This paper presents an ethnological study of different paths followed by divorced fathers and is based on interviews held in Barcelona. The text analyzes the changes in divorce following the 2005 law in Spain and the construction of fatherhood when the father does not live with the mother. The redefinition of the father figure is influenced by rivalry with step-fathers and by the role of the grand-parents. This redefinition of paternity is thus the consequence of ideological and legislative changes but also of strategies to adapt to the new circumstances experienced following the divorce, including the influence of the extended family and the socio-economic consequences of divorce.