Mum is furious to learn her ex husband has shared a selfie with their son on his dating profile

An Australian mum has criticised her ex husband for including their young son in his dating profile but he insists his reasons for doing so were genuine.

The anonymous woman, who shared her story with Kidspot, was with her husband Jeremy* for seven years before they parted ways, leaving their five-year-old son Nathan* to be shared between households.

While there was initial tension after the break up three years ago they eventually worked through their issues in order to co-parent efficiently.

But that changed when she heard about Jeremy’s dating profiles which prominently featured a photo of their son.

‘I can’t begin to say how absolutely horrified I was to discover our son’s image being used for this purpose. 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,’ she told the publication.

But that changed when she heard about Jeremy’s dating profiles which prominently featured a photo of their son (stock image)

The mother works in an e-safety capacity and is hyper aware of what can happen when photos of young children are put onto the internet, so the family had a strict policy around photo-taking and sharing.

‘I know that these images, even if put out there with the best intentions aren’t always used for the best intentions by other people. Because of this, I have always insisted on two rules – no public photos shared online of our son and that we need to ask his permission to share any image that includes him. I think consent is critical even at a young age.

‘So when I discovered that Jeremy had used Nathan’s photo on at least three public dating profiles I was already angry, then when I asked Nathan about the photo and whether he knew that his dad had put it online, he told me he didn’t.’

She called Jeremy and asked to speak to him in person about the problem this presented, but what started as a civil conversation descended into chaos very quickly.

She called Jeremy and asked to speak to him in person about the problem this presented, but what started as a civil conversation descended into chaos very quickly

While the mother pointed out that her ex was using their son to score dates, Jeremy reiterated that he was only putting the picture up there so potential dates knew he had a young son he prioritised.

He confirmed that plenty of other online profiles including photos of kids and he didn’t agree with the no sharing policy they had created while they were together.

The mother acknowledged that there wasn’t much she could do but wait until Jeremy scored himself a date – or a partner – and took it down of his own accord. 

* Names have been changed