A woman named Kris Armstrong is opening up after a TikTok video about her husband caring for her ex went viral — and brought a wave of unexpected backlash.
In the clip, Kris’s husband, James, is seen gently feeding and helping her ex-husband, Brandon, who lives with a traumatic brain injury. The video is captioned, “All that trouble just to end up with a man who loves my first husband.” In the post’s caption, Kris added, “So many years of giving up hope for a future for myself to end up with someone who ended up loving Brandon better than I ever could have hoped for.”
Kris and Brandon were married years before tragedy struck. In 2008, Brandon was T-boned by a moving truck, suffering a traumatic brain injury that completely changed their lives. Two years later, Kris made the painful choice to divorce him, though she remained his legal guardian.
When she met James, she was upfront about her situation. She told him that being with her meant also caring for Brandon, who needed around-the-clock help. Instead of being scared off, James embraced both of them. After the couple married in 2015, their unique family dynamic drew attention online. Some people celebrated their compassion, while others criticized or misunderstood it.
In a new video shared last week, Kris addressed the negativity that followed her viral post showing James helping Brandon in October. “Unfortunately, the downside of having a viral video, especially this one for some reason, is a lot of negativity was thrown our way,” she said.
“I’m fine with people being negative. It’s when people are name-calling, are threatening our family, are tearing down my character — especially because the last few weeks in our family, we having been going through a really hard time, a really, really tough time, and the last thing I want to use my brain energy on is having to block people and go through comments and sort through all this mess.”
She continued, “Negativity and ugliness breeds more and more of that, and I just can’t allow that — especially when it’s attacking me, my character, my family.” Kris added that while most of her messages are loving and supportive, some people have gone too far. “People have literally threatened me and would hope that horrible things would happen to me.”
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To protect her peace, Kris said she’s been blocking those who attack her. “When I block people, I look at it as a gift of love,” she said. “What you’re watching, for some reason, is making you really upset and angry, and I want to give you the gift of love that you never have to watch a video again.”
In an interview with PEOPLE earlier this year, Kris and James said their story is often misunderstood. “I think the story gets skewed and people think Brandon is being forced to be around me and my husband. I don’t even think Brandon knows James is my husband,” she said.
Despite the negativity, Kris said she’s still moved by the kindness they’ve received and what she’s learned through it all. “Brandon has taught us every day that life does not end when tragedy happens,” she said. “We have to get creative and find ways to keep on living. Even when it doesn’t look the way we had always planned.”