That is one of the most difficult aspects of living through a personal crisis in the age of social media.

A private event can become public within hours.

One person posts a message.

Someone else shares it.

Another person adds an opinion.

A video appears.

A headline becomes exaggerated.

Soon, thousands of strangers may be discussing people they have never met.

The mother and daughter reportedly reduced their social-media presence after the story spread.

They had little control over what people were saying.

Some strangers expressed sympathy.

Others were furious.

Some blamed the man.

Some blamed the women.

Some questioned how either woman could have failed to discover the overlapping relationship earlier.

Others reminded people that outsiders rarely know the full story.

And amid all the arguments was one fact that nobody could change.

Two children were on the way.

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The Children Had Done Nothing Wrong

This became the most important point for people close to the family.