>> though debbie's big sister wasn't sure what she saw in him. >> he seemed very quiet. very opposite of my sister. >> then before long conrad arrived and chelsa and savannah. >> i still remember christmass where my brother and i would run around and deliver gifts to everybody. everybody was getting along. those were some happy memories there. >> sadly, a lot of unhappy ones, too. >> pretty much from when i can remember, fighting and arguing were pretty routine. >> after nearly nine years this marriage, like so many others, fell apart. >> we might have been a little bit more different than we were willing to admit early on. >> even at that age i could definitely see, yeah, the water was about to boil over. >> kids were 9, 8 and 4 when the divorce was finalized in 2000. young conrad, chelsa and savannah learned how to navigate the choppy waters known all too well of children of divorce. >> they just couldn't talk to each other really. i tried to step in and help resolve that. >> you were kind of the mediator in a way. >> yeah. >> kind of a tough role for a kid to play?