I was married to the actress, Irene Bedard, for 17 years. After I filed for divorce, I was victimized by a nasty and extremely public smear campaign. Unfortunately, this strategy has become all too common in custody battles, even when not being fueled by celebrity. Although I was far from perfect as a husband, none of the accusations were true. To protect my son, I never responded to anything said about me in public, nor did I attempt to clear my name publicly. I think any decent father would step in front of a bus to protect his child. Regardless of the damage to my life, my ex-wife is also my son’s mother. I have an obligation to protect her. The details in divorce are reserved for the privacy of lawyers in order to protect the innocent children; all I'll say is that every allegation against me was dropped. I have and will continue to refuse to be interviewed or to publicly speak about the details.

 

One of my former wife’s friends did several interviews. Claiming he was an authority on our marriage and claiming to be close to our 7-year-old son, he said ridiculous things about me. Regardless of what he was told or what he thought about me, his eager willingness to take the spotlight, without a second thought, put an innocent child into an untenable situation. This person's claims about abuse created for my son the abusive burden of cruel rumors, innuendos, and a lifetime of whispers behind his back; a tragic irony. This friend of Irene's character is revealed in his actions. My son did not choose to be exposed, nor should he have been.

 

Throughout this whole ordeal, it has been extremely disheartening to find that, without a shred of evidence, many people believed I was guilty. The action of choosing to be silent in order to protect my son prompted others to believe the rhetoric about me. Many of these same people claim to stand for the rights of others, implying that the world should use critical thinking when considering a person's value or character. The only place claims are considered proof is in the court of public opinion, which is unfortunately often swayed very easily by stereotypes and sensationalism. Perhaps someday such nasty publicity campaigns will no longer garner attention and people will consider the consequences of a rush to judgment, and the rush to post their judgment. I sincerely hope that laws catch up to those who perpetrate them. I remain patient...the truth always finds a way of coming to light, even if it takes years.

 

Meantime, my son continues to grow and he is strong in body and spirit. He is getting older and must now deal with the reality of this perpetuated public smear campaign. It is because of this I have chosen to say what I've said here. Irene will always be my son's mother. His own story will be known someday, and although he may choose to speak publicly about this in his future, I will not. My life speaks for itself.