A woman, Sierra Freeman, texted her partner to say she wanted a divorce after giving birth to their son.
Videos by Wide Open Country
On November 23, Freeman posted to TikTok a chain of messages between herself and her partner discussing their separation. The texts were from September, however. She hadn't expected them to go as viral as they did.
As a result of their separation, they've remained friends and parents to their son, Rowan.
Currently, the video is sitting at over 14 million views. None of her other videos have come close to this insane milestone. Freeman spoke to PEOPLE and said she was "shocked" to see her video go viral.
She told the outlet, "I don't know why I wanted to share it on TikTok — it just sorta happened. I wanted to tell people that you can co-parent, you don't have to stay in an unhappy marriage, and you don't have to share every detail of your life, but I still wanted to let moms know they aren't alone. If they want out, they can make the move too."
This is a potent message for other mothers in trying relationships. However, many are in disagreement to her decisions.
Mother Issues Separation With Partner Over text
The biggest criticism Freeman gets from online commenters is due to her communicating her divorce over text.
"Who sends that in a text ??" one comments in a nicer manner than most.
According to her conversation with PEOPLE, she had "no hesitation" to text her partner about her decision. "In-person conversations often led to one of them getting upset, which made it harder to communicate," the outlet reported. This view is also shared by her partner as apparent in his text, "every time we just talk somehow we [always] fight."
Others criticized Freeman simply for the act of wanting a divorce. "Sad ... people split so easily," comments another. However, she responded to one of these commenters with, "I can't with the mental abuse anymore," showing the issues with their relationship.
Freeman has received a lot of backlash toward her decision and their relationship. However, she reported that they're excellent co-parents to Rowan, who's now 2-and-a-half years old. She still actively posts about being a mother to Rowan and their journey.
