My best friend and I hated co-parenting with our ex-husbands — now we're doing it together under the same roof

New York Post

24-04-2025

Who needs a hubby when you can do life with a bosom buddy.
Raising kids as a singleton can be a real struggle. But best friends Shannon and Cheyanne are tackling the challenge in tandem.
'Two moms who decided it was easier to co-parent with each other than their ex-husbands,' Shannon, a divorced mother of four, from Nevada, wrote in the closed-captions of a clip, detailing their outré living arrangements.
3 Divorced moms Shannon and Cheyanne, from Nevada, claim life as singletons has become 'easier' since they moved in together.
Oksana Kuzmina – stock.adobe.com
'Life is easier with a village,' she captioned the vid, which has amassed over 7.6 million TikTok views — and, of course, raised a few curious eyebrows about her relationship with Cheyanne, a divorced mom of two.
'We both very much like men,' insisted Shannon, 'but two women splitting [the] house and kids [and] chores has proven easier than with men.'
Sorry guys. The girls are going it alone — together.
It's a seemingly sweet setup between gal pals that offers each party the support, companionship and platonic love of another parent with similar needs.
3 Single mothers worldwide have decided to team up and raise their broods side-by-side.
Olga Sapegina – stock.adobe.com
Besties Lauren Robinson and Samantha Best, single moms from Auckland, New Zealand, decided to rear their broods under the same roof after Best spilt with her ex in April 2021.
'It's so much easier living with Lauren,' Best previously gushed. 'We've been able to split our finances and we are able to help each other with childcare if one of us is busy, the other can pick them both up from school, or if either of us need to go out the other can watch the two children.'
'It's great.'
Kristin Batykefer and Tessa Gilder agree.
The twosome, divorcees of Jacksonville, Florida, formed a 'mommune' — a portmanteau of 'mom' and 'commune' — in 2023 after splitting from the respective partners.
'When I had to leave my husband, all I could think about was how I now had to figure out how to do everything on my own,' Batykefer recently told the New York Times. 'Buy a house on my own, pay my bills on my own, and raise my child on my own.'
'I never ever thought about finding another single mother to live with and do it together,' she continued. 'We just fell into it. But now, it's like, why isn't it more common for us to join forces?.'
3 Some women have formed 'mommune' communities with other single moms in need of company, compassion and support.
Robby Fontanesi – stock.adobe.com
Shannon and Cheyanne, who frequently share scenes from their lives together online, seem to have also joined forces with seamless ease.
The pair divides the housework, kiddie corralling and bills. But they're not stay-at-home-moms living off of monthly check from their exes.
Shannon, an electrical contractor, and Cheyanne, a painting contractor, have both been ordered to pay their former husbands thousands each month, per the terms of their divorce decrees.
'Neither one of us gets child support or alimony,' Shannon groaned.
'And my $200,000 [owed] is in addition to another $40,000 in assets that my ex kept,' added Cheyanne.
'It's hard being single moms that work so hard and so much,' said Shannon, '[just] to give it all away.'