It’s understandable that you may not feel comfortable with a new adult, who you may not be familiar with being around your children. However, your spouse has a right to move on with his or her life. It can be difficult to prevent an ex-spouse from letting his or her children spend time with the new person in his or her life….. yet sometimes, there are ways to address this issue.
Now if your ex-spouse has custody rights to the kids, and his or her new spouse has a bad relationship with your child, you may or may not have grounds to apply for a change of custody. If the stepparent has a history of being abusive (physically or emotionally), abuses drugs or alcohol, or is neglectful, courts may revise custody.
However, simply not getting along with a child is not sufficient. Plenty of stepparents and stepchildren don’t get along for various reasons, but it doesn’t mean the parent who has remarried should lose custody.
If you wish to get your time-sharing or custody plan modified, you must prove there was a substantial change in circumstances. The children’s desires, if they are old enough, can be considered. Older children may in some cases simply refuse to visit the non-custodial parent who has remarried. In some cases, a court may direct that the visitation in that case take place away from the stepparent.
Therefore, it may possible in some cases to keep your children away from your ex’s new spouse, but it’s not always easy. Child custody and remarriage are complicated, and are very dependent on the facts of each case.