Birthmark on best friend’s baby helps woman learn her husband is the dad
With friends like this, who needs enemies?
An Arizona woman who was the birthing partner for her best friend discovered to her horror that her own husband was the father — after she noticed a rare hereditary birthmark on the girl’s neck that was identical to the cheating man’s, according to Caters.
Hailey Custer, 28, a mother of four from Wickenburg, was left heartbroken after finding out her husband, Travis Bowling, 36, allegedly cheated on her with her bestie, the news agency said.
Custer claimed her now-ex-hubby cheated with at least 30 women during their six years of marriage, during which he had two kids with two other people.
“I heard rumors that my friend was pregnant and homeless, so I reached out to her. I felt the need to help her,” Custer told the outlet. “We had just got home from the hospital and I was changing the baby and when she turned her neck, the birth defect popped out. When they’re babies, it is really hard to see, and I wasn’t looking for it.
Describing the “shock” that came over her, she continued: “When I found out my friend was standing next to me, I looked at her and you could just tell. She couldn’t say anything, she just dropped her head and looked to the floor, and I just knew.
“There were no words that were said, I just knew. I was in a lot of shock in the beginning. I couldn’t even process what had happened, it was almost like a stage of grief,” said Custer, who declined to identify the double-crossing friend.
“Like you have your shock, your anger and you come to the conclusion that this is actually real life, this is actually happening,” she added.
Custer said she had taken on a “father figure role” with the baby.
“I was there for her every step of the way. Even in the hospital I wore the daddy wrist band, when she got her epidural, she laid on me. I actually gave the baby her first bath,” she told Caters.
When the initial shock wore off, Custer said she forgave her pal — and decided to continue their friendship and to have a cordial relationship with her ex for the sake of the kids.
“For me, I was in a state of shock for a little bit. I walked outside when I first found out and just prayed,” she said. “I kept hearing the words over and over in my head, ‘bigger picture.’ For me that meant ‘Stop with your tunnel vision.’”
Custer shared her story on TikTok, where her original video garnered over 3.4 million views
“I’ve had one or two comments who are obviously men and narcissistic who said, ‘Well if you took care of your man, he wouldn’t have cheated,’” she said.
“A lot of the comments, though, have been in support of me but there’s been some heat towards my friend which I try to shut down as soon as possible because that was not my goal,” she continued.
“It’s huge for everyone to know that I found forgiveness for myself. I’ve had to find forgiveness for myself and for the children,” added Custer, whose ex and friend declined to comment.
