A man can only go on being mistreated for so long, and Avery Barkley has finally hit his breaking point. On this week's Nashville , Avery got the divorce papers necessary to end his marriage to Juliette. Their relationship was never butterflies and fairy tales to begin with, but damn, I thought that baby Cadence would really be the glue to hold these two together. You see, after Juliette had Cadence, she began struggling with postpartum depression, and threw herself into her work, not spending much time with her family. Avery became the primary caregiver while Juliette's PPD worsened, and when he and Juliette’s staff tried to stage an intervention and encourage her to get help, it didn’t go so well. So Juliette picked up and went on tour.
There was a brief moment of reconciliation between Avery and Juliette last week, but then Juliette got freaked out, made Jeff Fordham (her new manager) change her phone number so Avery couldn't contact her, and went back to her hard-partying ways. It’s so depressing to watch Juliette struggle like this, but I commend Avery for knowing what is right for him and his daughter at this point. He's tried reaching out to Juliette, but it seems he won't be the person to get through to her.
Even though he loves Juliette, he says that he should have known that she never wanted a family. He has to do the right thing — which is also the hard thing — and focus on what is best for himself and Cadence, if there seems to be no possibility of reconciling with Juliette, or convincing her to get the help she needs so they can begin to repair their relationship.
One thing I’m wondering? How custody will go. Avery’s lawyer said that Juliette and Avery are a classic case of abandonment, and that he’ll get alimony and child support and all that. When Avery says he wants full custody, his lawyer says that courts still nearly always side with the mothers on this front. Juliette likely doesn’t want sole custody of Cadence, so will it be easy for Avery to remain the primary caregiver of that sweet baby girl? I sure hope so, because I’m really loving this Three Men & A Baby thing he’s got going on with Gunnar and Will. Maybe Luke's pep talk can convince Juliette to come home before the divorce is finalized. We'll have to wait and see.
Images: Mark Levine/ABC; Giphy (2)
