It’s official! Tristan Thompson has to start forking over some cash to Maralee Nichols now that their paternity settlement has been finalized.
Sources with direct knowledge of the case told TMZ on Friday that Tristan and Maralee, who share 1-year-old son Theo, have come to an agreement on terms for the settlement. The NBA star will pay $9,500 a month in child support and has also covered some of his baby momma’s lawyer fees.
Now $10K a month definitely isn’t chump change, but considering Khloé Kardashian‘s ex has made a total of $100 million over the span of his basketball career, it starts to look like he got off VERY easily! But there’s a reason for this. According to the insiders, Tristan isn’t currently on a team meaning he’s not earning an income, which is the main factor in determining child support. Thus, he doesn’t have to pay quite as much as he may have otherwise. It’s unclear if the monthly sum would ever change if he begins to make a ton more.
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Per TMZ‘s insiders, the model will keep sole custody of the kiddo. Sometime in the near future, the pair will figure out a visitation plan for the athlete. Also, Tristan has officially been added to Theo’s birth certificate! So no more pretending he never fathered a child amid his romance with KoKo!
Back in August, Tristan’s lawyers told Us Weekly he was “paying, and has paid, child support to Ms. Nichols retroactive to the date she delivered the child.” But very few details were known about the arrangement until now. As Perezcious readers know, this settlement comes after a very tumultuous and lengthy legal battle. A year ago, Maralee came out of the woodwork suing the former Chicago Bulls star for child support. He clapped back, denying he’d had an affair while he was dating The Kardashians star, but Maralee kept on providing receipt after receipt — including claiming he offered to pay her $75,000 to keep quiet about the baby. In court docs obtained by Page Six at the time, Thompson appeared to threaten Nichols over child support and even encouraged her to get an abortion. It was MESSY AF!
In January, a paternity test revealed the 31-year-old was, in fact, the father, and he owned up to everything. In part of a statement posted on Instagram at the time, he apologized to Khloé, writing:
“You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you. You don’t deserve the way I have treated you over the years. My actions have certainly not lined up with the way I view you.”
That’s putting it lightly…
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While we didn’t know it at the time, it was soon revealed the scandal was even more heartbreaking since Khloé and Tristan were expecting a son via surrogate — who was born in July. These days, the exes are focused on co-parenting their daughter True, 4, and their son, whose name has not been revealed. The power forward also shares son Prince, 6, with his ex Jordan Craig.
While it’s currently unclear what kind of relationship Tristan plans to have with his second youngest child (so far, he’s reportedly made little effort to connect), it seem his child support is coming in clutch as a late birthday gift and early Christmas present! Theo celebrated his first birthday earlier this month, with his momma writing on socials:
“I can not believe you are already one. Spending the past 365 days with you have been the best days of my life. You are the sweetest little boy, your smile brightens up any room. You are my greatest blessing, my world, my heart in human form. God knew I needed you. I love you more than anything. Happy 1st Birthday to my angel, Theo”
It’s wild it took an entire year for this child support case to finally come to a close, but hopefully, it helps Tristan and Maralee put the drama past them and focus on raising baby Theo. Thoughts? Sound OFF (below)!
[Image via Tristan Thompson/Maralee Nichols/Instagram]
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