Mom Irate After Ex-Hubby Uses Their Son's Pic On Dating Profile

D
Woman looking at a phone
Unsplash | Tim Mossholder

When it comes to finding love online, it's all about creating a good profile to attract prospective dates.

One Aussie dad may have gone a bit too far, though, according to his ex-wife. He used photos of him with their son on his dating profile — and it's safe to say that his ex is not at all okay with it.

"My ex has a photo of him with our son on his dating profile and it's not OK."

Hand holding a phone displaying Tinder log-in screen
Unsplash | Mika Baumeister

This is the title of the piece written by mom Shona Hendley about her ex, Luke, on the Australian parenting site Kidspot.

First, some background.

Woman holding hands with a toddler
Unsplash | Guillaume de Germain

The players in this saga are Shona, her ex Luke and their son, Billy. Luke and Shona got together ten years ago, had Billy five years ago, and broke up three years ago. So after a seven-year relationship, they now co-parent five-year-old Billy.

Shona says it wasn't a particularly amicable breakup, but they've done their best.

Luke's using a selfie of him with Billy on his dating profile.

Man taking a selfie
Unsplash | Harry Cunningham

"I can't begin to say how absolutely horrified I was to discover our son’s image being used for this purpose," wrote Shona. "I was not asked, nor told, instead, a mutual friend brought it to my attention which made the whole thing even worse. It felt purposefully deceitful."

Shona doesn't want her son's image online for any reason.

"Absolutely not" gif
Giphy | Saturday Night Live

She writes that she's always had two rules when it comes to their son's image: no public photos shared online, and any images shared privately must have their son's consent.

To add to this, she says that images of her son online, even if they're put there with the best intentions, "aren't always used for the best intentions by other people."

Luke was using the images on at least three public dating profiles.

Man and woman on a date
Unsplash | Tibor Pápai

It's when Shona confirmed with her son that he didn't consent to the photos being shared that she got really angry. "This was when our amicable co-parenting relationship began to fall apart again," she wrote.

Shona ripped into Luke.

"Okay, first off..." SNL gif
Giphy | Saturday Night Live

She tried to stay calm and civil, but admitted that the conversation "turned into a complete takedown of my ex and his complete disregard for the rules we had established together and for our child's safety."

"I said that he was effectively using Billy to increase his chances of finding dates."

Man and woman on a date
Unsplash | Good Faces

Shona says she resented Luke framing himself as a "hands-on single dad" type.

"[Luke] told me that I was overreacting, that the rule was ridiculous, and he only ever agreed to it initially because he knew that there was no reasoning with me about it but now that he was not with me, he no longer wished to follow it," Shona wrote.

Luke also said that plenty of other people do what he's been doing, and refused to compromise.

"The argument went round and round in circles."

"What's the big deal?" gif
Giphy | Curb Your Enthusiasm

Unfortunately, there was no resolution here. Luke doubled down and refused to change the pics, telling Shona that she "needed to move on."

"The thought of any adult being able to view Billy online, in numerous dating apps of all places, well, it just makes me feel sick," Shona wrote, acknowledging that there's nothing she can do about it.

What do you think of Shona's reaction?

Woman looking at a phone
Unsplash | Tim Mossholder

Who's in the right? Who's in the wrong? The drama in this story is getting all kinds of coverage online, so we want to know what you think. If you were the mediator here, how would you smooth things out? Let us know in the comments.