When she and Bette committed to their friendship and co-parenting their daughter it was with the understanding that they would both work on the things that contributed to the breakdown of their marriage. Now that they reconciled as a couple, they’d begun the hard work of breaking down the emotional barriers and not holding back feelings. The lack of complete trust and openness were areas where they failed each other before. Tina understood that Melvin was emotionally reserved and had raised his daughter in much the same manner. She was putting her heart on the line to give them both a second chance, but the stakes were even higher with a baby on the way. The need for this generational crippling to end was critical to her child’s future. Being the only family that she’d know the Porter legacy would influence their daughter’s make-up and build the foundation of her beliefs and value system. Bigotry, homophobia and intolerance was part of their history but had no place in their diverse family. The child would face enough obstacles from the outside world, without it being inbred in their home.

Hearing Tina’s history with her own family made Melvin even more ashamed of his own despicable behavior. It was an emotional retelling, as all the hurt surfaced but it was important for Melvin to know that even though her family wasn’t accepting of Bette, she’d spared his daughter by taking a stand against them.

“Even after 10 years I still miss my parents and my siblings. We were a very close-knit family growing up, but I felt betrayed by them. These were the people that I loved and trusted most in the world. I never expected that they would turn their backs on me because of who I fell in love with. I understood the shock of learning that I was attracted to a woman. Before Bette I’d never expressed an inclination towards homosexuality; but when I met her, I knew she was who I was meant to be with. I didn’t even give it a second thought. I was so excited to tell them that I’d found true love that it never occurred to me that they would not accept Bette.”