Why Taylor Swift's Godson is Being Banned By Court From Being Alone With his Tortured Mom Jaime King As Her Marathon Custody Battle With Ex Erupts Again
Jaime King and her ex-husband Kyle Newman have been locked in a bitter child custody battle for their two sons since April last year.
March 18 2025, Published 12:17 p.m. ET
Taylor Swift's close pal Jaime King has lost a child custody battle with her estranged husband, who has been awarded legal custody of their two young children — including the superstar’s godson, Leo.
RadarOnline.com can reveal a judge made a bold order in the long-running legal affair, ensuring director Kyle Newman, 49, will now have control over their two young sons, James Knight, 11, and Leo Thames, nine.
King's longterm friend Swift was named godmother to her son Leo in 2015.
The two boys will live with Newman, who will have final say on legal custody, while the pair will share custody on paper amid the contentious case, as King, 45, is banned from seeing them alone.
The judge said King must have her visits with her sons supervised until she finishes a mandated drug/alcohol program that lasts around six months.
The people approved in the supervisory role included her mother, sister, brother-in-law, and Newman's brother Kevin.
Swift, 35, was named godmother to Leo in 2015.
King has been banned from seeing her two children alone and now must be accompanied by a family member.
King, who played the role of Heather Vandergeld in the 2004 comedy White Chicks, has made repeated visits to court over the past five years with her ex-husband to litigate custody concerns.
Most recently, King — who has also been seen in movies such as 2009's My Bloody Valentine and 2005's Sin City — filed with the court for an emergency request.
King filed the request to alter the agreement they made in terms of child and spousal support two years prior.
King "lacks the ability to pay the support," her attorneys said in legal docs, while Newman said King had "been out of compliance with the court's child and spousal support orders for well over a year."
Newman told the court King would not "sign a judgment" in their divorce agreement; and that she did not have the legal right to "rescind" any of the court's orders, the outlet reported.
The former couple initially wed in 2007 at the Los Angeles-based mansion Greystone Park and Manor.
King in May of 2020 entered a court filing requesting a divorce to end the 13-year marital union.
King concurrently filed paperwork with the court requesting an emergency motion toward custody and visitation-related issues, the outlet reported, as well as a petition to prevent domestic violence.
White Chicks actress King requested a divorce to end their 13-year marriage in May 2020
Amid the custody row, King said in May of 2020 that Newman had put together an "intervention" for her four months earlier after informing family and friends she was having substance abuse issues.
King in legal docs said she went a facility so she could be tested and cleared as drug-and-alcohol free. She said that days in, she had been sent home after passing a substance abuse test.
King is "a chronic drug addict and alcoholic who refuses to acknowledge that she has a problem, let alone seek meaningful treatment for such problem," Newman said in his legal filing at the time.
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King was branded 'a chronic drug addict and alcoholic who refuses to acknowledge that she has a problem' by ex-husband in court docs.
Newman told the court in a filing that "several friends" informed him that she had used narcotics during both of her pregnancies. He added that doctors told him that their son Leo "was also addicted due to her continued drug use."
He said he "was devastated" to learn at the same medical appointment "that Leo Thames had a congenital heart defect and would need surgery to survive as soon as he was born."
Newman said in his court filing that on occasion, King had driven "under the influence" with their children in the vehicle.
