Tristan Thompson’s Messy Paternity Suit Timeline: Everything We Know

Credit: Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram

Tristan Thompson's Messy Paternity Suit Timeline: Everything We Know

Off-court drama. Tristan Thompson's personal life got a lot more complicated in 2021 when a woman named Maralee Nichols claimed he fathered her child. News broke in December 2021 that the personal trainer filed a paternity lawsuit against the NBA star earlier in the year. The baby was reportedly conceived in Houston, Texas, in March while Thompson was in town celebrating his 30th birthday. At the time, the Canadian athlete was still in a relationship with Khloé Kardashian, with whom he shares daughter True, born in April 2018. Thompson and the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum began dating in September 2016, but the duo split up in February 2019 after the Sacramento Kings player kissed Jordyn Woods. After reconciling in August 2020, the pair called it quits a second time in June 2021. "They remain amicable toward each other and will continue to coparent," a source told Us at the time, adding that “there was no drama” between the twosome before their breakup. “Things just didn’t work out.” [jwplayer JWQE832q-zhNYySv2] After their split, the Good American founder and the former Cleveland Cavaliers team member remained amicable, but an insider told Us that Nichols' lawsuit caused a huge setback in their relationship. “This is a very sad time for Khloé," the source explained in December 2021. "She really loves Tristan and still held a candle for him. She thought he might have changed his ways." Before their split, the twosome were considering having a second child together. (Thompson is also father to son Prince, born in December 2016, with ex-girlfriend Jordan Craig.) During season 20 of KUWTK, the Strong Looks Better Naked author revealed that she and her then-boyfriend were considering surrogacy. “[My doctor] said that I would be, like, a high-risk carrier for a pregnancy,” Kardashian said in an episode that aired in March 2021. “I’m not gonna get into specifics on camera, but they said it’s an 80 percent chance I’ll miscarry. I almost miscarried with True at the beginning. But I didn’t know that was a lingering thing. … She said she would feel terrible putting [an embryo] in without warning me that most likely I wouldn’t be able to carry.” Seven months later, the reality star said again that she still hadn't ruled out having another baby. "I want her to have a sibling," the former Revenge Body host tweeted in October 2021. "If it's God's plan." Thompson confirmed he is the father via an Instagram Story posted on January 3. Keep scrolling for everything to know about the paternity suit against Thompson: This story was originally published on December 6, 2021, and last updated on June 17, 2022. [podcast_block]

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The Initial Claim

In June 2021, Nichols filed a paternity suit in Texas against Thompson, claiming that the duo conceived a child three months earlier. According to court documents, Nichols attended two doctor's appointments in April and May, the first of which cost $518 and was paid for by Thompson. The athlete did not pay for the second appointment, which cost $572.

Credit: Photographer Group/MEGA

Tristan's Response

Thompson responded to Nichols' claims in July 2021, acknowledging that the pair had sex in March of that year. The former Boston Celtics player also requested genetic testing for the baby in documents submitted in Texas, where Nichols was based. (She had temporarily been living in California at the time.)

Credit: Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram

The Alleged Texts

In another court filing in August 2021, Nichols' legal team presented text messages allegedly from Thompson. “You know how I feel," a screenshot of the message read. "My feelings haven’t changed at all. [I] won’t 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.”

Later in the message, Thompson allegedly offered Nichols $75,000 instead of regular child support. “It’s texas so it will be only a couple hundred dollars," the message read. "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 unemplyed [sic] 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.”

Credit: Brian To/Shutterstock

His Amended Petition

Thompson filed an amended petition in November 2021, once again asking for a paternity test. One month earlier, he submitted to a deposition, but Nichols' team described his conduct as "improper," adding that he gave "evasive" responses to questions. "Tristan refused to answer basic questions relating to jurisdictional issues between California and Texas, and counsel for Tristan further instructed him not to answer related questions on dozens of occasions," the documents read.

Credit: Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram

The Baby's Arrival

In December 2021, Us exclusively confirmed that Nichols gave birth on December 1. Nichols' rep later confirmed that she welcomed a baby boy. Neither Thompson nor Kardashian publicly acknowledged the news.

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How Khloe Feels

After news of the paternity suit broke in December 2021, Kardashian shared a couple of cryptic messages via social media. “I just don’t have time for negative energy and even when I do, I still don’t,” one of the quotes read. “You are currently living at least one of the prayers you used to pray,” added another. She later shared a photo of pink roses sent to her by Scott Disick.

“Khloé now knows that Tristan was unfaithful to her when they were back together," a source told Us at the time. “This is a very sad time for Khloé."

Following her first public appearance after the news broke, Kardashian fired back at claims she threw shade at Halle Berry at the People’s Choice Awards, hinting that her mind was on Thompson.

“That’s disappointing my face gave that expression. Halle Berry is such a force. Absolutely Stunning and beyond talented. Tbh I’m barely in my own body right now,” Kardashian tweeted at the time. “Please don’t read into anything. Also please don’t tear me apart because you assumed something.”

A source later told Us that Thompson broke the news to the Good American designer when it was “inevitable” that she was going to find out, explaining, “Khloé didn’t find out about the baby from social media. Tristan told Khloé when media outlets began started digging and officially calling his team for comment.”

Credit: Courtesy Tristan Thompson/Instagram

Request for Silence

Days after news broke that Nichols was suing Thompson, Us confirmed that the athlete filed an emergency request for a gag order in the case that would prevent either party from speaking out about any further details. The NBA player also claimed that Nichols violated an oral confidentiality agreement a judge put in place earlier in the proceedings.

Credit: Who Is Maralee Nichols? Learn More Amid Tristan Thompson Baby Reports

A Win for Tristan

Shortly after requesting a gag order, Thompson seemingly got his wish. On December 9, Page Six reported that the lawsuit filings were no longer viewable online because the records are “currently CONFIDENTIAL or this case has been SEALED.” 

Credit: MEGA

The Snapchats

According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail in December 2021, Thompson communicated with Nichols via Snapchat under the username “blkjesus00.”

“We used Snapchat to communicate to protect our privacy,” he claimed in the docs, adding that the app’s conversations are “automatically” deleted.

In the same filing, Thompson also alleged that he didn't see Nichols again after March 13, 2021. 

“We did not have a serious ongoing relationship. We saw each other sporadically between December 2020 and March 13, 2021,” he wrote in the paperwork. ”[Nichols] told me that she had been involved with other athletes and understood the limitations of our relationship; to wit, that we might see each other on a sporadic basis for consensual sex only.”

Credit: Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram

The Texas Case

Us broke the news in December 2021 that a judge ruled to dismiss the paternity lawsuit and child support case filed by Thompson in Texas as the California case moves forward.

“Regardless of whether any act of conception occurred in Texas that could have led to the conception of the child, they [allegedly] had a lengthy relationship spanning multiple states,” a source told Us about the hearing. “The child was born in California, the mother resides there and so does Tristan. It would make sense the judge would dismiss this given the facts and the California lawsuit filed prior to the Texas one.”

Credit: Courtesy of Maralee Nichols

Breaking Her Silence

Nichols released a statement in December 2021, sharing her side of the story and detailing her sexual relationship with Thompson ahead of welcoming her first child on December 1. “I met Tristan in 2020 at a party at his home in Encino, California. He told me he was single and coparenting,” she claimed in the statement to Us. “I would never have gotten involved with Tristan if I thought he was in a relationship.”

The California resident allegedly “communicated daily” with the basketball player and said that they would “see each other several times a month.” They saw each other on Christmas, New Years and his birthday in March 2021, according to Nichols.

“I agreed to meet him in Houston at a private party on March 12. I never drove a Maserati to meet Tristan, as he claimed. He has never even been in my vehicle. I used an Uber or was driven by friends that weekend,” she continued. “Houston was one of many nights we spent together. Soon after his birthday weekend in Houston, Tristan invited me to visit him in Boston.”

Nichols recalled learning of her pregnancy “a few weeks after” her trip to see Thompson in Boston. They allegedly met up in North Carolina the following month, which is when she told him about the pregnancy.

“Despite the challenges that I know I would have as a single mother and Tristan’s reaction to my pregnancy, I told Tristan I would be having the baby,” she claimed. “Tristan has not helped me financially with my pregnancy or with our baby. I have paid 100 percent for my son’s expenses. I did not ask Tristan for any money, nor did I accept any money that was offered to me.”

Nichols alleged that she “did not file any request for child support before our child was born,” confirming Us’ exclusive report that Thompson’s case against her was dismissed on December 15.

“Instead of focusing on any negativity, I am choosing to embrace being a mother and doing the best I can for my son,” she concluded. “I do not want any further media attention, nor do I want a romantic relationship with Tristan. My goal is to raise our son in a safe, healthy, loving and private environment.”

Credit: Shutterstock

Confirmed

In January 2022, Thompson confirmed via Instagram Stories that paternity test results revealed he is the father.

"I take full responsibility for my actions. Now that paternity has been established I look forward to amicably raising our son. I sincerely apologize to everyone I've hurt or disappointed throughout this ordeal both publicly and privately," he wrote at the time. "Khloé, you don't deserve this. 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 certainly have not lined up with the way I view you. I have the utmost respect and love for you. Regardless of what you may think. Again, I am so incredibly sorry."

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Upcoming Coverage

Thompson’s paternity drama will be featured on Hulu’s The Kardashians, the Revenge Body host told Variety in March 2022. “I wish I never had to talk about that because it’s not a fun thing to talk about," she explained. "But it is part of my journey in life, so we will see it on the show.”

Credit: Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram

The Alleged Engagement

According to court documents obtained by Us in March 2022, Thompson allegedly told Nichols that he and Kardashian were engaged ahead of Theo's birth. "I’m engaged but I will be married soon," he wrote in a Snapchat message in April 2021, per the new filing. "I told you I won’t and can’t be in the child life at all by no means … Why not wait till yoj [sic] find the right person to have a family with. Why would you want a baby with a man that’s engaged. You wanna keep a mistake."

The documents claim that Thompson added one month later that "me and my fiancè [sic] gonna announce publicly about out [sic] marriage" and that they planned to move out of the United States after tying the knot. The Canada native also reportedly spent $2 million on an engagement ring for Kardashian, though they never publicly announced an engagement.

Thompson claims that the text messages are fake, while Nichols' lawyer argued that they demonstrate the NBA player’s “unwillingness” and “refusal” to support the pair’s son. When reached for comment, Nichols neither confirmed nor denied any of the specific messages or their content.

Credit: Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram

Requested Child Support

In early March 2022, Nichols filed new paperwork in order to request financial assistance from Thompson in supporting Theo. “With regard to child support, using Tristan’s income of $9.7 million alone and Maralee’s income of $0, Maralee at this time requests guideline monthly child support of $47,424,” court documents seen by Us read. Nichols also claimed that Jordan Craig, who shares son Prince with the Chicago Bulls player, “is reportedly receiving at least $40,000 a month in child support from Tristan," and that both she and Thompson are living a lavish lifestyle.

Credit: Shutterstock; Courtesy Maralee Nichols/Instagram

Court Delays

“Tristan keeps delaying court appearances and has been doing everything he can to avoid a face-off with Maralee in court,” a source exclusively told Us in June 2022. “Tristan just wants this to quietly go away and for it to be resolved without him having to pay a lot in child support.”

The Chicago Bulls player’s child support case with Nichols is “still ongoing” with “attorneys from both sides are handling the matter privately,” per the insider.

A second source told Us at the time that Thompson’s lawyers filed paperwork in March 2022 claiming that he was “unavailable for a future court date.” The same thing happened earlier this month, according to the insider who said Thompson’s team alleged, “They were also unable to make a proposed court date, pushing matters back further.” The source added: “Everything is therefore still in limbo.”

Credit: Hulu

Avoiding the Issues?

In June 2022, a source exclusively told Us that “Tristan is very much absent from Theo’s life” and that the athlete “hasn’t met Theo has he initiated any meetings.”

In addition to not spending time with his baby boy, the insider explained that the NBA star “hasn’t been in communication with Maralee and he hasn’t sent her any money for child support to date,” adding, “This aspect hasn’t legally been resolved yet."