Single mom of 13 took a hit after revealing she had her eldest daughter make ‘half halves’ at the family home: ‘I couldn’t afford it on my own’
- Veronica Merritt, 37, is a single mother with 13 biological children living with her
- She recently bought a nine-bedroom house with the help of her daughter, 23
A single mother of 13 children is under fire for revealing that her eldest daughter helped pay for the family’s nine-bedroom home.
Veronica Merritt was tired of the “crappy little house” her family was forced to live in, but couldn’t afford a larger space because she had only one income.
So when the 37-year-old came across a big house on Craigslist, she was willing to “do anything” to get her family into it.
Veronica revealed that the house only cost $20,000 ($29,069 AUD) – but she still didn’t have enough money to cover it.
The house was so cheap because it was abandoned and had fire, smoke and water damage – but Veronica was determined to buy and fix the house instead of spending a fortune on rent.
Her eldest daughter, 23, threw in $10,000 ($14,533 AUD) by combining her savings, tax returns and incentives so the family could buy the house.
A single mom with 13 kids has recently come under fire for revealing how her eldest daughter helped pay for the family’s nine-bedroom house
Veronica Merritt was tired of the ‘crappy little house’ her family was forced to live in, but couldn’t afford a larger space as she had only one income
Many have called her situation “sad” and criticized her for not being able to support her large family on her own.
Veronica recently posted a video clarifying the situation and explaining why she doesn’t feel “guilty” for taking her daughter’s money.
“Our nine-bedroom house cost $20,000 and my daughter threw in half,” she said.
“We pooled our money to buy the house, but I paid her back in full a year later. My daughter now lives in the house completely rent-free and I take care of her.
“I cook for her, I clean, she sometimes helps with the dishes, but this situation totally benefits her.
“She never has to worry about paying for an apartment — she has a really big room, her own bathroom, and she helped her family [get out of a bad situation].’
Veronica “feels sorry” for people who criticize her for “not having a family that believes they should be there for each other.”
It was later discovered that the house was abandoned and had fire, smoke and water damage – but Veronica was determined to buy and fix the house rather than spend a fortune on rent
Many others supported Veronica’s situation.
‘I love this! You are all more than blessed to have each other,” one woman said.
A second added, “There are so many people who have the goal of buying a house for their parents. She helped and was paid back. What a blessing!’
“I definitely think this was very smart of your daughter,” wrote another.
While some were furious about the huge number of children and the substandard living situation.
“How stupid is this!” wrote a woman. “Why do you have children and give them a horrible life? Broken and without attention because you have so many children.’
“Have you ever heard of something called birth control?” asked another.
“How can you screw it up so badly? This is such a mess,” wrote a third.