Dr Phil: Tiffany & Richie’s Marriage
Dr Phil said that marriage is meant to be a lifelong commitment and something you have to work at. Tiffany and Richie have lived through more tragedy than anyone could imagine. They were married in 2006 and had to push their wedding up because they were pregnant. A week before the wedding Tiffany miscarried.
Shortly after they were married, Tiffany got pregnant again. They found out the baby had a chromosome deficiency. His life expectancy was about a year. They induced and the baby was stillborn.
Dr Phil: Grieving a Child
Dr Phil said he admires the strength of this couple. Although their marriage is falling apart, Richie has tried to be strong for his wife. Richie said he feels like he failed his family.
Dr Phil: Losing Mikey
Tiffany and Richie went on to have three children. Their baby Mikey was born a year ago with a serious heart condition. He had to be watched after his feeding because he would start to aspirate. One night, Tiffany was feeding Mikey and she fell asleep. When she woke up two hours later, Mikey wasn’t breathing.
Mikey was put on life support but was declared brain dead. They had to make the decision to take Mikey off of life support.
Tiffany blames herself for Mikey’s death. Richie doesn’t want to talk about it, but Tiffany wants to keep Mikey’s memory alive. She feels like Richie has let her down and isn’t there for her emotionally.
After losing Mikey, Tiffany doesn’t want to be happy again. She blames herself for falling asleep during his feeding. Richie said that he does hurt inside. He wanted to be strong but Dr Phil made him tell Tiffany how much he hurts and wants to heal their family.
Dr Phil: Every Parent’s Nightmare
Dr Phil told Tiffany and Richie that there is no right or wrong way when grieving a child.
Yet more drama came into their family when their two-year-old daughter told them that Richie’s father “licked” her butt. They didn’t want to believe it, but Tiffany wanted to protect her daughter. Richie confronted his father, but never gave the police a statement. Tiffany wanted to blame him and went to file for divorce.
Richie’s father was prosecuted for violating their daughter. Richie refuses to talk to his father after what happened. For Richie, this was a double loss. His daughter was violated and he lost his father.
Dr Phil: How To Grieve In Your Relationship
Tiffany and Richie grieve differently. Richie didn’t want to talk about what happened so Tiffany didn’t have to relive it. Tiffany said she has tried to break through his shell, but to no avail.
Dr Phil told Tiffany that there is no right or wrong way to grieve. She thought she could tell how he was grieving, but she couldn’t see his hurt.
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