News March 01, 2022
Jesse Williams and Ex-Wife Settle Child Custody Dispute!

Amid a tumultuous legal battle that has played out in the press, Jesse Williams and his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee have reached a child custody agreement regarding their two children: 8-year-old Sadie and 6-year-old Maceo.
As reported by TMZ on Tuesday, the former couple appeared in court last week where a judge signed off on the new terms.
Though the two will share legal custody, the judge denied Drake-Lee’s request to reduce his physical time with their kids — which may be in reference to the actor’s role in the Broadway production of “Take Me Out” from March to June in New York City.
The judge granted Williams four consecutive days with the children in New York each month, while two of those days can be weekends.
Per the outlet, Williams and Drake-Lee’s new agreement also addresses how the parents will handle COVID-related disputes. For example, if Williams and Drake-Lee cannot agree on items such as vaccinations or face masks for their children, Jesse has “tie-breaking authority” for this year.
However, per Drake-Lee’s request, Williams cannot flip-flop on parenting time, meaning he cannot cancel and then go back on these scheduled times.
Following the former “Grey’s Anatomy” star’s time on Broadway, he and Drake-Lee will go back to court to modify their agreement.
Williams filed for divorce from Drake-Lee in April 2017 after they tied the knot in 2012.
In October 2020, People reported that Williams and Drake-Lee finalized their divorce and under their agreement — initially reached in September 2019 — Williams must pay Drake-Lee $40,000 a month in child support, as well as over $100,000 in two spousal support payments.
However, Williams gets to keep the money he earned from “Grey’s Anatomy” after their date of separation, listed as April 11, 2017.
While his other earnings were split, Drake-Lee kept their Los Angeles house. Additionally, the two kept their respective vehicles.
It is unclear if these arrangements are still in place.
Last April, TMZ reported that a judge ordered the two to participate in an online program for “high conflict parents” amid their legal issues.
The outlet describes these classes as a six-session online program that provides strategies for reducing conflicts in co-parenting relationships.
In May 2019, Drake-Lee gave an interview to People, revealing the emotional impact that the divorce has had on her and Williams' children.
“When you start spinning, the children start spinning, so even if you're looking at them and you’re telling them everything is fine, they know it’s not fine because they can feel it’s not fine,” she told the outlet.
“I talk to them on their level,” she continued. “It’s also okay for the children to see me crying, to see that I’m having a hard day today. Because that lets them know that when they have those hard days, there’s also room for that.”