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The sour split between former domestic partners Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels is about to get more heated, as Michaels has filed for full custody of the couple's 3-year-old-twins.
Etheridge first requested joint custody of the children when she filed papers last week to legally end their union. But Michaels, who gave birth to twins Miller and Johnnie in 2006, filed her own papers on Thursday asking for full legal and physical custody, with visitation for Etheridge. She is also asking the court to grant her spousal support.
Though both parties cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split, Michaels, 35, filed for a dissolution of marriage rather than a dissolution of domestic partnership.
"Tammy filed a dissolution of marriage, because in her eyes this was a marriage. Both she and Melissa gave it the dignity of a marriage – they had a marital ceremony back in 2001," her attorney Steve Knowles told People.com. "If the court system says there was no such thing as a marriage and tells us we have to amend it to a domestic partnership, so be it. It's a symbolic act on Tammy's part, and frankly she thought it would be better for the children if they were recognized as children of a married couple... It was not at all Tammy's decision to go down the route to dissolve their marriage."
Michaels has been vocal about her shock over the split, blogging about her heartbreak and anger. But Etheridge, who is currently on tour, has kept quiet for the most part.
Who do you think should get custody of their children? Chime in below!
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