Glennon Doyle And Her Ex-Husband Are The Epitome Of Honesty In Relationships

Glennon Doyle was one of the world’s favorite mommy-bloggers in the early 2000s, thanks in part to her family life with ex-husband Craig Melton.

After deciding to quit her career and become a stay-at-home mother in 2009, Doyle turned to the Internet, hoping to escape her bubble of isolation and exhaustion.

According to her, every day was “too much and not enough,” and blog writing was the perfect medium to exercise her creative fingers.

Since then, Doyle has become an icon in the literary world, having published three tell-all memoirs about her life, struggles with addiction, and the breakdown of her relationship with her ex-husband.

Her most recent publication, Get Untamed, is one of the biggest memoirs to date, having gone so far as to inspire Adele’s latest release.

What is most fascinating about Doyle is her openness about her personal life.

Her second memoir is the most vulnerable of her works – it is where she painfully details the series of events that led to her split with Melton.

How Glennon Doyle Rose To Fame

Doyle was residing in Centreville and spending all her time with her three children when she felt she was in dire need of human connection.

Knowing she could not just up and leave the house, she noticed people posting lists on Facebook, the common theme being ‘25 Things About Me’.

Doyle decided to hop on the trend, writing about her feelings on parenthood, marriage, and the general state of affairs as a housewife.

In a profile published by The Washington Post, Doyle recalled:

“My number six was, ‘I’m a recovering food and alcohol addict, but I still find myself missing food and booze in the same twisted way someone can still love a person who beats them and leaves them for dead,’ ” 

While Doyle had used the Facebook challenge to display the rawest version of herself, a friend had used the number six spot to share their favorite snack being hummus.

“I was like ‘Ohhhhhhhh, cr*p. We’re not doing that here, either,’” Doyle said. 

She soon realized that Facebook was not the best medium of airing out her grievances or openly discussing life with her now ex-husband.

Although she was hesitant to share more about her life, messages from friends and family inspired Doyle to start writing about her experiences.

She was even asked to speak about her mild postpartum depression at Church but used the platform to discuss her history of addiction and moments of wanting to commit suicide.

After her sermon, Doyle said there was a line of people wanting to share their secrets with her.

Realizing people needed a platform to share their stories, she told ex-husband Melton that she wanted to be a “truth-teller” – she had finally found her calling.

Doyle officially launched Momastary that year and was immediately launched into blogger stardom.

After her posts began to go viral, Doyle was offered a series of book deals and published her first collection of essays in April 2013, calling it Carry On, Warrior.

Unfortunately, her happiness was temporarily thwarted when Melton confessed he had been unfaithful during their marriage.

Who Is Craig Melton?

Before the world saw him as Glennon Doyle’s ex-husband, Craig Melton was a model who was frequently mentioned on her blog.

Not much is known about Melton prior to his marriage to the author, but details of their fourteen-year marriage have led to much discussion about his exploits over the years.

In 2016, Doyle released her second memoir, Love Warrior.

Here, she detailed the entire breakdown of her marriage, beginning with how she and her ex-husband met and how he shattered the illusion of a happy and long-lasting marriage.

Love Warrior contains the story of how the former couple first met during a bar crawl in Washington and the hardships they faced under the facade of a standard marriage.

The memoir is painfully raw, as Doyle opens up about her abortion, their intimate backyard wedding, and Melton’s p*rn addiction and infidelity.

She also discussed how they had to work together to overcome all this for their children’s sake and that therapy and self-exploration led to both parties deciding it would be best to split.

While Doyle was initially hesitant to expose their family story, her ex-husband agreed that telling the truth would set them both free.

The model-turned-typical-suburban-dad is not portrayed as the antagonist of the book. 

Instead, Doyle handles the situation with grace, knowing her former husband had to share the journey with her.

Often portraying Melton as the most empathetic member of the tale, Doyle says

“He’s a believer in this truth-telling thing, It’s scary and hard, and we believe in it as a way of life.”

She officially broke the news on her blog, telling readers of her respect for Melton and how proud she is of him for owning up to his devastating mistakes.

What Happened Next?

Doyle refused to be shattered by the divorce, diverting all her energy and suffering to her work.

She met retired soccer player Abby Wambach on a book tour in 2016 and announced the two were together via Twitter. 

The two were almost in the same boat when they met, newly divorced and looking to find their soulmate.

Although the relationship was controversial – Doyle is vocal about being a Christian – she found support from fans, her children, and her ex-husband, writing:

“They’re lucky kids, to be surrounded by so much love. We have family dinners together — all six of us — and Abby cooks. (She is an AMAZING chef because Jesus loves me). We go to the kids’ school parties together. We are a modern, beautiful family. Our children are loved. So loved. And because of all of that love, they are brave.”

In 2020, Wambach opened up about being a stepmother to Doyle and Melton’s children, praising her wife’s former husband for his support of the relationship.

“Craig gave me the biggest gift in allowing me into the family dynamic,” Wambach stated. “He gave the kids permission to love me.”