Some serious stuff went down this week while we were shooting. I was about to compete in the second stop of the Dew Tour. The tour consists of five competitions, and the points are cumulative. I definitely wanted to win the tour, but my bigger goal is to take first in all five competitions. At this point I’d already won the first one, and there was no reason to believe I couldn’t win the rest of them I decided to take Tony and Casey with me on this trip. I wanted them around for support, and to celebrate with me after my big win. It’s always chill to have my friends around when I’m traveling. When my mom told me my dad was coming as well, I knew having my friends there would be important to help save me from any drama that may come up between my parents...
My dad hasn’t traveled with me and my mom for years. I was excited that he was coming to support me but at the same time I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t going to cause any drama.

When I was back in San Clemente, my friends really got me through the rough times at home. While our family was falling apart, they made sure I didn’t fall apart with it. I had no idea why my dad wanted to get involved in my skating again after all this time, and I was definitely worried about my mom and dad being together in Cleveland, especially after Kane’s birthday party was so hard for my mom. I didn’t need any distractions to keep me from winning.

I was nervous when I went to ask my dad about the trip. It was hard enough to talk to him about it, and it was even harder with Christi standing right there. I just wanted five minutes alone to talk to him. I get it that my dad is dating. I want him to be happy, but it still isn’t easy seeing them together after my parents divorce.

And then when Christi told me she loved me I didn’t know what to think. I was totally surprised by that. I was pretty bummed watching that whole thing play out in the show again. I know my dad might be angry with me because I was upset about it but I couldn’t control how I was feeling at that time. I can’t believe I let the world see me cry. I was so angry, and so freaked out, there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t even talk. With all the other stuff going on in my life, I couldn’t take my dad’s girlfriend saying that to me. I know now that she meant well, but at that time it was just too soon to hear that.

I’ve realized since then that it wasn’t really about Christi. I was going through a lot and hadn’t really adjusted to all the changes after the divorce. Christi makes my dad happy and I know that’s all that matters. It’s taken a while, but I’m ready to accept that she’s in my dad’s life, and I’m trying to let her in to my life too.

At first I thought my dad might bail out on the trip to Cleveland after what went down with Christi, but he didn’t. And seeing him in the crowd, cheering me on, was amazing. Who knows if having him there helped me skate better that day, but I continued my winning streak. I don’t care how long my dad stayed away. I’m just really glad he’s showing up now. It was great to have both my parents there supporting me, even if they aren’t together.