Shortly after Amanda McCowan’s divorce, she met her ex-husband’s new girlfriend. She couldn’t stand her.
“We had a very rocky start,” McCowen said of Angela Maples, the woman her ex would later marry.
In fact, the two women could barely be in the same room.
“I had formed the opinion in my brain when I first met her that I don’t like her, I’m not going to share my two older children with her,” said McCowen, 37, who has two children with her ex-husband.
And yet, about 10 years after they first met, McCowen did something she never could have anticipated: She just donated a kidney to Maples.
“She saved my life,” said Maples, who lives in Granbury, Texas.
Maples’ health struggles began after a trip to Hawaii in 2022.
“I just wasn’t feeling right,” said Maples, 43, explaining that she was fatigued. After bloodwork, she received a terrifying call from her doctor.
Her kidneys were shutting down, her doctor told her. She was in renal failure.
Maples rushed to the hospital and underwent a kidney biopsy. Doctors discovered that an autoimmune disease was causing her body to attack her kidneys. She got on the transplant list and spent two-and-a-half years on dialysis.
“I was on it for 14 hours a day,” Maples said. “It’s one of the most challenging things I’ve ever endured.”
Maples married Joshua Maples in 2017 — two years after he and McCowen divorced. McCowen and Joshua Maples married in 2010 and had two children together, Jacob and Ensley, now 15 and 10, respectively.
“We had a very ugly divorce. That came from sharing two small children,” McCowen said.
For years, McCowen and her ex-husband had an acrimonious relationship, mainly stemming from custody issues. McCowen’s relationship with his new wife was hostile, too.
“It was pretty toxic,” Joshua Maples said.
But things slowly shifted in 2020, when McCowen’s son Jacob went to live with Angela and Joshua Maples in Granbury. McCowen, who lives two hours away in Terrell, noticed the tone beginning to soften.
A few years later, after McCowen went through a second divorce, Ensley moved in with the Maples, too, to give her more stability. McCowen has another daughter, age 7, with her second husband.
“I was overwhelmed,” McCowen said. “Angela just became my go-to person for things.”
Maples said she empathized with McCowen’s situation and wanted to help.
“I started praying for her,” Maples said. “I started having much more compassion for her; I helped her navigate some really tumultuous times.”
Gradually, the three adults made an unspoken decision: Forgive each other and move on.
“This animosity towards each other is not good for our children,” McCowen said. “They need to see us being a united front and working together.”
“It took a long time,” said Angela Maples, who has a very close bond with Ensley and Jacob. “People often believe that there is power in holding grudges; there is not.”
In recent years, the two women have grown increasingly close.
“I can quite honestly say she is my best friend, “McCowen said. “She is an amazing bonus mom. We share two older children with each other.”
They talk every day.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s about something important, or nothing at all,” Maples said.
So when Maples’ health declined, McCowen stepped up. After two potential kidney donors fell through for Maples, McCowen volunteered to be tested.
“I’m not going to lie… I was hesitant,” McCowen said. “But watching her do fourteen hours of dialysis a day for two and a half years, I was like, if it gives her a fighting chance, any amount of pain or anything I go through is worth it.”
McCowen applied to become a kidney donor in June 2025, and she went for testing the following month. She got a phone call from a care coordinator in mid-August.
“Amanda, you’re not just a match…you’re a perfect match for Angela,” she recalled the care coordinator telling her.
Given their initial bitter relationship, “the good lord has a sense of humor,” McCowen said.
Maples said she was in disbelief when she heard the news.
“I was overjoyed,” she said, adding that she’d been told she didn’t have much time left if she stayed on dialysis.
Her husband was moved to tears.
“I am forever grateful to Amanda for doing that…she truly does love Angela,” Joshua Maples said of McCowen. “They are two moms who have saved each other in many different ways.”
The women underwent successful transplant surgeries on Oct. 13 at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. Staff members were astonished by their unusual connection.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had someone provide a kidney to the spouse of an ex,” said Robyn Dye, transplant program administrator for the hospital.
“Seeing the two women together, it was amazing,” said Eric Siskind, a transplant surgeon with Texas Health Surgical Specialists. “I think everyone in the clinic was surprised by how much they got along and how much love they had for each other, despite how one might expect there could be animosity.”
He said this is one of reasons he loves being a transplant surgeon.
“People can overcome all kinds of obstacles in order to save someone’s life,” he said.
Both Maples and McCowen are recovering well.
“If I had known from the very beginning that I was a match, I wouldn’t have let her suffer,” McCowen said, adding that she hopes to inspire others to consider donating.
Maples said she is grateful to no longer be on dialysis, and to finally feel healthy again. She is raising funds to help cover the uninsured medical expenses associated with her transplant surgery.
“My labs are looking really wonderful,” said Maples, noting that she gets regular infusions to prevent her body from attacking itself again.
The two women said people are often stunned when they hear about their story, which was first reported by Fox 4. They hope sharing it shows others what’s possible.
“Children need to see and understand that just because their parents aren’t married to each other anymore doesn’t mean they can’t still have a positive relationship with each other,” McCowen said.
They now have regular dinners and game nights as a blended family. Sometimes, McCowen spends the night at the Maples’ house.
“The way our kids look at us when we’re spending time together, there’s nothing like it,” Maples said.
The women say they are leading by example for their children — and hopefully others as well.
“There is power in forgiveness,” Maples said. “Forgiveness literally saved my life.”
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