Stephanie Reece and her husband, Michael Hunn, seemed to have a fairytale romance. He worked for a company that creates interactive exhibits, and she continued to live out her tennis dreams.
In college, Stephanie was a five-time American athlete.
After college, she decided to join the professional tennis circuit. During the 90’s she competed at Wimbledon and the US Open. At one point she was even ranked 79th in the world.
This Mom just seemed to have it all.
Facebook; pictured above is Stephanie with her two children Harrison and Shelby
In the coming years, Stephanie would take a new job at Zionsville School as a tennis coach. Michael and Stephanie welcomed two beautiful children during their marriage – Harrison, and Shelby.
Like their very athletic Mom, both children were shaping up to become great tennis players. Aside from that, their peers would describe them as the “nicest kids you would ever meet”, reports the New York Post.
However, soon things began to go wrong within their parents’ marriage.
Facebook; mom Stephanie smiles along with Harrison and Shelby while at the beach in the above photo
After 17 years of marriage, the couple decided to divorce. In November of 2017, they began the proceedings. They would continue to parent together and share custody of Harrison and Shelby.
The children would have scheduled weekly visits at their dad’s home. Yet, Harrison and Shelby grew concerned about their father and his well-being. Things began to take a very dark turn for the worse.
Facebook; siblings Harrison and Shelby smile together in the photo above
Harrison and Shelby confided in their grandmother about their father. They explained to her that his excessive drinking was a problem. Stephanie later learned of these concerns and decided to take action. In December, she filed a document that shared the children’s concerns.
According to court documents filed by Stephanie this past December, Michael’s alcohol abuse was so severe and problematic it made him unable to actually care for their children.
Facebook; pictured above is a photo of Shelby and Harrison together when they were younger
Additionally, the court documents stated he couldn’t even drive them anywhere he was so drunk all the time. What a terrible thing for children to have to witness, and for a Mom to have to somehow deal with.
By April, it was decided by the court that Michael would have to use a breathalyzer for three months. This would be used whenever he was getting into a vehicle.
He was additionally ordered to pay Stephanie child support on a weekly basis, the court documents reflect. Nevertheless, issues were still coming up with Michael.
Twitter; Shelby is pictured above smiling and sitting on a fence
His own lawyer quit on him recently, citing “irretrievable breakdown in communication.” He was completely failing and falling apart as a father. Things continued to quickly spiral out of control, or reason.
