Melissa Etheridge, Tammy Lynn Michaels: Custody Battle Turns Ugly

Melissa Etheridge's custody battle with ex-fiancee Tammy Lynn Michaels has turned ugly.

TMZ reported Tuesday that Etheridge filed legal documents to request more time with the couple's five-year-old twins, alleging that Michaels had accidentally burned one of the children with a cigarette. The 50-year-old singer has reportedly requested that a judge order both women to create smoke-free environments for their twins, daughter Johnnie Rose and son Miller.

Elsewhere in the docs, Etheridge allegedly claims that Michaels is against joint custody. According to TMZ, a custody hearing is set for May 22.

The news comes a day after E! Online reported that Michaels had filed a request for increased spousal and child support, claiming that the $23,000 she receives from Etheridge each month is insufficient. In the docs, the 37-year-old actress explained that she had become accustomed to a monthly budget of $128,000 during her relationship with the singer.

The couple, together for almost nine years, separated in in April 2010. Etheridge has two other children, daughter Bailey and son Beckett, from a previous relationship with Julie Cypher.

Comments

[Purple seastar]

12:34 PM on 04/12/2012

You go Tammy! Take her for everything she is worth.

[craichead2011]

05:35 PM on 04/11/2012

Goose meets gander.

[Cedarflame]

01:45 PM on 04/11/2012

Melissa, as a lesbian I think I can say this, stop having babies with other women and then decided it isn't working out and moving on. Let's face it you don't appear to be that good at relationships maybe just doing what most of us do and live together and separate the CD's, Vids and move on when it ends and not have to worry about the children.

[popeej]

11:04 AM on 04/11/2012

Are these the same people who smirked and said "you go girl" when men were forced to pay obscene amounts of alimony to "maintain the lifestyle" of women who no longer wanted to have anything to do with them?

Why is it fair that two people enter into a contract and when it ends one is expected and required to fulfill their part while the other has no obligation whatsoever? I guess now they see what men are talking about since the shoe is on the other foot...

[Purple seastar]

12:31 PM on 04/12/2012

I agree with you entirely.

Except, everyone who says "you go girl" is still saying that to Tammy, and is disgusted that Melissa is acting like an irresponsible man. The shoe isn't on the other foot, we're just disappointed to discover that Etheridge was the other foot all along.

[TarzanWannaBe]

08:39 AM on 04/11/2012

She was "accustomed to" some money. Foregoing it now, is what divorce means! One could claim being "accustomed to" a sex partner. But should the other be responsible for continuing to provide that? Haha. I say let poor little Tammy suffer with *only* 23k of cake to eat each month. I could get "accustomed to" that. How about you?

[SPNYC33]

12:01 AM on 04/11/2012

This chick needs to get a job. Quit whining

[Purple seastar]

12:33 PM on 04/12/2012

But it has to be acknowledged that she gave up her career to care for Melissa's kids from her first failed relationship, and then had more kids with her. Etheridge should provide for all of her kids and the women she dumped -- it is how it goes.

[Modern and Proud]

03:03 AM on 04/14/2012

Clean Melissa out!

[tkns]

11:11 PM on 04/10/2012

You know, these obscene amounts for child support and alimony is getting old. Move on and find your happiness-on your own dime. They should set a maximum amount like 5k a month. When you are married, you make joint decisions and until the kid turns 18, you should do the same. This whole system of forcing someone to turn over a set amount of their earnings-no questions asked-is what has caused our culture to breakdown.

[TKDietz]

11:33 AM on 04/11/2012

I agree with that. It's child suppotr, not alimony. Who cares what she was accustomed to? How much does it cost to raise a kid? Should a noncustodial parent have to pay enough to provide an extravagent lifestyle for the child? That $23k is more than enough to provide for a child and keep the custodial parent living like a successful doctor. That's $276,000 a year, tax free. That's a lot more than most doctors bring home after taxes.

Child support should only be for support of the children, not custodial parents, and it should be capped at a certain amount, like the $5,000 you mentioned. States with caps usually cap the income they'll consider for determining child support. That makes sense, and could ease the litigation burden in cases involving wealthy people. If they only consider the first $300k of income or whatever, there is no need to fight over whether someone makes $10 million or $15 million a year, with piles and piles of discovery in the court cases that drag on and on.

And you know what else, that lady probably wouldn't fight joint custody if she could get the max of $5k a month and let Etheridge take care of the kids half the time. She's probably fighting joint custody because she wants to maximize support.

[Auntie Chrissy]

10:42 PM on 04/10/2012

$23,000 a month is insufficient? Most people make less than that a year!!!! What the hell does she spend her money on?

[TKDietz]

11:38 AM on 04/11/2012

And that' tax free too, $276,000 a year. Thats more than most doctors bring home after taxes, but she's asking for several times that. That's not "child support." Child suport should be capped, and it should be for support of the children, not the noncustodial parents. We can't and shouldn't even try to make sure noncustodial parents spend every penny on the kids, but we can and should make it such that no one gets way more than enough money to support the kids.

[Modern and Proud]

10:09 PM on 04/10/2012

Lesbians tend to divorce more and have more domestic violence in their relationships. Not surprising.

[Auntie Chrissy]

10:44 PM on 04/10/2012

Where do you get your facts from??? Just wondering.

[TarzanWannaBe]

08:50 AM on 04/11/2012

Search it. You'll find DV rates the same as, or higher than, hetero relationships. May be a double-whammy in this case -- it supports the evidence that females initiate DV at least as much as males and there no male to presume as "perp". The findings really make the hair stand up on the backs of NOW types.

[Modern and Proud]

10:03 AM on 04/11/2012

http://bigthink.com/dollars-and-sex/are-lesbian-marriages-doomed-for-failure
http://www.pandys.org/articles/lesbiandomesticviolence.html
http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/lesbianrx/factsheet.shtml

[Valksy]

04:30 AM on 04/11/2012

Lies.

Unless you want to cite facts, spare us your bloody propaganda.

[Modern and Proud]

10:18 AM on 04/11/2012

You sound like you have a strong, utterly unsubstantiated opinion on the issue.

[Tracy Boudreaux]

08:18 PM on 04/10/2012

There goes the falacy about lesbians being more stable....sounds like a regular married couple..now divorced TWICE...with kids she is "fighting" over .....pathetic.

[Lulo]

11:54 PM on 04/10/2012

That would make them.............normal?

[Valksy]

04:31 AM on 04/11/2012

There are gay people in society, there are jerks in society, unsurprisingly (to everyone but you) those two groups sometimes cross over.