Taylor Swift's friend Jaime King breaks silence after losing custody of kids
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Troubled Jaime King has broken her silence amid a sad custody battle and ugly war with her landlord.
King, 45, was sued by her landlord Sheila Irani over unpaid rent in January, with documents claiming she owed around $42,580 in back rent, according to Us Weekly.
As a result of the legal conflict, King - who shares children James, 11, and Leo, nine, ex-husband Kyle Newman - has been forced to move out of the property.
Speaking with the publication about the issue, King said the dispute has since been settled - however she did not shy away from slamming her landlord's efforts as 'disappointing.'
'The situation with my landlord was resolved privately,' she told Us Weekly on Monday. 'It’s disappointing — but not surprising — to see someone try to exploit this moment for attention.'
'I am currently focused on what matters most: my children,' insisted King, who chose her close friend Taylor Swift to be her son Leo's godson in 2015.
It's her first public statement since a judge ruled she must have visits with her sons supervised until she finishes six months of rehab for drugs and alcohol.
The landlord lawsuit obtained by Us Weekly alleges King has failed to pay any rent since January.
The property was rented out to King for $10,145 a month and the actress had been a tenant since April 2023, when she inked the lease.
Irani said she locked King out of the rental pending payment of rent and also claimed the Hart Of Dixie vet had been 'maliciously' remaining at the residence as an unlawful detainer.
In an amended court motion, King's attorney denied Irani's allegations and claimed the actress had been taking acting jobs to pay off the debt.
However, she has also faced 'setbacks' impeding her progress, with the documents noting King had recently evacuated from her home due to the LA fires.
They also said she had been 'distracted' by the on-going custody battle with husband Kyle Newman over their two sons, Leo, nine, and James, 11.
'[King] has expressed to [Irani] multiple times that she desires to pay the past due rent and vacate the premises prior to the end of the lease. She has been acting in good faith to raise the funds to due so, however suffered continued setbacks and hardship due to the Los Angeles wildfires, which came within 800 feet of her home, forcing her to flee her home after mandatory evacuation orders were issued in the Nichols Canyon fire.'
Additionally, her lawyer added King is 'involved in active litigation concerning the custody of her children.'
King's lawyers also allege that Irani is 'fully aware' the impact an eviction could have on the star's custody battle.
'The custody battle] has been extremely stressful and distracting from her work, which [Irani] is fully aware of in that an eviction would be detrimental to [King’s] custody matter,' they added.
The parties have have since settled the matter, with the two agreeing to several stipulations, including that Jaime move out by March 22, 2025.
'King acknowledges that her delay in meeting the March 22, 2025 move-out date will cause Irani significant and incalculable damages including but not limited to the inability to rent the premises to a new tenant beginning on April 1, 2025,' the documents state. 'Accordingly, King agrees to pay Irani the additional sum of $1,000 per day for each day or part of a day as holdover rent.'
King reportedly moved out of the home earlier this month and photos showed her last personal belongings being removed from the property, according to The Sun.
Real estate records have shown that her former rental has been taken by new tenants for $11,900-per-month just a week after being on the market.
According to a source close to the Pearl Harbor actress, she was forced to 'downsize' and 'had to find somewhere cheaper' according to The Sun.
The insider explained: 'She has been struggling with her finances for years now after some failed film ventures but the custody fight and having to fight all the accusations made against her in court drained her bank accounts.
'She moved into a smaller space just this month.'
Jamie had previously sold her Beverly Hills home for $2million after her divorce from Kyle in 2023.
The source also revealed that the star's world has been 'shattered' after recently losing custody of sons.
The insider explained: 'Now that the world knows, it's made everything that much harder. It causes a wedge in personal and work relationships.
'She is taking it very hard to say the least. She has had demons she’s been battling for decades but her recent troubles have been exasperated by her family troubles, her career struggling and financial stress.'
'And I'm sure things others don't even know about, she can be very private about what she's going through.'
The Sun report comes after a judge awarded King's ex Newman sole physical custody of their two young sons, according to court documents obtained by People.
The two boys with live with Newman, who will have final say on legal custody while the pair will share custody on paper amid the contentious case.
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.
Dailymail.com previously reached out to Newman for comment on the development.
The people approved in the supervisory role included her mother, sister, brother-in-law, and Newman's brother Kevin, the outlet reported.
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, People reported.
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 that 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.
Newman's rep at the time denied the allegations in a statement which read: 'This is another vicious, failed attempt of Kyle to continue his abuse of Jaime and manipulate the court system.
'Today Kyle was denied all requests for emergency orders and the judge granted Jaime shared legal custody of their two children. The temporary domestic violence restraining order remains in place to protect Jaime.'
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.
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, People reported.
King became 'so intoxicated in front of them that they thought their mother was dying, and abandoning them for days at a time to get drunk and high instead of care for them.'
He added that 'at one point, Jaime left Leo Thames at his doctor's appointment with the nanny, only to be found over a half hour later at the liquor store across the street buying a bottle of alcohol.'
