Karen Derrico is navigating her divorce from Deon Derrico one day at a time.
“I have been getting y’all’s requests, getting y’all’s comments, so let’s just address the elephant in the room, right? I first of all just want to tell y’all how much I love you all so much,” Karen, 44, said in a Thursday, June 20, Instagram video. “I am doing as good as can be. The children are doing good.”
She continued, “It’s summertime [and] we definitely want to keep [the kids] all busy and occupied, and that’s the plan right now.”
Karen and Deon, 53, confirmed in a statement to Us Weekly earlier this month that they had separated.
“Together, we remain unified in the parenting of our 14 beautiful children — their well-being is our priority,” Karen and Deon told Us in a joint statement on June 15. “We thank everyone for their understanding and support as we move forward for the good of our family.”
The couple filed for divorce earlier in June, which has already been finalized by a judge. Karen and Deon plan to split custody of their 13 minor children: Derrick, 13, twins Dallas and Denver, both 12, quintuplets Deonee, Daician, Daiten, Deniko and Dariz, all 10, twins Diez and Dior, both 6, and triplets Dawsyn, De’Aren and Dyver, all 4. (The exes also share 18-year-old daughter Darian, who recently graduated high school.)
In her Thursday social media message, Karen reiterated that her children are also “doing as good as they can be” following the divorce.
“I wanted to tell everybody, thank you. I received your DMs [and] I feel the love. It’s, like, I can almost get emotional because it’s, like, ‘Wow,’” Karen said. “You know you love [sic] but to see the [outpouring] is just amazing. I just wanted to tell y’all thank you for the love and support. Honestly, I really am doing OK [and] the children are doing as good as they can be right now. Just remember to keep our family in your prayers.”
Karen further noted that she and Deon are “still figuring out” Darian’s next steps while also preparing for the 4-year-old triplets to start kindergarten via homeschooling in the fall. In addition to managing the kids’ schedules, Karen wants to prioritize her own well-being.
“I am looking to do a lot of self-care. I would love to go on vacation somewhere, one with all of our children [and] take them somewhere, but also look into more self-care,” the TLC matriarch added in her social media message. “There’s a lot of speaking engagements coming my way that I have to go through [and decide] but I am thankful and grateful to tell my story, my journey. I am definitely looking into taking care of Karen for a while. … So, that’s what I’m focused on.”
Deon previously spoke out about the pair’s divorce in his own Instagram message earlier this week.
“When you have nothing else in this world as long as you have your great health and family nothing else really matters,” he wrote on Tuesday, June 18.
