Maralee Nichols, the woman suingTristan Thompsonfor child support and pregnancy-related fees, has broken her silence on the highly-publicized paternity case.
“Over the past couple of weeks, many inaccurate and false stories have been circulated about me. I have not at any point released – nor have I directed anyone else to release – any information regarding Tristan Thompson or any litigation involving him,” Nichols began. “I have never spoken to any media outlet, nor have I leaked any information to anyone at any time. I am providing this statement because I feel I must defend my character.”
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Attorneys for Thompson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“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 wrote in Friday’s statement, seeming to reference his past relationship withKhloé Kardashian, with whom he shares 3-year-old daughter True.
Maralee Nichols and Tristan Thompson.Maralee Nichols/Instagram; George Pimentel/Getty
“Tristan told me he was not having a sexual relationship with anyone else; it was not casual sex nor did we have any arrangement. Tristan and I communicated daily and talked on the phone. We would see each other several times a month,” Nichols continued, disputing Thompson’s past claim that the pair’s relationship was “based on sex only” and that theycommunicated solely through Snapchat.
“He invited me to see him Christmas, New Years, and his birthday,” she added.
Nichols cited two time periods that have also appeared in her and Thompson’s previous filings — March and April 2021. Thompson has claimed that the “only” time the child could have been conceived was on his birthday, March 13, in Texas. Nichols has claimed it was in April in Boston.
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Maralee Nichols
In her Friday statement, Nichols said she saw Thompson both in March and in April, and learned that she was pregnant “a few weeks” after the trip to Boston in April.
Tristan Thompson.Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty
“Paternity matters in California are sealed, and I do not wish to discuss my ongoing California litigation with the media,” Nichols wrote in her statement and said she tried to remain private throughout her pregnancy to keep it “as peaceful as possible.”
“Instead of focusing on any negativity, 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,” Nichols concluded. “My goal is to raise our son in a safe, healthy, loving and private environment.”
“Khloé is moving on,” a source previously told PEOPLE of the Good American mogul amid the drama. “Tristan and Khloé have beenbroken upfor a while, and things are okay between them.”
source: people.com
