Woman says her ex-husband tried to throw her in jail. But the judge’s words had him storming out instead: ‘Modern-day witch trial’
"Because a man was mad.”
Navigating co-parenting after the dissolution of a marriage can be challenging, especially when the parents are in conflict with one another. For one Texas-based mother, trying to raise her child as normally as possible under a divided family somehow ended with her ex-husband allegedly attempting to throw her in jail for violating a child custody agreement.
Tiana Monet (@monet.tiana) took to TikTok to share her recent struggles with co-parenting her child with her ex, whom she was married to for 11 years. According to Monet, her ex-husband claimed that she had committed 12 violations when he filed a motion for enforcement (MFE) against her—a formal petition asking the court to require someone to follow a court order.
For Monet, this was a serious issue, as it could result in mandatory community service, fines, or jail time. “It’s mostly for parents who take your child out of state and the other parent’s like, ‘Hey, I haven’t seen my kid in six months,’” Monet said. “It’s a serious thing.”
Monet says her ex-husband constantly messages her
In Monet’s case, however, her ex-husband allegedly put forward the MFE on her for “not sharing a soccer schedule” and “not allowing him to turn in a false drug test,” which Monet said was supposed to be conducted at a facility named in their decree. Other violations her ex claimed included not texting back “all the time.”
As a result of her ex’s motion, Monet had to undergo cross-examination—a process she described as the “most terrifying” experience because her ex-husband was allegedly trying to have her sent to jail. Monet believed honesty was the best approach, so she explained to the examiners that she was a full-time working mother with a child involved in sports, and that she didn’t have the time to constantly check her messages.
“He is CONSTANTLY messaging me about nonsense..” Monet wrote on-screen and claimed that her ex was trying to establish “control.” According to Monet, her ex also accused her of failing to notify him of a doctor’s appointment, which the mother said didn’t exist.
The issue supposedly escalated into a court appearance, with a female judge overseeing the case. During the hearing, the judge informed Monet that she couldn’t dismiss a violation stemming from when Monet failed to hand over their child during a winter storm due to a technicality.
“There was a winter storm that I did not hand over the child because the father would not communicate with me that my son would be home safe before the ice storm hit,” Monet explained. While the judge’s initial remarks seemed to favor her ex-husband, the final verdict took both Monet and her ex by surprise.
Her ex storms out of the courtroom
“You owe the court $1,” the judge told Monet, per her account. Her ex also wanted her to pay for his lawyer fees, which amounted to $6,000, but the judge told him that Monet would only pay $5. “There are always going to be winter storms. If she’s trying to work with you, please work with her. I pray that you find yourself to understand that working with her is working for the child,” the judge told Monet’s ex-husband.
The judge’s words allegedly left the ex angry, making him storm out of the courtroom. Monet, on the other hand, was left feeling touched by the judge’s verdict: “This was her validating me and letting the court know what she witnessed that day was a controlling man and an innocent mother.”
Viewers sympathized with Monet and shared their own similar experiences with co-parenting. “I got a contempt charge because I didn’t tell him what my son was allergic to. He was the one that took him to get allergy tested,” one commenter wrote. Another chimed in, saying, “He can get the soccer schedule from the coach its not your job.”
Others joked that Monet should have requested a payment plan. Some, however, felt that Monet still having to pay only enables the behavior. “The judge making you pay ANYTHING ! Even .50 cents just enables him to continue using the courts a tool to harass you,” a comment read.
Monet likened her experience to the witch trials, writing, “I genuinely felt like I was living through a modern-day witch trial,” because she felt like she was being “prosecuted because a man was mad.” Monet’s experience isn’t an isolated case. Often, we gain perspective only after we’ve stepped back from the situation.
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