Jaime King's former spouse, Kyle Newman, has been granted exclusive physical custody of their two sons, marking a significant turn in their custody saga. Court documents acquired by PEOPLE reveal that while Newman and King will share legal custody of James, 11, and Leo, 9, Newman now holds the deciding vote in matters of legal custody and has been entrusted with the sole physical responsibility for their boys, who will primarily reside with him.
King has been granted visitation rights, allowing her to see her sons three times weekly during specific, supervised hours. The list of approved supervisors includes her mother, sister, brother-in-law, and even Newman's brother Kevin, ensuring that her interactions with her children are carefully monitored.
An addendum to the court order underscores the necessity for supervised visitation, highlighting that King has yet to complete a rigorous six-month drug/alcohol rehabilitation program, which included weekly testing, aftercare, and a two-step recovery program. Additionally, she must undergo a 26-week parenting program, individual counseling to address pertinent issues, and conjoint counseling with her minors, when deemed appropriate by the minors' therapist.
This custody dispute is not the first chapter in the former couple's legal battles over their children. In April 2024, King filed an urgent motion to modify their spousal and child support agreement, alleging financial inability to meet the support obligations and requesting the termination of the spousal support agreement they entered in April 2022.
Newman countered King's filing, asserting that she had been in defiance of the court's child and spousal support orders for over a year. He further accused her of refusing to sign a judgment based on their divorce settlement and claimed that she could not unilaterally rescind a court order, as she had purported to do.
King and Newman exchanged vows in 2007 at the historic Greystone Park and Manor in Los Angeles. After thirteen years of marriage, King filed for divorce from Newman in May 2020. Concurrently, she also filed a domestic violence prevention petition and an emergency motion pertaining to child custody and visitation.
This is not the first instance where King has faced accusations of substance abuse in their ongoing custody battle. In documents submitted in May 2020, King contended that Newman orchestrated a forced "intervention" at their home in mid-January 2020, following revelations to family members about her alleged addiction struggles.
In her documentation, King revealed her capitulation, consenting to enter a treatment facility to demonstrate her sobriety. Upon undergoing rigorous testing at the facility, King insisted that neither drugs nor alcohol were detected within her system, leading to her release after a brief stint of a couple of days.
Conversely, in his submissions, Newman painted a starkly contrasting portrait of King, portraying her as a chronic substance abuser and an alcoholic in denial—an individual who steadfastly refused to acknowledge her own demons, much less seek out meaningful remedy for her afflictions.He further alleged that these purported addictions had impacted her parenting capabilities, citing accounts from "several friends" who claimed King indulged in alcohol and opiate use during her pregnancy with their son James. Moreover, he recounted instances where she resumed her drug use while carrying Leo, revealing that they discovered at her 20-week prenatal check-up that "our unborn child had also become addicted owing to her persistent drug abuse."
"It was during that very appointment that we learned Leo Thames harbored a congenital heart defect, necessitating immediate surgery upon birth for his survival," Newman exclaimed in his declaration, adding, "I was utterly crushed."
Newman's filing delved into other harrowing allegations, depicting King as engaging in "driving under the influence with their sons in the vehicle, becoming so intoxicated in their presence that they feared for her life, and leaving them unattended for prolonged stretches while she pursued her vices of drinking and drugging instead of nurturing them. On one harrowing occasion, Jaime entrusted Leo Thames to the nanny at his doctor's appointment, only to discover her half an hour later purchasing a bottle of alcohol at the liquor store directly across the street."
