Maralee Nichols: 5 Things To Know About The Mother Of Tristan Thompson’s 3rd Child

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Unlike Michael Jackson and “Billie Jean,” Tristan Thompson confirmed on Monday (Jan. 3) that Maralee Nichols’ kid is his son. “I take full responsibility for my actions,” wrote Tristan, 30, in an Instagram Story message where he owned up to fathering a child with Maralee. Tristan pledged to “amicably” raise their son, while also “sincerely’ apologizing to “everyone I’ve hurt or disappointed throughout this ordeal, both publicly and privately.” The Sacramento Kings player then offered a specific apology to Khloé Kardashian, saying she doesn’t “deserve the way I have treated you over the years.”  

Tristan’s message comes after a month of accusations and lawsuits stemming around his alleged affair with the 31-year-old fitness model and the son she welcomed at the start of December 2021. This child is Tristan’s third. He shares a 5-year-old son named Prince with ex Jordan Craig and a daughter, True, 3, with Khloé, 37. As Tristan tries to save his troubled relationship with the Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum, here’s the scoop of Maralee.

1. Maralee Nichols Is A Fitness Model.

“Over the past couple of weeks, many inaccurate and false stories have been circulated about me,” Maralee said in a December 2021 interview with E! News. She clarified a few of these misconceptions, including one where she was reportedly a personal trainer in Texas. “These are the facts: I have lived in California since 2019,” she said. “I am not a personal trainer. I have not worked as a personal trainer for four years; I do fitness modeling. I was never a personal trainer for Tristan.”

2. She Claims To Have First Met Tristan In 2020.

Maralee told E! News that she met Tristan at a party at his Encino, California, home in 2020. “He told me he was single and co-parenting. I would never have gotten involved with Tristan if I thought he was in a relationship,” she said. She also told the outlet that she met with Tristan in March 2021, around his 30th birthday. She agreed to connect with him in Houston, Texas, at a private party. “Soon after his birthday weekend in Houston, Tristan invited me to visit him in Boston,” she said, and a few weeks after this trip to Beantown, she learned she was pregnant.

3. Maralee Was Induced Due To A Medical Issue. 

Maralee gave birth to her and Tristan’s son on December 1. “I was induced on November 29, 2021, because I had a placenta abnormality,” she told E! News, though she didn’t disclose what this abnormality was. “There is no other medical reason why I needed to be induced,” she said.

4. She Sued Tristan For Child Support.

After their son was born, Maralee sued Tristan for child support. “Tristan filed a paternity action in Texas after I filed my paternity action in Los Angeles,” she told E! News. “I did not file any request for child support before our child was born. The case that Tristan brought against me was dismissed on December 15, 2021.” Tristan allegedly sent a text to Maralee where he said he wouldn’t “be involved at all” with the child” and that he will retire from the NBA after the 2021-22 season. “So in terms of support, it will be whatever is required monthly for someone who’s unemployed,” he allegedly said, according to documents obtained by HollywoodLife. Tristan reportedly offered Maralee $75,000, because “you won’t get nothing near that with having a kid with a father who’s unemployed.”

5. She Is Not Interested In Tristan. 

“Instead of focusing on any negativity,” she said in the E! News interview, “I am choosing to embrace being a mother and doing the best I can for my son. 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.”