Courtney Loses Custody

posted 12.17.09

We never said Courtney Love was up for “Mother of the Year” or anything, but we also never thought we’d see her give Joan Crawford a run for her money. Earlier this week, Love lost legal custody of her 17-year-old daughter, Frances Bean, and while Love swears up and down that she’s not back on the sauce, Frances’ paternal grandmother and aunt have stepped in as acting guardians.

In fact, rock royalty Frances–the daughter of Love and dearly-departed Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain–has taken great pains to separate herself from her parents’ personae, and has called her grandmother, “the person I respect most out of anybody in the world.” If you read between the lines, that’s a decent-sized slag on Courtney. (Our translation looks something like, “Dont get your hopes up, Mom. Grandma’s the person I actually look up to.” Which? Ouch.)

We think it’s great that Frances has stabilizing, non-rocker influences in her life, but if Love’s not living it up again, what’s the reason for their rift? Moonit delved into the mother-daughter melee to find the truth behind the split. According to their birth date analysis, “unless Mother Teresa taught Courtney her coping skills, she’s going to be ready to blow her stack on a daily basis.” We’d read reports about Frances’ stubborn, strong-willed nature, and that (mixed with Courtney’s notorious outrageousness) might explain why Frances and Courtney get along about as well as a Kardashian with a standarized test.

In this relationship, “every tiny decision requires an in-depth discussion, and every interaction sets the stage for a new potential disaster. So, what’s at the root of their issues? First off, they’ve got completely different ways of dealing with stress, and they never seem to be on the same page with their moods.” Not only are they at opposite ends of the emotional sine curve, but, “to top it off, they don’t have a healthy, mutual release valve for the pressure and tension that seem to be constantly building.” Wow. Maybe their separation isn’t such a bad idea…