What do you see when you look at this photo?
Some people mistook it as a snapshot of a same-sex couple posing with their daughter. Others assumed it showed a father and uncle doting on their daughter/niece.
But what the picture actually captures is a heartfelt moment with two fathers - the little girl's soon to be stepfather and her biological father - that meant the world to the girl's mother.
Dylan Lenox, the man on the left, shared the pictures of himself posing with his 5-year-old stepdaughter Willow and his fiance's ex-husband, David Lewis. The special occasion was a daddy-daughter dance at Willow's school that both men attended.
"No we are not a same sex couple, but we do share a daughter," he wrote. "We have molded ourselves into one unique family, of only for the sake of our children to know the power of love. Not only did I gain a daughter, I gained a brother and a best friend."
Lenox's ex, Sarah Megnon, was the photographer from Willie + Rose Photography who captured the special moment. She says that her blended family may be unconventional, but it works wonders for Willow and her two fathers.
"Dylan and David have a strong friendship," she told Yahoo. "It's never a competition with him and Dylan. It's what is best for Willow. Our daughter is very loved and will continue to know what unconditional love is."
Lenox and Megnon are growing their family together - with an older boy from Lenox's previous relationship and two-year-old girl they share - but say Lewis is still very involved in their lives as he looks after Willow.
"When we care more about our children (on both sides of the party) than the way society has taught us to be towards (ex's/baby mommas/daddy's) then walls will fall, life will be free of hatred and remorse, and our children will conquer the foolish 'norms' that media has shoved in our faces," Lenox wrote.
My people 🖤
Posted by Willie + Rose Photography on Saturday, January 19, 2019
"[Lewis] stays at our home when he visits, because family is always welcome. He is not an outsider, he is and will always be apart of my life for the simple fact that we share the same daughter!"
While warm and friendly relationships between exes are still not exactly common, this trio make a good case for working together and putting their children first.
All three hope that their viral photos will inspire a few feuding exes to put aside their differences for the sake of their children.
"FYI," Lenox tagged on to the end of his post, "David is single."
[H/T: Yahoo]
