Tristan Thompson is officially the father. The NBA star has been in the news quite a bit the last few months as it has been rumored that he fathered his third child with a woman that is not on again off again girlfriend, Khloe Kardashian. Thompson seemed to be in denial for a bit and things got a little ugly between him and his new baby mother. It appears he finally got the proof he was looking for today and has been doing a whole lot of apologizing. Let’s catch up on Thompson’s journey from NBA bachelor to father of 3.
Thompson currently plays for the Sacramento Kings. The power forward has a 4-year-old with social media influencer and lifestyle blogger Jordan Craig. The pair began dating in 2014 before Craig found out that she and Thompson were expecting in April of 2016. Unfortunately, the pair split shortly after as Craig discovered that Thompson was cheating on her. Their son, Prince, was born later that year.
Many assumed that this was around the time Thompson was beginning his relationship with reality television star Khloe Kardashian. The timeline adds up as Khloe and Tristan were already a paparazzi magnet around Prince’s birthday, December 12th, 2016. Khloe would reveal at the top of 2017 that she was now expecting a baby with Thompson. Their daughter True was born December 20th, 2017, a little over a year after her older brother was born.
For the majority of their union, Khloe has been criticized for taking Thompson back several times despite him continuously disrespecting her in the media. This includes several instances of cheating, including a drunken make-out with former family friend Jordyn Woods. Thompson was also caught on video kissing two women at a hookah lounge a few days before Khloe gave birth to True. Khloe and Tristan yoyoed for some time, splitting in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Throughout it all, Thompson seemed to maintain a decent co-parenting situation with Kardashian and his first baby mother, Craig.
In October, he posted pictures of True and Prince together at an arcade. The siblings are all smiles standing side by side. Thompson captioned the post, “Let me love you a little more, before you are not so little anymore #MyEverything❤️❤️”
Khloe responded to the post saying, “They are so beautiful and sweet!!!! So so blessed!!! What angels! ❤️.” Some fans championed the adorable picture. Others did not, saying, “Respect their mothers if you want them to know and see you love them. Especially because they’ve respected you.”
Unfortunately, it seems Thompson is not ready to “respect” their moms. Despite reports that he was doing everything in his power to win Khloe back, including staying away from other women for six months, reports of Thompson fathering a third child began to circulate. Enter Texas personal trainer Maralee Nichols. Nichols went public last year with reports that Thomspon had knocked her up. Unfortunately, Tristan did not believe her, and the pair began a messy back and forth to prove he was the father.
Nichols sued the NBA player for child support and other “pregnancy-related fees,” according to People Magazine. While Thompson acknowledged that he had been intimate with Nichols, he maintains it was only one time in March 2021 and demanded genetic testing in July 2021. People Magazine also reports that Khloe was in the know and was dating Tristan as recently as March. However, they are not currently together. Today, Thompson took to social media to admit he is the father of Nichols baby boy, born in December. He also apologies to Khloe Kardashian.
“Today, paternity test results reveal that I fathered a child with Maralee Nichols. I take full responsibility for my actions. Now that paternity has been established, I look forward to amicably raising our son.” He continued, “I sincerely apologize to everyone I’ve hurt or disappointed throughout this ordeal both publicly and privately.” In a follow-up story, Thompson addressed Khloe directly. “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.”
The NBA Player went on to say his actions do not line up with how he “views” her and that he has the utmost love and respect for her. Khloe has been having a hard time with the recent revelations, tweeting “Tbh I’m barely in my own body right now. Please don’t read into anything. Also please don’t tear me apart because you assumed something.”
Nichols released her own statement letting people know that she wants to focus on the positive and doing “what’s best” for her son. She stressed that she does not desire any further media attention, nor does she want a relationship with Thompson. Nichols also claims that she and Thompson had a five-month affair and it was not a one-night stand.
