Tristan Thompson is facing a paternity lawsuit from a woman claiming to be pregnant with his son. For those keeping up, this would be the third child for the NBA star, who shares 3-year-old daughter True Thompson with Khloe Kardashian and 4-year-old son Prince Jackson with ex Jordan Craig.
According to court documents filed in Los Angeles and obtained by E! News, Maralee Nichols is suing the NBA player for pregnancy and child-related expenses following an alleged sexual encounter on his 30th birthday in March. Her petition to determine parental relationship, filed in June, also states that "the court may make orders for support of the children and issue an earnings assignment without further notice to either party."
Maralee, who was formerly based in Houston and is currently living in Los Angeles, stated in her filing that she is pregnant with a baby boy and that Tristan is the father. She also noted that she is due to give birth this month and alleged that the athlete told her by text he will "not be involved" and offered her a lump sum of money. He has not commented on this.
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In his own legal filings, Tristan acknowledges that the two had sex in Texas on his March birthday, roughly 37 weeks before Maralee's alleged scheduled due date and three months before E! News confirmed that Khloe and Tristan--the subject of a few previous cheating scandals--had split once again.
The athlete is requesting a paternity test to determine if he is the father of Maralee's unborn son. In addition, Maralee and Tristan are also currently waging a legal battle over where the case should be handled. Maralee wants to settle matters in California, while Tristan argues that it should be moved to Texas because she was allegedly living there at the time they had sex and when she conceived the baby.
In her June lawsuit, Maralee requested that Tristan pay her "reasonable expenses of pregnancy and birth," such as fees for doctor's appointments, prenatal testing, parenting classes, prenatal vitamins and baby clothes and diapers, as well as the cost of her hospital stay. She stated that he has already covered the cost of two April doctor's visits. She also wants the athlete to pay for her legal fees. Maralee is requesting full legal and physical custody of her son, while requesting that Tristan be granted visitation rights.
In August, Tristan submitted a declaration in the Los Angeles court in response to Maralee's June lawsuit, as seen in screenshots shared by The Daily Mail. He noted in the filing that Maralee told him she was working as a personal trainer while attending the University of Houston.
"The only time that I had sexual intercourse with [Maralee] in 2021 was in March 2021 in Houston, Texas," the document states. "I specifically remember having sexual intercourse with [her] in March because it was my birthday. [She] and I attended a party together at a hotel in Houston. [She] had called me and wanted to be with me on my birthday."
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In his declaration, he continued that Maralee "claims that she is pregnant with my child and that she is due on Dec. 3, 2021...However, [she] does not know when conception took place and concedes that conception may have taken place in March or April 2021. However, [she] does not even recall one date in 2021 when I had sexual intercourse with her. Therefore, I do not know if her claims that I am the father of this child are supported by facts."
In July, Tristan filed his own lawsuit against Maralee in a court in Houston to legally establish paternity in Texas. He states that he has "been alleged to be the father of an unborn child" and requests that genetic testing be ordered to establish paternity--only after the baby is born, in accordance with state law.
He also alleges that Maralee is "temporarily living" in the Los Angeles area and that she owns "real property" in Houston. He asserts that California does not have jurisdiction over the matter of establishing parentage and "that all matters pertaining to the establishment of parentage and related order, if [he] is the father of the unborn child, shall be maintained in Harris County, Texas."
Maralee stated in a response that neither of them live in Texas, that she plans to give birth in California and that Tristan already has two children whose moms live in the state. She also said she believes he "thinks forum shopping in Texas will save him money ultimately in child support."
As part of her filing, Maralee included a past text she claims that Tristan sent to her, which says, "You know how I feel. My feelings haven't changed at all. Wont [sic] be involved at all. Btw if you think having this baby is gonna make you some money. It's completely wrong. You are aware that I'm retiring after this season. So in terms of support it will be whatever is required monthly for someone who's unemployed. It's texas so it will be only a couple hundred dollars."
While Tristan hasn't publicly announced his retirement, nor has the league commented, his alleged text continued, "So you better off taking this 75k I'm offering cause you won't get nothing near that with having a kid with a father who's unemployed. All you will have is a baby with a father who has zero involvement with the child and a few hundred dollars of child support a month."
Lawyers for Maralee and Tristan had no immediate response when reached for further comment from E! News.
