When Laura, 38, moved in with her partner and his two daughters last June, she expected a “modern family.” Instead, she became the unpaid chauffeur and homework enforcer. After three months of resentment, they saw a family therapist in Victoria’s Cook Street Village.
The “New Deal” they signed included:
“It felt cold at first,” Laura admits. “But now? I actually like the kids. Before the contract, I was starting to hate them—and myself for hating them. The deal saved us.” familytherapy victoria june step moms new deal work
What changed in June 2024? The answer lies outside the home.
Since the pandemic, hybrid work models have collapsed the boundary between professional and domestic life. Stepmothers working from home in Victoria now find themselves fielding stepchildren’s school calls during Zoom meetings and negotiating custody schedules between client emails. The result is a crisis of unpaid emotional labor. When Laura, 38, moved in with her partner
“My job has a contract, a salary, and HR,” said Megan, 41, a stepmother of two in Langford. “But my stepfamily? I was expected to do pickups, discipline, meal planning, and emotional regulation—all for zero decision-making power. That’s not a family. That’s a bad internship.”
By J. Mackenzie, Family Systems Correspondent “It felt cold at first,” Laura admits
June 2024 – In therapy offices across Victoria—from Oak Bay to Fernwood—a quiet but profound negotiation is taking place. It is not between warring ex-spouses or rebellious teenagers, but between a woman, her partner, and a piece of paper that looks suspiciously like an employment contract.
Therapists are calling it the "Stepmom’s New Deal." And this June, it is reshaping how blended families function.
Because the keyword includes "work," we must address the specific economic reality of Victoria. With one of the highest costs of living in Canada, most stepmoms must work. You cannot "stay home and manage the blended family chaos."
Family therapy is now addressing occupational burnout as a marital issue.