Meet the Mom Behind Viral Letter to Daughter’s Stepmother

Candice Curry’s open letter sparked a conversation about co-parenting

ByABC News
December 16, 2014, 10:15 AM

— -- The term stepmom does not always conjure up the most positive feelings, but a Texas mom’s letter to her daughter’s stepmother has struck a chord.

Candice Curry posted the letter on her blog last month.

“I never wanted you here. You simply were never part of the plan,” she wrote. “Growing up and dreaming of my family I never included you. I didn’t want help from another woman to raise my child.”

Curry goes on to write that when she met her ex-husband’s new wife, Ashley, she changed her tune, for the sake of her daughter, Stiles.

“You were supposed to be a mean old hag, remember? But you weren’t, you were a young, sweet woman,” she wrote in the Nov. 30 post. “My plans were foiled.”

Both Curry and Ashley told ABC News they each knew they had to move forward together for Stiles.

“We had to accept where life brought us,” Curry said. “We decided to focus on the future.”

“I wanted to make sure that Stiles knew I cared about her as well as that relationship,” Ashley said. "It's something that I would hope all stepmommies would be able to experience."

Among the thousands of people who commented on Curry’s letter and shared it online were those who called Curry and Parish “inspirational” and a “great example of parenting.”

The person for whom Curry and Ashley are working together to raise, Stiles, says she appreciates their efforts.

“I am grateful that I have all these people that love me and care for me,” Stiles said.