Caussin — who shares Jolie, 8, and Jace, 5, with the actress — also reveals his thoughts on the possibility of his kids calling Kramer’s husband, Allan Russell, “Dad” in the future.
Jana Kramer and her ex-husband, Mike Caussin, are opening up about a “hot button” topic in their co-parenting relationship.
On the latest episode of Kramer’s Whine Down podcast, in which she was joined by her ex-husband, the former couple — who share daughter Jolie, 8, and son Jace, 5, — revealed that the “only thing” they “fight” about in their post-divorce relationship is Kramer sending Caussin child support payments.
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Kramer, 40, her husband, Allan Russell, and Caussin, 37, answered fan questions during the episode, with Kramer asking, per a fan, if her ex “dislike[s]” her bringing up that she pays him child support.
Caussin laughed, before getting serious as he admitted, “Yeah, of course. And that’s a hot button for us, and we know that.”
“You hate it. I hate it,” he added, to which Kramer said, “This is the only thing we really, truly fight about.”
“Yes, it really is. This is the kind of really true, last remaining resentment,” he said. “And Jana hasn’t made up that I enjoy receiving that, especially with money being a thing in our marriage and our history.”
Because of this, the former football star admitted that the “last thing” he wants is for his ex to think he needs financial assistance from her.
“So finding my way post-divorce, finding my career, finding the thing where I can provide and do all of that stuff has taken some time,” Caussin said, mentioning finding his own business. “It’s a battle because I reinvest stuff that I make back into my business in order to make more and build and build and build.”
“Trust me, it’s my goal … to show up and have a paper from my lawyer signing over, ‘Hey, this is not your legal obligation anymore,'” he added. “Like that’ll be the most freeing moment for me ever in the history of Mike and Jana because of our history and so no part of me enjoys it.”
When Kramer asked her ex why he “hate[s]” having her pay him child support, he continued his explanation, telling her, “I know how much weight you have with it, how it affects you. You hold it against me and it creates this narrative that just isn’t accurate.”
“It’s just a last remaining thing conflicting between us that still lingers from our past. I want to be able to relinquish both of us, all of us, … from that,” Caussin said.
“That’s the last lingering thing between us and my own pride and ego is destroyed [by] the fact that I am in a position where I need to take it, to be completely vulnerable,” he concluded. “It is what it is.”
Kramer and Caussin, who separated more than once during their six-year marriage, called it quits in April 2021 after a slew of cheating allegations, with the One Tree Hill alum accusing her ex of “inappropriate marital conduct, irreconcilable differences and adultery” in her divorce filing. Their divorce was finalized in July 2021.
According to E! News, Kramer — who has custody of Jolie and Jace two-thirds of the time — gives her ex $3,200 per month in child support, and pays for the children’s health insurance.
Caussin’s Thoughts on His Kids Calling Russell “Dad”
Meanwhile, also during Caussin’s appearance on his ex-wife’s podcast, the former NFL player shared his thoughts on the possibility of his children referring to Russell as “Dad.”
“That’s a tough one. They’ve never called Allan ‘Dad’ at my house,” Caussin said. “I’m not going to sit here and tell them you can’t call him what you want to call him.”
“Which we also had a conversation about that too,” Kramer replied. “I three of us, remember, when we had a conversation last year when I was pregnant with Roman.”
“And we’re like, ‘We can’t say what they can and can’t do. If they want to call him the Easter Bunny, they can call him the Easter Bunny. They can call him whatever he wants,'” she added. “I’m not going to say you have to call him dad.”
However, Caussin admitted that it would have an effect on him.
“No one has to do any kind of correcting. But that one stings the most,” he said. “If I were to hear it, or if the kids tell me, ‘Oh, Mom told us to call him Dad.’ That would send me.”
Russell, meanwhile, chimed in, claiming that the hypothetical situation “wouldn’t happen,” especially if Caussin was there.
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Kramer added, “Yeah, I think the only thing is, with now Roman, it’s more like I still say Allan 90% of the time, but sometimes I’ll be like, ‘Go give this to Dad.’ Because it’s Roman.”
Caussin said he’s “cool with” that, noting that he’s “able to separate myself to a degree. But he admitted it’s the “hardest thing” knowing that he’s “missing moments” with his children.
“It is what it is. Comes with the territory,” he said.
Ultimately, Russell doesn’t think Kramer and Caussin’s kids will ever refer to him as “Dad” because they are “very clear who their dad is and who their stepdad is.”
“It’s not like I’ve been with the kids since they’ve been 1 year old, 6 months old, where it would be any different. Sure, sometimes it might slip out of their mouth definitely. I don’t think it’ll ever be a habit,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll ever constantly call me ‘Dad.’ I think they’re at an age where…this has all kind of happened where they’re at an age where they’re old enough.”
“Yeah, at this point they kind of call you what they call you,” Caussin agreed, adding, “But I defend that, it’s like, a father or a dad is someone who provides, protects, takes care of a child, whether biological or not. So, you know, you’re still worthy of the title obviously. But yeah, the kids know.”
