Jesse Williams' Ex-Wife Drops Lawyer, Plans To Represent Herself In Nasty Court Battle Over Child Support
May 23 2022, Published 12:17 p.m. ET
Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams' ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee dropped her divorce attorney and has informed the court she plans to represent herself in her battle to increase her child support payments.
According to bombshell court documents obtained by Radar, the real estate broker/entrepreneur revealed she would be parting ways with Merissa V. Grayson and will be handling the case without legal representation.
The decision to change up her strategy comes weeks after she suffered a huge loss in court. As RadarOnline.com first reported, Jesse and Aryn have been fighting over his child support payments since December.
The actor had been paying $40k a month for the two children he shares with his ex — a number that was reached based on his 2019 income of $6 million+ when he was appearing on the ABC drama.
Late last year, Jesse filed a declaration under seal explaining his dire financial situation. He said since leaving Grey's in early 2021 — to explore other career opportunities — he had yet to lock down a lucrative acting role.
“My current income is far from sufficient to maintain a $40,000 per month child support number, especially since I still pay one-half of the children’s private school tuition, the children’s extracurricular activities, medical care, and all of their expenses when they are with me including child-care and my own expenses,” he claimed.
Jesse is currently starring in the Broadway show Take Me Out where he only receives $1,600 a week. Aryn scoffed at the plea to reduce the child support obligations.
He also accused Aryn of having, "spent thousands of dollars on failed or failing businesses while failing to seek gainful employment despite having an Ivy League degree, speaking 3 languages, and having a wealth of competitive real estate experience."
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The Hollywood star said his ex should get a job and help cover the costs of raising their kids.
She argued Jesse's decision to leave a high-paying job meant he was selfish and put his own needs ahead of his children.
The court ended up siding with Jesse and temporarily slashed his child support payments down to $6k. The exes are set to appear in court in August to fight for a permanent order on support — where Aryn will demand the amount be increased substantially.