Ever since Tammy Lynn Michaels and Melissa Etheridge split, I think the majority of people have sided with Tammy Lynn Michaels. She is a little kooky but she tells exactly what is on her mind and I appreciate that. She just lets it fly. She might have a few less people on her side now though because she says she can't live on the $23K a month she is currently receiving from Melissa and cannot get a job because she would require extensive retraining. Huh? What kind of retraining? See, this is where if I am Melissa I would call Tammy's bluff. I would agree to pay for retraining or her going to school. Send the money directly to the school or the training center or whatever. I bet Tammy would not be interested. She does not want to be retrained. She wants more money and people do not have much sympathy for someone who says they cannot live on 23K a month. According to TMZ, Tammy says Melissa makes about 200K a month. That seems low. Melissa must not be playing very many shows. Tammy says she grew accustomed to a better lifestyle and wants to keep it. She also says Melissa is mean to Tammy in front of the kids and won't let the kids get vaccinated.
How long were they together?
ReplyDeleteI thought they were together around six years but STILL!!!
ReplyDeleteSomehow I think one should be able to manage on 23K a month.
It all depends for me with the length of the marriage and how much a standard heterosexual breadwinner in that length of a marriage would have to pay. They were legally wed and these "ex-gf" and "domestic partner" labels don't cut it for me.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU, C! My thoughts exactly.
DeleteEven if those kids are going to private school at $25K a year, that should cover them.
ReplyDeletePlease!! I'll take the $23k and manage fine,d thank you very much! Gimme a break! Isn't she embarrassed? People are losing their homes!!! Get your head out of your pooper shooter!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt just blows my mind, the amount of money that celebrities think they need to live on. I personally live on less than $23K a year, and others have less than I do. Why do these children need more? Are they gold plated or something? I understand if a child has medical issues or something, but that's just insane. Look around, Tammy, lots of other people can't find jobs either, but nobody is handing them that kind of money. Insane leech.
ReplyDeleteTammy should thank her lucky stars she doesn't have to support her kids on 23K a year like a lot of us do.
ReplyDeleteTammy should thank her lucky stars she doesn't have to support her kids on 23K a year like a lot of us do.
ReplyDeleteI agree @Cecilia00, 23k sounds like more than enough to your average person but still, it is fair that she gets what would normally be awarded to a heterosexual ex-wife/husband. Who knows what their monthly expenses are - and if she has custody of the kids the majority of the time, then these kids should get to live in the same standard they were when they lived with both parents. Living on 200k a month and then going to 23k is quite a change, and if Melissa can afford it, she could give the kids that lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteTammy should definitely try to get a job though, that's just lazy.
i've sympathized with TLM through the course of their very public break-up up to this point. on top of the $23k per month to TLM, melissa is already paying for all of the kids' expenses (or so the media says). this just comes across to me as another means of getting back at melissa for perpetuating the break-up.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I just wrote that going from 200k to 23k a month would be hard.
ReplyDeleteBut, if SOMEONE is going to get to live on 200k a month, it should be the kids, not just one parent (i.e. Melissa)
First of all - Tammy is clinically bi-polar and ocd. She used to take meds for that. (not that there's anything wrong with that)but she went through much of Melissa's money the first few years of their courtship/marriage due to her ocd.
ReplyDeletePurchasing ungodly amounts of items, clothing, kids toys, groceries in bulk and tossing much of it away. Very manic. Melissa doesn't have that much money because she is still paying for two other children with her first wife. And you're right, she doesn't tour that much.
Tammy was a major manipulator especially in the press a few years ago with their divorce. She went after Melissa in the beginning with the intention of living off her money.
Melissa was stupid to fall for her ploy. Melissa is a great mom who really cares for ALL of her kids. The best thing to have happened was to get Tammy out of her life. Melissa lost a lot of her close friends (and entertainment friends) because of Tammy. Hopefully Melissa has found happiness with her new partner.
Obviously she agreed to the "no vaccination" thing when the kids were 2 months old. That's when the regular schedule starts for infants (yes some people do a delayed schedule but the kids are beyond that age as well) so re-hashing old crap isn't going to help her get more money.
ReplyDelete@AbderianLaughter
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's not that I don't realize 23 grand a month isn't a ridiculous sum, it's that I want a fair standard applied. What would say, a Fortune 500 company CEO have to pay an ex-wife with (at least) joint custody of the kids? Maybe it's even less than 23 grand when you crunch the numbers and look at Melissa's money.
No more Team Tammy for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the posters who say we would support Tammy were Melissa a man with that wealth.
ReplyDeleteThis article is not clear whether the $23K is alimony, child support, or a combination of the two, but I absolutely believe that the children should have a comparable quality of life with each parent, so the child support payments should be very generous.
I agree with the posters who say we would support Tammy were Melissa a man with that wealth.
ReplyDeleteThis article is not clear whether the $23K is alimony, child support, or a combination of the two, but I absolutely believe that the children should have a comparable quality of life with each parent, so the child support payments should be very generous.
Agreed, @Cancan. Can't the money be put into some kind of account that is earmarked ONLY for the children? Perhaps get an impartial third party to monitor the funds?
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ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the time my neighbor screamed at her mom "fu*k you, mom, give me $10000!? You won't miss it, I need it to go Europe with my friends. Its about having enough money to live!" I screamed and cursed so loud she shut up.
ReplyDeleteSeriously Tammy, shut the fu*k up.....
Lots of parents don't believe in vaccinating their kids, so what?
ReplyDeleteI like reading about gay couples going through the same nasty divorces as straight couples. With marriage equality comes divorce equality.
ReplyDeleteMelissa supposedly makes $177,882 per month, not $200k per month. I'm being picky, but if we're saying that $23k/month is a lot of money, then reporting on this and considering $22,118 a "rounding error" is a bit hypocritical.
Do the kids live with Tammy or Melissa?
$177k/month doesn't seem like a small amount for an artist of Melissa Etheridge's stature. That is still more than $2M per year, and I assume that is net not gross.
I agree with @cancan - this would be a non-issue if Melissa were a man. I to be fair, Melissa should take this like a "man". I believe they were married back when you could do so and she should respect those vows.
ReplyDeleteYou should pay for the appropriate amount of Alimony, Child Support and their living expenses commiserate to your earnings.
I get that $23K is a lot, a LOT, but they didn't have a pre-nup and thus the assets should be provided accordingly to lifestyle. That's what they do for hetero marriages.
How old are Tammy's kids? She may be planning for the long term and setting up a nest egg for herself, for when they turn 18 and split.
ReplyDeleteHey Tammy, make your own f-ing money!! What a sponge!! And I think ghe same when men and women pull this crap. Thats right, equal opportunity sponge basher, lol
ReplyDeletePogue Mahone, yes, and a lot of parents are idiots who expose their own children and others to dangerous diseases for no damn reason whatsoever. They are the ill-informed parasites of society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others here -- with marriage equality comes divorce equality. If Melissa were a guy making $178k a month, and he divorced his wife, with whom the children lived, most of you would be bitching about him only having to pay her $23k a month. The actual amounts don't matter, in any case. They were legally married without a prenup. Since they live in California, which is a community property state, I believe Tammy is entitled to a lot more than $23k a month.
But if you want to consider the actual numbers, remember that they are both entertainers and are used to a certain standard of living. Rent or a mortgage on the kind of place Tammy and the kids should be living in isn't cheap in LA. Add in a car, utilities, the help, groceries, private school, clothing, afterschool activities, insurance, etc., and I don't doubt that $23k cuts it close. Yes, it's ridiculous, but that's the kind of lives these people live.
Here is Tammy's blog if anyone is interested...
ReplyDeletehttp://hollywoodfarmgirl.blogspot.ca/2012/04/la-la-la-la-life-goes-on.html?zx=1d735368702a935e&m=1
She has been working, according to some of her posts.
The point is not whether we would be able to support out kids on $23,000 per month. The question is generally whether the kids have the same lifestyle and opportunities they would have if the parents were together. And, California is much more expensive than the midwest.
ReplyDeleteYou also have the issue, according to Tammy, of Melissa requesting that she give up her career to be the homemaker which allowed Melissa to continue her career. In Canada, in that situation, you get compensated for the growth in the other person's "business".
And, this is not a case where Tammy can simply pick up and start again. This is Hollywood, she is older, she missed opportunities. Cripe, big stars complain that as older women they can't get work in Hollywood. And yet, without retraining, what is she qualified to do?
Again, take the lesbian issue out of this and ask yourself, if a male exec had asked his wife to give up a promising career (and you can't deny it was) to stay home and be the wife AND nurse him through cancer would be think it was unfair that she asks for compensation for the damage to her career if he left her for someone else.
Oh and here is her homepage:
ReplyDeletehttp://hollywoodfarmgirl.blogspot.ca/?m=1
Her 23K vs my measly $1300 a month. Yeesh, hey Melissa, I'll be your new wife! I'm a much cheaper date
ReplyDeleteTammy has a bad case of the crazy eyes. Rivals EmEyeKay's new picture!
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think she got lowballed. She was a stay at home mom per Melissa's request, and has aged out of the sort of work she was getting.
Melissa left her for another woman, I believe. If this was a traditional marriage I think the numbers would be different. I also agree with the cost of living argument. California is expensive, and they are/were living lavishly.
In all fairness, Melissa and her current spouse may be making an upgrade of some sort in their own lifestyle and Tammy wants to make sure her kids are kept at the same level. It could be a vacation home, adding onto the current residence, or establishing trust funds for Melissa's latest batch of kids.
ReplyDeleteI have never been a fan of the "to the manner to which someone has been accustomed" method of determining how much money someone should get after a break-up. Seriously, does that mean that someone who was married to a poor person should have their income capped at 8,000 a year for the rest of their lives? It's a crazy standard. I think child support makes sense, but ... anyway, I would never want to take an ex's cash like that. It seems whack.
ReplyDeleteIf she is not happy with her $23k/mo then she can gladly have my $400/mo and tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Try losing your job, your savings, your home and thinking of only getting your child healthy again with an ex who walked off and has to have that $400 taken from him by the state. She'd STFU then.
ReplyDeleteWhen Tammy Lynn was married to Melissa she used to whine about how hard it was to be married to a celebrity. Now that they are divorced she is whining that she doesn't have enough money. This chick just likes to whine.
ReplyDeleteSteph, my sympathies. I hope child healthy now, and stays that way.
ReplyDeleteShe is just a lazy thing. Surely she can work at Sdomething. Those kids wont be small forever. Get off the gravy train, sista.
She cant hit up Ryan Murphy for work?
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ReplyDeleteYeah, Ryan Murphy has had virtually everyone from "Popular" appear on "Nip/Tuck" at some point or another. Everyone except Tammy. Even Mary Cherry showed up - twice. Well, he didn't have that cutie who played Lily Esposito on either. Seriously, what the hell ever happened to that girl?
ReplyDeleteauntliddy: thank you, she was diagnosed 2 years ago this month and has 4 months left of treatment (then 5 years of monthly visits to monitor her blood). She has done beautifully and I am thankful.
ReplyDeleteAnti-vaccers make me want to punch walls. Idiots.
ReplyDeletePreach it, sister Jessie! I wouldn't give a shit if my (hypothetical) S.O./ex wanted to have my (hypothetical) kids vaccinated or not. Load 'em up, doc. I'm not going to risk the lives of my (nonexistent) kids or others because some hysterical, ill-informed, stupid former Playboy playmate shrilly claims that vaccines = poison. There is NO correlation between vaccines and autism. Anyone who claims there is, is either stupid or willfully ignorant.
ReplyDelete@Sarah: Pretty sure Tammy didn't stay at home per Melissa's request. Tammy didn't want to work and was too busy spending $$ and alienating all of Melissa's friends, and manipulating Melissa. As Maidstone said above, Tammy is nuts. I think the request for more money will end up being a demand for full custody of those poor kids. Can't imagine growing up with Tammy as a mother.
ReplyDeleteI think there is more here than meets the eye. I kind of feel sorry for Melissa because Tammy has bitched about everything from day one. Tammy really thought she was an actor but even if she got some jobs and/or fame at this age she'd need to do something else anyway. We all know how after 30 or 40 very few roles are available for women. She could have learned something else while she was raising the kids that didn't take fulltime just for personal fulfillment. At first I felt sorry for her...Now, not so much. She's whackadoodle and her blog shows it best.
ReplyDelete@Barton Fink - I have always had this same opinion.
ReplyDeleteMy husband makes far more money than I do, so if we ever split, I'd be screwed, at least initially, but I can't fathom him have to support me for X period of years thereafter. But I don't have kids and I know it's different.
I'd be a little hesitant about letting her control any money if she has the spending issues another poster mentioned. It's not like the courts can really even regulate that.
In order for her to continue to live in the style she has become accustomed to, Melissa would have to give her ALL of her money. If that were the case there would be a lot less divorce and a lot more unexplained deaths.
ReplyDeleteIn my state at least, alimony is not intended to support the spouse forever but help them get back on their feet and usually only lasts a few years.
It sounds to me like shes getting about the percentage of support I got after ending my marriage of 14 years.
Btw, pouge Mahone? I will always love your comments, because that is the name of every pet my family ever had (cat,dog,whatever)!
ReplyDelete@Anotheramy..LOL!!
ReplyDelete