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Runaway mom tells Dr. Phil she misses her daughter ‘like crazy’

Inside Edition has released this photo of Tiffany Tehan and her new boyfriend, Tre B. Hutcherson, for an upcoming interview with the pair on Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Inside Edition/Contributed photo Inside Edition has released this photo of Tiffany Tehan and her new boyfriend, Tre B. Hutcherson, for an upcoming interview with the pair on Thursday, April 29, 2010.

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In a filing in which he was granted interim custody and supervised visitation by his wife with his daughter, David Tehan alleges he has “serious concerns regarding Defendant’s emotional stability based upon recent events, including but not limited to Defendant voluntarily abandoning her family and her efforts to remain hidden in order to reportedly start a new life.” Inside Edition has released this photo of Tiffany Tehan for an interview that aired Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Inside Edition/Contributed photo In a filing in which he was granted interim custody and supervised visitation by his wife with his daughter, David Tehan alleges he has “serious concerns regarding Defendant’s emotional stability based upon recent events, including but not limited to Defendant voluntarily abandoning her family and her efforts to remain hidden in order to reportedly start a new life.” Inside Edition has released this photo of Tiffany Tehan for an interview that aired Thursday, April 29, 2010.

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By Kelli Wynn and Mark Gokavi
Staff Writer Updated 1:13 PM Friday, May 7, 2010

XENIA — The Tiffany Tehan and Tre Hutcherson morning TV show tour stopped at Dr. Phil today, May 7, with the Xenia mom telling the host her parenting skills should not be under attack.

The 31-year-old mother of a 1-year-old daughter said, “I don’t think it’s fair to judge my parenting abilities based on this one decision.”

That one decision, of course, was running away with Hutcherson April 17 after she told her husband that she was going on a shopping trip. The disappearance sparked a national search and resulted in Xenia police, Tehan’s husband, David, her parents, and Tehan’s parents appearing on all the major news networks, asking the public for help in the search.

The day after Tehan disappeared, her green Ford Explorer was found in Indian Riffle Park in Kettering with the keys locked inside and a flat tire.

Tehan was later found April 21 in Miami Beach with Tre Hutcherson, 42, of Dayton. Xenia police learned that the two had left together and were in a romantic relationship.

Since returning from Florida, the pair have been featured on Inside Edition and Good Morning America, among others. Again Friday, she explained how leaving her daughter, Alexis, made her conflicted.

“I always knew that my daughter would be cared for,” said Tehan, who said she talks briefly to her husband every day. “Her father is a very good, loving father and she has good grandparents and aunts and uncles, so I was never worried about her care.”

Tehan said she’s seen her daughter just once, but that she “misses her like crazy.”

Appearing via satellite from New York, Hutcherson explained their first encounter over spilled decaffeinated coffee at Circle K led to a relationship and national search.

“If you wanted out, and if you and Tre have a relationship and wanted to be together, we have a mechanism for that called divorce,” Dr. Phil said wryly. “Why did you not get a divorce?”

“I didn’t get a divorce because divorce is not really a word that is in my vocabulary, due to my spiritual background and my family upbringing,” Tehan said.

Asked if abandoning her child, deceiving her husband and running away are in her vocabulary, Tehan answered: “In hindsight, obviously, it wasn’t the best option . . . the best thing would have been if I’d never started a relationship with Tre at all. At the time, it seemed like running away was the best option.”

Hutcherson said his wife had no idea about his affair until the national attention to the case. He said he sent his wife a text message a week before the spring fling to let her know that their marriage was over.

The couple said Tehan cried about leaving her daughter during the whole trip and she said, “I think I was going to go back and get her.”

Hutcherson added: “We were never OK with leaving the baby. We wanted to take the baby with us. However, you’re getting into an area where you’re talking about kidnapping and Amber alerts and all this kind of stuff. . . . It wasn’t big, joyful trip down to the beach.”

Asked about a cell phone photo showing them grinning while near the ocean, Hutcherson said: “The smiles were phony. We both were wearing masks the whole time before we left and masks afterward.”

Tehan said she has not had any counseling but that she’s willing to speak to someone about possible issues like postpartum depression or anxiety.

She said she cares deeply for Hutcherson, who said it would be an honor to marry Tehan. But the Xenia mom said her plans are to live alone and see what she can do to see her daughter as often as possible.

“I do realize how it looks, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to see my daughter,” she said. “I just want to ask that people would forgive me, have a forgiving spirit and also understand that this was one event in my life and please don’t judge me based on one event.

“At this point, I’m starting over, and I’m going to be completely honest with everyone.”