Are parents, divorced, relevant in your game?

My played Sims never divorce in my game. I don't need that much realism in my game.

I think I’ve only had one couple divorce in my game, and it was a long time ago so I honestly don’t remember what I did. If I have children that live with only one parent, then I make sure they spend some time with the other parent (unless it’s part of a story that they don’t). The way single parents are handled in my game varies quite a bit, really depends on the story line they have.

I have one set of divorced parents. When I first started playing TS4, I didn’t understand townies and the fact that they might already be married, so my Sim accidentally asked a married townie to move in with him. Now their divorce is a well established part of my world, and they are sort of friends again.

For those familiar with my Sims, this is Bodhi I’m talking about (in the middle of the picture). He asked Zachariah Kurtz to move in with him (on the left), who was married to Rachelle Raines, mother of Wilson and Brenda. Zachariah is also the brother of Valentine (on the right) and Dorian.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50861372568_55aa8692b3_b.jpg

Here are Brenda, Valentine, Bodhi, and Wilson.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50865796687_3b8013270b_b.jpg

Dorian is singing lead here.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51000481809_5e479455a1_b.jpg

Brenda, Wilson, and Rachelle live with Charly now that Rachelle is divorced.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50753603996_9a866f10e8_b.jpg

"Hearts4u;c-17849693" wrote:


@Sara1010P ... So true.

"Sara1010P;c-17849680" wrote:
My played Sims never divorce in my game. I don't need that much realism in my game.

The vast majority of my Sims have been happily created by me. I've filled every house and apartment with my Sims. I know everyone whose dating, married, single, etc. Divorcing someone just would not go with my game play. To think of how many family photos I'd have to change--no way. ?

I want to mention I didn't break up my sims to play mean (at least not for this couple). When I got them together I honestly thought they were the perfect couple, one was the child of sims I created and the other was my TS1 sim recreated. But the longer I played them the more I felt they just didn't suit each other anymore. It wasn't easy to have them break up, but after that I felt they both were happier with their lives. Just writing this because divorce or break up can be liberating and could be worth exploring in some cases.

I only have one divorced couple, and I include both houses in my rotational play. When I play the noncustodial parent I always invite the kids over a couple of times during the week, or meet them on community lots.

My founder sim didn't get married, she had her kids while completing the Serial Romantic aspiration, but she had several sets of twins and a couple of times I had one twin go live with the father after they broke up. They had keys to their mother's apartment so they could come by and visit whenever. Also without any input from me, the twin that lived with the mother was frequently chosen as the random schoolmate to come home after school with the one at the father's house, so they always kept in touch too.

In TS4 it isn't relevant in my game. I had a cheating sim get busted once and since the wife was barely his friend to begin with, I thought it would be a good idea to let them divorce. And their child was in the room and I expected a big scene and then nothing happened. The kid sat there playing on his phone while it happened, then got a sad moodlet and that was so lackluster that I don't even bother anymore.

If I'm playing on rotation, then the kid either meets with the other parent when I'm playing that house or they just don't even see one another anyway. But I'll be honest, most of my divorced sims don't ever see their kids again because if it got to the point where they divorced in my game, then one of the sims was a total piece of trash and didn't want to see the kids anyway.

I had to do this with Laitha actually when she was caught messing around. She was married to Brandi I. There was no divorce but I had to break up the relationship she had with another sim. These 2 had 6 children together and I didn't want a divorce messing up their children's childhoods.

Aside from legacy-style play (where married couples never divorce), many of my sims never marry at all even if they end up living in somewhat traditional families. The few who later divorce or otherwise break up might run into each other while they're out and about, but I don't put effort into making them interact unless I need to do so for story purposes. If they have a child together the non-resident parent is free to seek out interaction with their child (and the child is likewise free to spend time with the other parent), but I don't force it and have no interest in maintaining such relationships unless I plan to play any of the parties involved on a long-term basis.

I have several single-parent households, but the parents aren't divorced, they just prefer to live separately. The away parent visits.
I've had one case, where the parents divorced, children stayed with father, and the mother was absent from their lives for quite some time. She was a loner and having 6 kids in a row caused her to have a mental breakdown and isolate herself.

The only divorce I had only happened as part of a sim's backstory, but I have break-ups of unmarried couples with children. Not a big fan of relationship drama, so they all go along the lines of "we drifted apart, but let's stay friends, see you for bowling come friday".
Household management is my best friend when it comes to giving the kiddos quality time with both their parents. In my main family, the Reeds, the exes often get invited to family get togethers.