Comedian Louis C.K. On Post-Divorce Fatherhood

On behalf of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Divorce on Wednesday, May 21, 2014.

There’s a thin line between comedy and tragedy. This is true in divorce. Louis C.K. is an actor and comedian. He is also a divorced father who shares custody. He has some interesting comments about being a divorced father.

Personally, I like his crabby and profane stand-up routine, His T.V. show Louie is also great. Last week Louis C.K. gave an interview on National Public Radio about divorce on the program Fresh Air. Here’s what he had to say:

There is a version of divorced life where you’re partners and you’re both taking care of the kids, the kids are spending equal time with each parent, and there’s balance and there’s harmony between the parents because they’re not married in a bad marriage anymore.

If you do it right, it’s a much better life for the kids. I was determined to make sure that my kids still felt me in their lives after divorce. And then I was astonished to find out that they wanted to be with me all the time, that this was positive for them.

It motivated me to make a good life for myself so that the kids would have a good home when they came to my place. And their mom is a good co-parent; we’re good partners together, we’re friends and we’ve both I think done a pretty good job of letting the kids feel like they have everything.

They have a mom and they have a dad who get along and who are both there for them.

This is a great example of what I’d call a near ideal post-dissolution relationship. No one is perfect, and I’m sure his relationship with his Ex is not so clean either. But Louis C.K. portrays his imperfections in the T.V. show:

When his T.V. daughter has to write a letter to AIDS for class, Louie offers some suggestions. “Dear AIDS,” he suggests. “Why don’t you cut it out?”

He’s funny. He’s not perfect. He is doing the best he can . . . and he’s there.

The NPR interview is available here.