New York- Any Sunday she can take her twin daughters to Mass is precious to Bridget Marks.
The embattled Manhattan mom who has been fighting for custody of 4-year-old Scarlet and Amber got a now-rare opportunity to foster her daughters’ faith yesterday morning at St. John the Martyr on the upper East Side.
Marks paid little mind to the press throng, there to cover the ouster of her longtime priest – and personal favorite – Msgr. John Woolsey. Instead, she focused on the joy of having her preschoolers snuggled close on either side of her in the pew, reading with her from the hymnbook and beaming as she caressed their hair.
“I am very happy to be with them, no matter what the circumstances,” Marks, 38, later told the Daily News, her voice choked with emotion. “[But] It’s very, very important for any people in crisis to have their faith.”
Marks said she’s terrified the girls have been blocked from their faith since she lost custody of them to their casino tycoon dad, John Aylsworth, on June 1.
The one-time Playboy model also lives under constant fear the courts could strip away her tenuous visitation rights – which could be cut off if she lets slip a single nasty word about Aylsworth, or discloses the girls’ whereabouts to the media.
So it was with trepidation that Marks told The News she still has no idea how often her daughters will be able to accompany her to Mass in the future.
She said she could not disclose what the rest of the girls’ summer will hold – whether they will go to California with their father or stay with her.
But after spending the hour-long Mass doting on her daughters, who clambered onto her lap and showered her with hugs and kisses as a court-mandated $1,000-per-day social worker looked on, Marks said she could not bear the thought of being without them. “They don’t even like me to leave the apartment,” Marks wept. “It’s just a sad thing.”
Marks had reared the twins – the result of an affair with the married Aylsworth – since birth. But the 54-year-old millionaire was awarded custody after a judge found Marks had bad-mouthed him to the girls.
For now, Marks is hoping the judge will allow her more time with her daughters, so that she can bring them to church for First Communion classes. Marks and the girls lit a trio of red prayer candles at Mass’ end. “Just to bring us back together permanently, it’s their greatest wish,” Marks said.