If you think firing someone sounds super awkward, just imagine what it's like firing your parents. That's what Patrick did to her dad, T.J. — who was Patrick's "coach, mechanic, and crew chief," as well as her contract negotiator — and her mom, Bev, who was her assistant. "We never had a single conversation that didn't have to do with business," Patrick told The New Yorker, adding that her parents lived on the bus with her and were always on the track. And their constant presence apparently became too much. "It's really unfair for my husband, too," she noted. So, how did her parents feel about the decision? T.J. admitted to The New Yorker, "It's a touchy situation."
Patrick's tune changed following her split from Paul Hospenthal. In an interview with In Depth with Graham Bensinger, she blamed her ex-husband for "manipulating" her and pressuring her to choose between him and them. At the same time, she said, "I think that it's best to not have your parents working for you," and she questioned, "How do you hold your parents accountable for the little things when they're your parents?" It sounds to us like maybe Patrick would have made that decision to let her parents go even without Hospenthal's coaxing.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEpaCsrF6YvK57kG1ra2pmZMGpsYyupa2nnJl6tb7UrZ9mp5ZisaK6yJyYZqiRqb%2Bqr8po