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Grey’s Anatomy’s Jesse Williams Slams Ex-Wife’s ‘Unhinged and Toxic’ Behavior in Divorce Battle
Jesse Williams slammed his ex-wife, Aryn Drake-Lee, for accusing him in court of “bullying” her as he fights for more custody, In Touch can exclusively report.
Jesse, 43, filed an emotional declaration, obtained by In Touch, as part of his ugly battle with Aryn, 43.
The exes were married from 2012 until they finalized their divorce in 2020. They share a daughter named Sadie, born in 2013, and a son named Maceo, born in 2015.
The duo has been in and out of court since agreeing to the divorce deal. In his new filing, Jesse scoffed at Aryn’s claims he was difficult and bullied her.
He said, “Aryn makes erratic and conclusory statements which have no relationship to reality, which is why she has never presented a single example of ‘bullying’ etc. ever happening.”
Jesse continued, “Aryn’s unhinged and toxic behaviors happen everywhere and anytime: screaming in the street in front of our homes, taking the children from school on my days, ambushing doctors at appointments, withholding the children’s passports so they can’t travel with me, lying about timing and locations of the children’s sports and recitals so I miss them or arrive late.”
He said, “Asking Aryn to follow orders, or holding my ground during her obstructive attempts immediately triggers this claim that she’s being bullied. Aryn unilaterally enrolls the children in whatever camps she chooses, on my custodial time, without mentioning them to me – never mind consulting with me for agreement. I only find out when she sends me bills.”
The actor added, “Aryn has been combative and evasive regarding the children’s medical care throughout this divorce.”
Jesse asked the court to also award him sole legal custody for medical, dental and orthodontic treatment for their children.
The actor, who is asking for a change to the current custody deal, also asked that Aryn return an Apple watch he claims he purchased for their daughter and his ex took. “I request that the Court order Aryn to return the Apple Watch to me immediately and admonish her for taking the watch and other items I have given to the children,” Jesse said.
As In Touch previously reported, last year, the Grey’s Anatomy star asked the court to modify the custody schedule to be 50/50. The current agreement provides him with two overnight visits when school is in.
In his filing, Jesse argued, “The children and I are crazy about each other, and we have a deeply loving active and closely bonded relationship. There is absolutely no reason why Aryn should have more custodial time with the children than me.”
“They almost always ask me how many days they will be with me week to week and if they can ‘just stay longer.’ I moved to a home only 15 minutes from Aryn to make transitions as easy as possible but even with proximity, the number of transitions is unnecessarily challenging for our children and causes unnecessary interactions between me and Aryn,” Jesse added.
In his motion, Jesse also accused Aryn of not answering a ton of his FaceTime calls to the children and not being forthcoming with information about her new boyfriend.
Aryn quickly fired back at Jesse’s attempt to change the custody deal. She seemed to be on board with giving Jesse more time, but wanted the right to have the kids if he was out of town.
In her response, she claimed Jesse constantly “bullies, intimidates and harasses” her. She said her ex-husband and his legal team regularly make threats to take her to court if she doesn’t comply with Jesse’s demands. “Jesse wants to handcuff [Aryn] to the orders while ignoring most of the rules for himself,” Aryn’s filing read.
“The majority of [Jesse’s] requests are not in the best interests of our children. They orient around serving [Jesse’s] desires at the expense of our children’s mental, psychological, emotional and physical health. He is asking that the three of us be on call to accommodate his inconsistencies at all times.”
A hearing has been set for March 20.
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