Tristan Thompson has been paying Maralee Nichols child support despite their ongoing family court lawsuit, Page Six can exclusively reveal.
An attorney for Thompson informed Page Six in a legal letter sent late Wednesday that the NBA free agent “is paying, and has paid, child support to Ms. Nichols retroactive to the date she delivered the child.”
Nichols gave birth to their son, Theo, on Dec. 1, 2021.
Earlier this year, a rep for Nichols claimed in a statement that Thompson had “done nothing” and provided zero “financial assistance,” but he since has repaid the money owed.
While the basketball player may be ponying up the funds, a source tells us that he has yet to bond with his baby boy.
“Tristan has still made no attempt to meet his 8-month-old son, Theo,” our insider shares.
A rep for Nichols didn’t immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
Nichols filed a paternity lawsuit against Thompson, 31, in June 2021 for child support, claiming he had impregnated her over his 30th birthday weekend that March — when he was still romantically involved with Khloé Kardashian. The athlete vehemently denied being the father until a DNA test proved otherwise.
“Today, paternity test results reveal that I fathered a child with Maralee Nichols,” he wrote in a statement posted to social media in January. “I take full responsibility for my actions. Now that paternity has been established I look forward to amicably raising our son.”
Thompson also apologized to Kardashian, 38, with whom he was secretly expecting a child via surrogate, for betraying her.
“Khloé, you don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you,” he wrote. “You don’t deserve the way I have treated you over the years.”
Thompson shares 4-year-old daughter True and a baby boy with the “Kardashians” star. He is also a dad to 5-year-old son Prince with ex Jordan Craig.
