Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels in 2007

The last time Melissa Etheridge’s ex, Tammy Lynn Michaels, complained about Melissa only paying $23,000 a month child in support payment, people didn’t have much sympathy for her. Melissa and Tammy have six year old twins, a boy and a girl, and they finalized their separation settlement in June after about two years of haggling. (They had a commitment ceremony in 2003, but were never officially married under California law.) Tammy’s $23,000 a month is about 13% of what Melissa reportedly makes, $178,000 a month. It’s still a ton of money and it doesn’t seem like Tammy is ready to downsize her lifestyle or get a job. Earlier this week she wrote one of her long rambling blogs in which she seems to be complaining that Melissa’s check wasn’t in the mail this month and Christmas will have to be cancelled. I’m going to quote Radar here because they do a great job of decoding Tammy’s writing. You can read the original post on Tammy’s blog.

As part of the couple’s post split settlement, Melissa is obligated to pay Tammy a cool $23,000 per month, but Tammy complains on her blog site, Hollywood Farm Girl that the checks are very slow to arrive and her lack of funds might affect the Christmas presents she can buy the children.

Tammy often takes to her blog to cryptically rant about her lack of finances and rail against her famous ex, and this time she’s focused on not being able to afford presents, but at the same time vows she will teach her children that the Holidays are about way more than just materialism.

“Fascinating you know— secrets, they are. People, places, things and accounts, houses, waived rights AND relationships, money —-secrets are sick—a sign of an illness within—disease,” Tammy writes.

“Playing games with money—phoney baloney—hide and seek—can you find the ball under the clam shell? —christmas is coming—chase the check—chase the check —chase the check—can’t —catch it—oh watch the girl go—empty stockings and tiny boxes—-don’t worry– —i’ll teach them what’s important.”

Tammy goes on to claim that despite her frequent griping, the money actually isn’t that important to her, and that as “narcissistic” as it sounds, she may be the only one with a moral compass!

“Nothing close to —what i have to chase in the stupid mail box—but rather—what is in the heart—which could never–never never ever be found in a mail box anyway…………… millionaires in their mansions—-tricking with trusts—-hiding money from Paul behind Peter—–just to steal from the minor in the end—-integrity is a mystery in—-the town of gold dust—-pyrite—fool’s gold —-at times i do feel——as narcissistic as this sounds—that i might be the only —one—with a moral compass —-this side of the Indiana State Line. —tell me it’s not true—-no—-show me—-show me—-someone show me it’s not true.”

[From Radar Online]

So Tammy has been getting $23,000 a month since at least this spring, along with 50% of the royalties from songs Melissa wrote when the two were together. She should have taken in well over $200,000 this past year. I get that lawyer’s fees may have taken a large chunk of that, (I can’t figure out if Melissa was ordered to pay Tammy’s lawyer’s fees, this story is a mess) but couldn’t she have moved out of her mansion at least? She may have done that, but if so I expect she would have written something about trying to manage, as if it were a great hardship. Granted she might not be able to go back to her career as an actress, but surely now that her kids are in school she could try to do something for money, or at least try to live within her new means. I do think Melissa was in the wrong for cheating on Tammy and then shafting her on child support. (Which is extremely relative to Melissa’s income, of course.) But if you look at how much money Tammy is raking in, it rings hollow when she says she’s going to have to cancel Christmas. Then again, when you read her blog you wonder if she has the life skills to balance a budget. I know that’s bitchy, but her writing style is so off-putting. She seems to be stuck in permanent victim-hood.

Tammy and Melissa in 2005:

Melissa performing in August:

Melissa with her new girlfriend, Linda Wallem, in May:

photo credit: WENN.com

In the Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels divorce battle, I’m not on any particular side. I followed their split closely, and I ended up concluding that both of them were unlikable. Melissa cheated on Tammy when she was home raising their twins, having given up her career to become a stay at home mom. Tammy aired their dirty laundry on the Internet, including some details about how Melissa had dildos delivered to her by mistake that were meant for her new lover. It was messy and ugly, and there were bad parenting allegations to follow. The last we heard in this story, Tammy was asking for more than the $23,000 a month in child and spousal support that Melissa was giving her under court order. It sounded greedy to many of you, although given Melissa’s massive income Tammy was legally entitled to ask for more.

Both parties have reached a settlement, according to TMZ. Tammy’s support will remain at $23k a month, and she’ll get half of all royalties from one of Melissa’s albums, written during the eight years they were together, The Awakening, as well as half the royalties from a bunch of other songs. They will share 50/50 custody of their five and a half year-old twins: daughter Johnnie Rose and son Miller Steven. Here’s more:

We’ve just obtained the settlement agreement between former domestic partners Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels, and get this … Tammy has a piece of Melissa’s music.

Under the agreement, Tammy gets 50% of the royalties from the album, The Awakening. Tammy also gets 50% from the songs, A Simple Love, All There Is, All We Can Really Do, An Unexpected Rain, California, God Is in the People, Heroes and Friends, Imagine That, I’ve Loved You Before, Map of the Stars, Message to Myself, Open Your Mind, The Kingdom of Heaven, The Universe Listened, Threesome, and What Happens Tomorrow.

As we previously reported, the settlement requires Melissa to pay Tammy $13,000 in monthly spousal support and $10,000 a month in child support. They have agreed to joint custody.

Melissa gets to keep some property in Springdale, Arizona and Hidden Hills, California. She also gets some property in Arkansas.

[From TMZ]

I tried to read Tammy Lynn’s blog to see what she would say about this, and it just made my head spin. There’s a long entry where she explains how great her career was before she hooked up with Melissa, and another where she writes a poem about making ends meet or something. She also explains the incident where she accidentally burned one of her kids with a cigarette, which Melissa revealed during the custody battle.

As for the royalties from Melissa’s music: will that amount to a lot of money? I mean, a lot of money for you and me, not for these people who can’t live on $23k a month. From what I understand of the music industry, they really gouge artists.

These photos are from 2002 – 2005. Credit: PRphotos

This is such an out there story that I think that it’s true, because it would require a very creative gossip monger to make it up. That’s not to say it’s necessarily accurate, just that if it’s made up that I’m giving props to the Enquirer’s Rick Egusquiza for this clever twist of a story.

You’ve probably heard about Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michael’s ongoing custody and partner support case. The latest developments, which you can read here, have Tammy asking for more than the $25k a month support she was getting. A lot of people find that amount outrageous and have called Tammy greedy, but at least one partner of a famous rich woman is on her side. The Enquirer reports that Porti de Rossi, Ellen DeGeneres’ wife, is siding with Tammy and thinks that Melissa is stiffing her on child support. Ellen of course sides with Melissa and feels that Tammy should be living fine on $25k a month. Ellen and Portia have been fighting so much about this, allegedly, that they’ve agreed to no longer bring up the topic. Uhoh, does this mean they’re having problems? (Like just about every other couple?)

Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi are at each other’s throats over their pal Melissa Etheridge’s ugly custody battle with her ex!

The talk-show host has sided with her longtime friend Melissa, sources say, while Portia sympathizes with the rocker’s ex, actress Tammy Lynn Micheals, who’s asked a judge to bump up her support payments.

“Ellen thinks Tammy is crazy and unrealistic for asking for more money,” a close source told The Enquirer. “Meanwhile, Portia thinks Melissa is being stingy with the mother of her kids. Portia feels that she can related to Tammy because she gave up her acting career for Melissa, and Portia pretty much did the same thing for Ellen.

The couple’s bickering escalated when Portia, 39, accused Ellen, 54, of not having any compassion for Tammy, said the source.

“Ellen fired back that there are plenty of divorced moms who get by on a lot less than Tammy does,” said the source. “The bottom line is that Ellen is sticking by Melissa, and Portia is rooting for Tammy. The two rarely fight, but this has completely divided them.

Emmy winner Ellen and Melissa, 50, are longtime friends…

For now, Ellen has called a truce, said the source, adding: “Ellen and Portia agreed to disagree and move on. They also made a pact- no more talk about their friends’ private lives if it affects their own relationship.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, May 7, 2012, author Rick Equsquiza]

I believe this. I can see Portia siding with Tammy because if we were talking about a straight married couple, especially in California, there would be no question about Tammy receiving half of Melissa’s income during their marriage along with substantial spousal and child support. Ellen, as the richer half of the couple, sees it differently of course. It’s her money, she earned it.

The Enquirer pointed me to this interview that Tammy Lynn Michaels recently did with AfterElton.com. It’s from a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn’t seen it yet. Tammy defends her blogging about her split, and she says she doesn’t regret sharing the detail that she was tipped off to Melissa’s cheating when a box of dildos intended for Melissa and her girlfriend got delivered to her by mistake. I still think Tammy Lynn is an a-hole, just like Melissa. This interview didn’t change my opinion of her. I don’t feel that way about Ellen and Portia at all and I hope if they ever split they’ll keep the details under wraps. Hopefully things are fine with them, though. They just bought Brad Pitt’s Malibu mansion earlier this year.

Ellen and Portia are shown on 1-5-11 at a Covergirl event. Melissa and Tammy are shown in 2007. Credit: WENN.com

Melissa and Tammy Lynn Michaels in 2007

I covered the Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels split when it was happening, and I have to say I ended up not liking either of them. At first I had sympathy for Tammy because she was never legally married to Melissa under California law (in the window when same sex marriage was legal before it wasn’t again) and she seemed to be lacking legal protection to secure her rights as a spouse and mother. Reports claimed that Melissa was cheating on Tammy, her partner of nine years and the mother of their now five year-old twins, son Miller and daughter Johnnie Rose. Tammy confirmed the cheating stories last year in a blog entry in which she said that her twins told her about it, and that Melissa had a box of vibrators, presumably intended for sexy times with her new girlfriend, delivered to her by mistakes.

These two eventually worked out some kind of tentative monthly support and custody plan for their children, but they’re not successfully co-parenting by any means. Tammy Lynn has petitioned the court to increase her child and spousal support beyond the $23,000 a month she’s getting. She also claims that Melissa is alienating the children against her and that they act distant and are not affectionate after they return to her care. Plus Melissa allegedly didn’t give their son antibiotics he needed for his ear infection and she won’t get the children vaccinated. It sound like a big mess, with two little kids being affected by it. Tammy Lynn, 37, is a TV actress who was on the WB show Popular, which ran from 1999 to 2001. She has appeared on The L Word and Committed. Around 2005 she put her career aside for motherhood, and she just started working again on another film project recently. Here’s more on the their latest court drama, thanks to TMZ. You can read the documents in a PDF on E! Online:

Melissa Etheridge’s ex-GF Tammy Lynn Michaels claims she’s barely scraping by on the $23,000 a month Melissa currently pays her in partner and child support — and now, she wants a massive raise … this according to new court docs obtained by TMZ.

Tammy just filed the papers in the couple’s infamously bitter separation claiming Melissa makes roughly $177,882.00 PER MONTH … and got Tammy accustomed to an extravagant lifestyle while they were together … so the $23k is incredibly unfair.

Tammy — a former actress — also claims she has “virtually no savings” and would need “extensive retraining” if she were to rejoin the workforce.

Tammy claims Melissa is also brainwashing the kids — training them to be emotionally distant and rude to Tammy … and now they won’t even give her a hug.

Tammy also accuses Melissa of cursing around the children — including one instance … when she told Tammy to “get the f**k off my back” in front of the kids. According to Tammy, Melissa also refuses to let the kids get vaccinated.

As for the reason behind the mudslinging — Tammy and Melissa are headed into a settlement conference in May to determine support and custody issues … so it’s important for Tammy to demonstrate she’s the better mom.

On top of increased support, Tammy also wants Melissa to pay her $120,000 legal bill. Calls to Melissa were not returned.

[From TMZ]

$23,000 a month sounds like an insane amount of money to me, but I don’t have that lifestyle by any means. It’s worth noting that Melissa now lives in the house she once shared with Tammy, which is valued at $4.5 million. The court papers claim that Tammy “has limited income and virtually no savings.” They add that she “may also require extensive retraining before she is viable in the workforce.” We know she can’t write coherently. I know that sounds harsh but it’s true. There’s a difference between being poetic and not making sense.

Here’s Melissa with her new girlfriend, Linda Wallem, on 4-10-11. The Enquirer reported that Wallem was Tammy’s best friend and was a friend of their family for years before she took up with Melissa.

Photo credit: WENN.com

A “source” close to Melissa Etheridge recently confirmed a scoop by the Enquirer that Etheridge has been dating longterm family friend, Linda Wallem, who served as the best woman at her 2003 commitment ceremony with now-ex, Tammy Lynn Michaels. Michaels and Etheridge have four year old twins together, and Michaels has claimed that Etheridge left her with little money and no clear explanation for why she was leaving. Now that the news is out, People is reporting that Melissa and this Linda woman, who created the show Nurse Jackie, got together three months after Tammy and Melissa split up. Only Tammy, in her roundabout way, is disputing those claims and suggesting that Melissa cheated. She also adds that she’s known about it for a while, that one of her kids told her, and that Melissa accidentally had a box of dildos delivered to her house. Maybe it was meant as a gift. Here’s some of what she wrote on her blog, and I’ve translated some of it it. (My words are in bold.)

Melissa didn’t break up with her and just said she wanted a break
i moved out november 23rd 2009
she said it would help
i was convinced it would
too and i trusted there was
no one else
i didn’t know
there was someone moving in
as i was moving out

Melissa’s assistant delivered some vibrators to Tammy by mistake
three weeks later a box of new toys
was delivered and her assistant brought
it to my rental house as a mistake
i opened it
and that’s when i felt something was up

i called her
“i have your new dicks on my kitchen counter?”

one thing by one thing
i slowly felt things were not
as
they were being represented

one never even said one was breaking up with me
one only says things in song and string

Tammy figured out Melissa broke up with her by listening to her new CD
and then i listened to the album
and i understood
oh
you don’t want to work it out
oh you already have someone in the wings
oh you already have pined for another
oh you are done here

oh i have become another one of your exes

oh i have become an album

On how she got cheated on
so. you know. people magazine tries to get things right. they try to
clean things up for the famous folk- their sources are usually the publicist
for the celebrity. i’m here to clarify. well… i want to clarify without
dealing with getting sued for SLANDER (and paying someone), which would include
me saying that the two were involved while I was living there (it is still my house, by the way).
and i haven’t gone just that far yet.

since april of 09? mmm…. one of my little sweet peas told me otherwise much
earlier than that, Pooper magazine.

they should have shut the bedroom door.

and once again… if we’re going to have little “leaks” and such… let’s make them truthful?

perhaps folks out there are going to start doing math. “speak true and spread the peace” of 2010
i kept this to myself last summer. maybe i shouldnt have- it would have explained another reason
why there was so much bitterness in my cray-cray crazy blogs. i couldn’t believe someone would have a
saying, and motto to ask people to buy and live by, but not oneself?

spread the peace? speak true.

[From Tammy Lynn Michaels blog]

I can write more coherent e-mails on an iPod. I hope she was using a Blackberry keyboard to compose that. Ok, I get it, Tammy got royally screwed, and because she wasn’t legally married to Melissa it was worse for her. I’ll repeat what I’ve said about Tammy before – this is only making her look petty. I’ve had people bash me for saying she should keep it to herself or get an editor, and maybe my problem is her writing style. Before responding and telling me I’m wrong and she has every right to get her side of the story out – which I’m not disputing – please read her entire post on her blog. She goes on about it, and I personally find it annoying to read through all that drama and try and figure out what she means. What purpose does it serve to spill the detail that she got delivered some vibrators meant for Melissa?

The facts definitely make Tammy out to be the wronged party, though – she nursed Melissa through cancer, gave up her career to raise their children, and then got pushed aside while Melissa took up with her former best friend. I felt more sympathy for Tammy before she chimed in to say “I would have told you so,” and “Oh, Melissa’s dildos got delivered to my house.” What’s more is that Tammy has to let everyone know that she’s got a new girlfriend too. What’s next for her – a reality show? It’s not like she’s going to be able to write a book without a ghostwriter.

These photos are from 2007 (above) and 2005 (below). Credit: WENN.com

This is a really juicy piece of gossip when you take it in context. Melissa Etheridge is now dating her ex wife Tammy Lynn Michael’s former best friend, who served as the “best woman” at their commitment ceremony in 2003. (Tammy Lynn and Melissa never legally married when it was possible before Prop 8 passed, but they did have a traditional-type wedding.) We heard all sorts of drama about Melissa and her ex when they broke up last year. Michaels complained on her blog that Etheridge wasn’t providing enough support for her to feed and house their now four year-old twins, and Etheridge’s lawyer countered that his client was providing $2,000 a month and paying all the bills. When you consider how wealthy Melissa is, that really isn’t that much. Last year, Tammy’s lawyer told In Touch that Tammy suspected Melissa was cheating. He said, “There were all the usual signs. Strange comings and goings and lots of days and nights absent.” Now we may know who the other woman is.

[Melissa Etheridge] is “hot and heavy” with Hollywood producer/writer Linda Wallem, the creative force behind the hit cable TV series “Nurse Jackie,” according to an insider.

“Linda has been talking constantly on the set about how she and Melissa are in love and how they’re in a committed relationship,” the insider said.

Melissa and Linda – who are both 49 and were born on the same day, May 29, 1961 – have known each other for years. Linda was the best friend of the singer’s ex partner, Tammy Lynn Michaels, according to one of Tammy’s friends.

When Tammy and Melissa exchanged wedding vows in 2003 in a lavish ceremony at Dick Clark’s Malibu estate, Linda was in the wedding party.

“In lesbian terms, Linda was the ‘best lady,’” the friend said. “Now she’s taken Tammy’s place.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, January 24, 2011]

So did Melissa wait until she ended things with Tammy before taking up with their mutual friend? From the way Tammy explained Melissa’s behavior before their split, it’s doubtful.

Meanwhile Melissa’s new girlfriend might create a sitcom in which Melissa will star:

Linda is planning to write a sitcom for Melissa, described as a reverse “Will & Grace,” where the singer would portray a gay teacher living with a straight man.

And the pair want to collaborate on a musical play that Linda is developing.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition]

We haven’t heard much lately about Melissa and Tammy’s court battle for custody and support. It looks like Melissa has moved on while she’s left the mother of her children high and dry.

Melissa Etheridge is shown on 10/6/10. Linda Wallem is shown below on 5/3/10. Credit: WENN.com

Linda Wallem:

Tammy Lynn Michaels and Melissa in 2002 (credit: Fame)

Melissa Etheridge’s ex, Tammy Lynn Michaels, is blogging again. She’s previously penned entries to her blog about how Melissa has left her sick, broke and nearly homeless, but has since deleted some of those entries. Etheridge claims to pay Michaels $2,000 a month in cash along with providing for all the bills, but Michaels says that’s not enough to get by and that she should be entitled to “alimony, child support and division of the assets.” Her lawyer says she is entitled live in the same manner she was accustomed to, which amounts to $60,000 a month under California law Melissa and Tammy were never married under Prop 8 in California but they did have a huge wedding/commitment ceremony in 2003. They were together for nine years and have two children together, a twin boy and girl who are about to turn four. Michaels claims to have given up a lucrative television career to become a stay-at-home mom to their children, along with helping raise Etheridge’s two older children from her relationship with Julie Cypher, Bailey Jean, 13, and Beckett, 12.

Now Michaels is blogging again, and while it’s hard to decipher her writing it’s clear that she’s broke, scared, hurt and unsure how she’s going to make ends meet. She says that she can’t really get a job because she can only work from 8:30 – 1:45 while the twins are in school. Michaels’ brother is living with her and it sounds like he’s helping out, although she still can’t afford to even pay for lunch at times. Here’s some of what she wrote.

when i went to get cash
just last week
for the three of us to eat
nothing

today i was shopping for birthday decor
4th next sunday!
little cash for lunch?
nope- not enough funds
no food

“pays all her bills”
not entirely true

my medical bills?
yes- insurance covers it all
for a small monthly fee
the house? i didn’t pick it out
they did
the kids’ education?
she chose the private schooling
i’m fine if they’re in public…

and i don’t think i know what love is, or a promise. and romance? smoke and mirrors, ladies!!! smoke and mirrors! don’t fall for it! it’s all a line up for bull that’ll leave you with saggy boobs and stretch marks in the end.

and to be honest?

what the f*ck is marriage all about anyway? i thought i did everything i was supposed to do. support support support. love family, be there, love, right? all for naught or have i still everything to learn about love? and that was nothing? or the letting go of this is THEE LESSON of loving. argh.

someone told me that chemotherapy just messes with a brain chemistry, changes the brain, the person, and makes them just in general different. they might b meaner, or illogical, often imbalanced, or whatever. but they just don’t come out the same. hardly ever, i am told. and they can’t help it. it just is.

and i think about that alot too…

someone asked about getting a job. okay. well.let’s talkaboutthisheregirlfriend…… i have “help” until 2 pm a lot. i can’t tell my bosses that i can work each day until between the hours of 830 and 145. tv hours aren’t like that, waitressing ours aren’t like that sadly…. strippers hours aren’t like that, whores’ hours aren’t like that, secretary hours’ aren’t like that, starbucks’ jobs aren’t like that… crossed my mind this morning to get a paper route, though. that’s a quick job, but i bet a lot has changed since i was 11. but thank goodness i was able to go home that day and eat- not like in haiti where you eat dirt cookies. while i drove, i spit brown stomach bile into my cup, and rinsed with water. then when i got home i simply ate a bagel. it’s not really great for my stomach to sit empty right now. like being pregnant, but no baby inside. but then my friend and i laughed… cuz once i am able to get my twins so set and solid and older, THEN there’s jobs for me, and i’ll be open.

[From HollywoodFarmGirl.Blogspot.com via Radar Online]

It’s really cheap of Etheridge not to provide to Michaels. She was married to her for seven years, they had two kids together, and Etheridge needs to make sure that Michaels can afford to support their children. Michaels is not making herself into a sympathetic figure by blogging, though. I can’t even tell in that last paragraph above if she’s saying she tried a paper route recently and it made her sick or if she used to feel sick and need to spit in a cup when she did it as a kid. It’s just confusing and frankly comes across as whiny. She has every right to whine of course, but she’s not making a great case for herself despite her very stark reality.

Etheridge recently told People Magazine that she’s ready to date again and that her kids can “can see the reasons that people aren’t together… and understand that it’s more peaceful and happier” now that she and Michaels are apart. In response, Michaels blogged that Etheridge should make her private actions match what she’s telling the media about how she’s striving for peace and harmony. At least that’s what I think she was saying.

In Touch scored an exclusive interview with the lawyer representing Melissa Etheridge’s ex, Tammy Lynn Michaels. Michaels has asserted through a series of (now deleted) entries on her blog that she’s dead broke, having given up an acting career to raise their now three year-old twins. She’s also claimed to be sickand about to be evicted from her home. When this story first came out, on was on Michaels’ side as it sounded like Etheridge left her abruptly after nine years, leaving her without much to live on and fending for herself. Now I’m not so sure, though, as Michaels has sounded whiny and out of touch on her blog. There’s much more to the story than we’re hearing.

In his In Touch interview, Michaels’ lawyer lays out his client’s suspicions and provides more background on how little money she’s being given to live on.

Now In Touch can reveal the real reason the breakup came out of the blue. “Tammy suspects that there’s another woman in the situation,” Tammy’s lawyer, Steven Knowles, exclusively tells In Touch. “Even before papers were signed, there were all the usual signs. Strange comings and goings and lots of days and nights absent…

“Tammy says Melissa doesn’t even ask about the kids and rarely sees them… Frankly, this is an unfortunately and common phenomenon among divorcing spouses.”

Tammy feels that Melissa, 49, has not only abandoned the family emotionally, she’s also neglecting them financially, adds Knowles.

“Tammy has a very small credit card stipend of $2,000 a month…

“When they were in court, Melissa was forced to give her $2,000 in cash, but that was fought tool and nail…

“Tammy should be entitled to alimony, child support and division of the assets…

“Tammy and the children are entitled to live in the same manner that Melissa is accustomed to.” And when calculated on the statewide program, DissoMaster, it totals up to “$60,000 a month…

“Melissa’s attitude is that Tammy is used up and needs to be cut out as cheaply as possible.”

[From In Touch, print edition, August 2, 2010]

I guess I don’t blame Michaels for using the press to hit back at Etheridge when she has little money to live on. It sounds bitter and petty to put it out there, but I understand the urge. The article is incorrect on one point, though. They note that “their relationship was legal under California law,” which is technically true, but Tammy and Melissa had a civil partnership, not a legal marriage as they never took advantage of the chance to make it a full marriage before Prop 8 passed. They did have a big traditional wedding attended by other celebrities in 2003. Etheridge even bitched after Prop 8 passed that she didn’t need to pay state taxes because “that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights.” Now she’s probably glad she didn’t have the same rights, because she doesn’t have the same responsibilities.

Header: Melissa on June 26, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Just yesterday we heard from Melissa Etheridge’s ex, Tammy Lynn Micheals, that she was sick and broke, having been left scrambling for money to buy food and gas and pay doctor’s bills since her split with the rock star. Michaels cares for her three year old twins with Etheridge and claims that she gave up a lucrative acting career to be a stay-at-home mom while Etheridge focused on her work. Now Etheridge is claiming in new court papers that Michaels scammed her by asking her to come to a hotel to see the twins and serving her with divorce papers instead. That would have happened after Etheridge served Michaels with dissolution of partnership papers. It may have been vindictive to use the children as bait in order to serve divorce papers, but it’s not like she did it out of the blue. The least she could have done is to let Melissa see the kids first and then get the process server in. Here’s US Weekly’s report on what happened.

Another bitter chapter in the Melissa Etheridge-Tammy Michaels split.

In a declaration released Thursday, Etheridge, 49, accuses Michaels, 35, of using their 3-year-old twins as “pawns.”

She claims that on July 6 — during a break from her summer tour — Michaels told her their kids were going to meet her at her Boston hotel.

A short time later, she “received a text message … stating, ‘My plans changed, sorry,’” the singer recounts in the court papers, obtained by E! News.

Etheridge says she was then served with court papers from her ex.

Etheridge says it was “a ploy to have me served, and mistakenly believing that by serving me, I would have to dismiss my Petition … [she] used our children as pawns.”

Etheridge’s claim is an attempt to fight back at Michaels, who is asking for in excess of $12,000 a month to take care of the kids and find work. See more volcanic relationships.

Michaels, a former actress who is now a full-time homemaker, claims she has no income.

Michaels says she doesn’t see why Etheridge can’t support her, considering that the rocker rakes in between $600,000 and $750,000 a month.

Etheridge’s attorney says the singer currently gives Michaels $2,000 a month and pays all of her household bills. Etheridge announced she had split from Michaels earlier this year.

[From US Weekly]

This is a cheap move. According to Michaels, Etheridge promised her she wouldn’t file for separation until the fall, only to be surprised when she was served papers. So I guess in retaliation she got a lawyer and served Etheridge papers, using the excuse of seeing their kids in order to make sure she would be there.

I used to be on Michaels’ side because I believed her claims that Etheridge had left her broke and wasn’t providing for her. The more she blogs the more she seems unstable and possibly embellishing to make herself out to be the wronged party, though. She’s since deleted a couple of blog entires, so even if she didn’t personally have the revelation that it was stupid to whine about her breakup online she wisely followed her lawyer’s advice to stop doing it. Meanwhile their poor kids are stuck in the middle. I hope for their sake that Michaels and Etheridge are able to put aside their differences and successfully co-parent. Given everything we’ve heard so far, it doesn’t seem likely.

Header photo is from 2002. Photo below is from 2001. Credit: Fame Pictures.

The last we heard about Melissa Etheridge’s split from her partner of nine years, Tammy Lynn Michaels, Micheals’ lawyer was shot down in court on a request for $25,000 to tide his client over until a monetary agreement was reached for their divorce/partnership dissolution. Michaels has taken to her blog on several occasions to creatively explain her side of the breakup. According to Michaels, Etheridge emotionally withdrew from the relationship while Michaels was busy caring for their three year-old twins and later broke up with her with little explanation or warning. Then Etheridge filed to make their split official after promising to delay the process, leaving her broke and struggling to pay daily expenses. Only Etheridge’s lawyer was able to prove that his client was providing for Michaels by paying all the bills and giving her an additional $2,000 a month. The judge was satisfied that Michaels had enough to get by and denied the request for additional money.

Now Michaels has blogged that she’s sick and needs expensive medical care that she can’t afford. She also is facing eviction from her rented home in 45 days. How is that the case if Etheridge is paying the rent as she claims? Here’s Michaels’ now-deleted blog entry, which explains her side of the story but frankly doesn’t do much for her case.

ulcers to gallbladder to pancreas to liver and then…?
a dillar
a dollar
a trick or treat
hollar
need some help
need some honesty
need some real
call ‘er
no answer

gallbladder
pancreas
liver
ulcers
MRIs
ultrasounds
gotta get it done
on pennies now?
somethings going on

gotta get a job
with barf bag in hand?
and leave my twins with who?
and with what babysitting money?

a dillar
a dollar
a trick or treat
hollar

this too shall pass
cuz i believe in miracles
and
miracles look like rainbows.

oh. and we have to be out of our rental in 45 days.
man, i love a challenge.

[From Tammy Lynn Michaels' blog via Huffington Post]

I get the gist of what Michaels is saying, but this writing style is so vague and hard to decipher that I’m not feeling as much sympathy for her as I used to. There’s something very whiny about it, which is completely understandable if she’s sick and scared. It’s just easier to relate to a situation when it’s explained in complete sentences.

Michaels seems to have realized that she’s not coming across well, or maybe her lawyer had a talk with her about sharing her personal business while a court case was pending. She’s since deleted the above blog entry as well as at least one earlier entry in which she described how she gave up her career to care for her children with Etheridge.

I’m not sure exactly whose side I’m on in this messy divorce, but it sounds awfully cheap to give the mother of your children a mere $24,000 a year to live on when you’re a multimillionaire rock star. I hope Michaels gets enough money to live on, and that she has decent health insurance. It’s the least that Etheridge can do.

Header image is from 4/17/08. Credit: PRPhotos