EXCLUSIVE: Serena Williams' Dad 'King Richard’, 83, Files for Divorce for a Second Time — a Year After Reconciling With Ex-Stripper Stepmom, 46, Who 'Stole' His $1.2M House
King Richard, 83, filed for divorce from his younger ex-stripper wife after a brief reunion.
Oct. 16 2025, Published 5:47 p.m. ET
The father of Serena and Venus Williams has filed for divorce for a second time just a year after reconciling with their ex-stripper stepmom, who "stole" his luxury Florida home and blew more than half a million.
Frail "King Richard," now 83, called off their seven-year legal battle in June last year despite much younger wife Lakeisha, 46, changing the title deeds of his four-bed mansion in Palm Beach into her name without his knowledge.
Shocking Twist in King Richard's Marriage
Serena and Venus Williams’ dad filed for divorce again.
She borrowed $279K using the house as collateral from hard lender David Simon to blow the lot on a disastrous trucking business and "fast food and frivolities," according to court docs.
This rose to nearly $620K at one stage, including legal fees and interest – then Simon sued in 2017 to claw his money back.
In July last year, the property was eventually sold for $1.2M to an associate of Lakeisha's to pay off the debt.
Betrayal Followed by Reconciliation
Richard Williams ended his marriage to Lakeisha for a second time.
Despite the betrayal, Richard took Lakeisha back and they were living together in another four-bed property in the area, which was bought by Serena for $815,000 in 2015.
Now we can reveal Richard has taken the huge step to split again and filed his divorce petition with Palm Beach family court.
It was always an unlikely romance after they met at a Miami nightclub while she was working as a dancer called Angel and now have a son Dylan, 13.
Elder Abuse Claims Resurface
Richard suffered strokes and early dementia before filing again.
Forging title deeds wasn't Lakeisha's first misdemeanor, but she took advantage of the legendary tennis coach's frail state to fake his signature to sell his cars and cash his social security checks, according to his son Chavoita Lesane.
Richard's suffered three strokes, the early onset of dementia, has memory loss and problems with his speech with Chavoita now having power of attorney.
In October 2019, a deposition by Richard was cancelled after the court was given 168 pages of medical records relating to a July 2016 hospitalization for two strokes.
Previously, another deposition had been abandoned halfway through as Richard's answers were so incoherent even his own lawyer said: "I'm not sure how we're going to proceed, I think we're going to cut the deposition short."
Health Battles and Family Outrage
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His son accused Lakeisha of elder abuse and theft.
His primary care physician, Dr Monica Walker, wrote a letter to the courts stating how the strokes had affected his "brain function."
Further adding: "The complications after the stroke included inability to remember things which happened recently and incidents that happened years ago.
"You will remember, immediately after the stroke, your muscles weakened and slowly you were able to regain strength. You also have problems speaking and finding the right word to use.
"You have recovered from problems forming your words. However, you have not recovered from what is called dementia. Your ability to do household business transactions such as writing checks, paying bills, and maintaining records is lost. You still at times find it difficult to use the right words. This is all part of cerebral vascular disease and stroke."
Before the reconciliation, a furious Chavoita had been threatening an elder abuse lawsuit, saying: "I can't remember how long it was into the relationship as far as my dad starting to have financial headaches, like, 'What's going on with my social security checks?'
"Lakeisha took the Mercedes, she took the bus, she took money, what else was it? The motorcycle. There are so many things that she stole or forged documents for him. That's considered elder abuse. We're just putting all of it together, it's a lot. This whole situation has been frustrating."
