawyers and were trying to keep things as quiet as possible and as normal as possible for our kids. It's one thing for them to go to school and tell their friends or be asked by peers that they know, that's going to happen but when you have paparazzi following you asking questions that's just rude. We wished they would have shown some respect during that difficult time. Our kids were trying to cope with it which was hard enough but to be honest the media made everything a million times worse for not only Billy ray and I, but also our children. We knew it was going to be hard but we never expected it was going to be that bad. We felt even worse knowing that our children had to deal with it and see these stories and everything else.

Like I just stated in my other blog, Billy Ray and I have decided to NOT go through with a divorce. We had decided to work things out for ourselves and more importantly our children. We have been together for quite some time, and celebrated our anniversary while we were separated. That was very difficult. We were both very upset and hurt at the time that he filed and then realized that it wasn't the right thing for us to do. He filed March 11, 2011 to basically "cancel" the divorce. We had spent the holidays together for the kids, putting all differences aside and then we had talked and discussed what was going to happen between us and that is when we decided to officially try and reconcile.

Communication gets lost, and I think that was our biggest issue. We were all on different pages and everything just got out of hand. Things are a little harder for us because we are in the public eye but we keep things as normal as possible at home. Things aren't much different than any of your households. We are happy now and everything is slowly returning to normal between Billy Ray and I, and with our kids. It was heartbreaking to see the kids reactions and watch them go through this as well. They took it pretty hard. Our kids always looked up to us as being "true love" and when we fell apart and things slipped out of hands they definitely didn't take it easy. We have learned that no matter what, you have to be honest and communicate and keep trying. When things get hard, don't give up. We did go through the process, we had lawyers and had looked at the paperwork and everything else which was nerve wracking and if you've ever been through a divorce you know what I'm talking about. We are very happy to be back together and are excited to rebuild our connection as a couple and our family.

I'd like to say God has definitely gotten us through another chapter in our lives, and our fans were amazing during this time of need. I don't know how many people said that they kept us in their thoughts and prayers but it was overwhelming! We appreciate the love and support and I hope these blogs help you see that we are a normal family too. This one was especially hard for me because it means letting my guard down and opening up to you all. Thank you once again and God Bless. <3

xoxo Tish