Hi all,

This is going to sound like a rant, but I am really trying my best to hold my marriage together and deal with living in a blended family without losing it completely. When my husband and I got together we both knew that the other party had a child (a daughter to be specific) from a previous relationship. My daughter has never met her bio dad, as he took off when she was a few months old and has never bothered to contact, help out or even sign a birth certificate. My husband on the other hand, has paid every month for child, and tried to have any form of relationship with his daughter. Which has been made really difficult since he moved continent for work reason. Which is where I come in.

I met him here. 9 thousand km's away from his home land, and 1 year after he and his ex girl friend pathed ways. We fell in love, got married etc, and had a son.
Up till that point things were great!
I had a fantastic job, I supported my daughter fully, and would send gifts to his daughter at X-mas and her birthday.

When we got married, his ex took him to court without his knowledge and was granted full custody of his daughter and the monthly maintenance was raised to almost a 1/3 of his salary. I helped him send money overseas etc.
When the baby came along, it coincided with a whole bunch of events;
A change in job for him, which required that I move, so I had to quit my job. A horrible decline in the economy and the currency we trade in vs the euro, and the costs of a new baby.
We discussed he contest the court order to get the amount lowered, we couldn't live with it being so high, and we don't live an extravagant life by any means. I had to ask my parents to keep my daughter, cause I couldn't afford to feed her for the first time in 5 years.
Since I met him, when my daughter and his were 1 and 1 and 1/2 respectively I couldn't see to my child's needs, and his was still being seen to.

What gets me most is his family has always spoken badly of his ex, and now all of a sudden the ex and the family are all big friends!
There were times when he and his family were denied access to his daughter, and the only person they had was my daughter and now they don't even great her, and I am trying so hard not to cause a scene over their attitudes towards a child.
And what kills me even more is my husbands defense of his family and their actions, and that it's because they think it's unfair to lower the maintenance.

I am at the point where I almost feel like grabbing my kids, signing divorce papers and walking away.
Please if I am wrong tell me, if I am being overly sensitive tell me.

I might add that my husband ex, earns a good salary, doesn't pay rent, water, electricity etc and is not willing to even budge on what she has demanded.