Vanessa and Kurt got married, but didn't tell Vanessa's 15-year-old daughter, Emily, until they all moved in together. Now, the blended family is struggling to get along, with Emily admitting she occasionally drinks and smokes, her stepdad avoiding her, and her mom defending her husband's behavior.
"I'm not a big Emily fan," says Kurt. "I think our marriage would be better if she wasn't here. In a perfect world, it would just be me, Vanessa and [my daughter]."
Emily laments that she and her mother used to be close, but things have changed since Kurt came into the picture. "I'm aware that Kurt doesn't like me, and he doesn't wish positive things for my future," says Emily.
Dr. Phil tells the adults: “You couldn’t have done this more wrong if you were making a public service announcement on what not to do in blending a family.”
He tells Vanessa: “You’re married to a man who has stated, ‘I don’t like your daughter. I don’t want her here. I want her gone.’ If that’s OK with you, there’s something wrong with your mother measuring stick.”
Vanessa responds, “Emily has been with a rude tone and abusive to me since she was 3. I’ve been redirecting her since then, and it hasn’t stopped. I can’t blame him for not liking her.”
Dr. Phil pushes back. “For you to justify, defend or contextualize the comments that he has made about your daughter is crazy bizarre,” he says. “You have lost your way, Vanessa … The reason that this young lady has problems with what’s going on is because what’s going on is problematic. For her to be 15 years old and be living with a bunch of people who say, ‘I don’t like you. I don’t like what you’re doing. I don’t like any of this. I wish you were gone.’ What the hell do you expect her to say to herself in the middle of the night?”
See how this family will move forward — watch more here.
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