Last week, Jaime King filed for divorce from her husband Kyle Newman and she tried to file for two more things: an emergency custody order and a temporary restraining order. The custody order was not granted, and the restraining order was granted against Newman until June 8th, which is apparently when some of this will be figured out in a court appearance. After the judge rejected the custody order, Newman released a statement basically saying that Jaime has issues and he’s been taking care of their two sons “solo” during the pandemic, and reportedly he’s in Pennsylvania while she’s in LA. They likely haven’t seen each other in months. I’ve seen many commenters immediately take her side but I’ve mostly just been waiting for more information. It seemed like there was more stuff about to come out. And now it is:
Jaime King and Kyle Newman are in an all-out war for their kids … with Kyle now saying he needs sole physical custody because her alleged opioid and alcohol addiction is out of control. The director requested an emergency hearing Friday morning, asking the judge to let him take custody of their 6 and 4-year-old sons, James and Leo. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kyle claims the actress/model has “spent the last decade high” and refuses to get any meaningful help for her opioid addictions.
Kyle says things came to a head on January 12, when he and 14 of Jaime’s friends staged an intervention … begging her to get help. He gave her an ultimatum — get treatment “or the kids and I need to leave for their own safety.”
Kyle claims Jaime went to Cirque Lodge rehab facility in Utah, but left shortly after arriving because she tried to check in with a bunch of pills on her … including Adderall and Clonazepam. In the docs, he says Jaime was working in Canada in early February and asked him to send the boys to spend a couple weeks with her — but 3 days into the visit she sent them back to Kyle. He claims she later admitted she was having an affair and using booze and drugs at the time.
Kyle says he and the boys have been quarantining in Pennsylvania, and Jaime has only seen them for 3 days in the past 2 months. On May 15, he says he and Jaime were laying out plans to divorce, when she accused him of “stealing” their kids … even though she was the one who insisted they go to Pennsylvania. He tried to reassure her, but claims she got angrier and threatened to ruin him.
TMZ broke the story … Jaime filed divorce docs on May 18, and also requested a restraining order to keep Kyle away from her and the kids. As we reported, the judge ruled the boys could remain with Kyle, who says Jaime blindsided him with her court filings. Two nannies and one of Jaime’s former assistants submitted declarations, describing her alleged addiction to opioids, and claim she’s putting the children at risk by — among other things — driving with them while under the influence.
Kyle is asking for sole physical custody, shared legal custody and wants Jaime out of the family home in L.A. … so he can live there with their sons. Friday morning, the judge rejected his emergency order for custody, and said both sides can argue their cases at a later court date. So for now, it’s status quo … the kids can remain with Kyle in Pennsylvania.
Holy YIKES. TMZ also had updates on the situation, including accusations from Jaime that Kyle has been “tormenting” her for years and isolating her from friends:
A rep for King tells us, “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.”
The judge ruled that Kyle must stay away from Jamie, and we’ve obtained the documents filed by the actress alleging torment. King alleges Kyle has tracked her electronically, isolated her from friends and work opportunities and has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars out of their account. She says she feels sick to her stomach with every encounter with Kyle.
If he could get “two nannies and one of Jaime’s former assistants” to submit declarations to the court on such short notice, he’s probably got a lot of documentation to back up his claims. That being said, both stories could be true – she could be an addict who endangered the lives of her children AND he could be an emotionally abusive, controlling SOB. In fact, those two dysfunctional personalities end up together often enough. My Spidey sense told me last week that there was a lot of mess about this split and now that same Spidey sense is telling me that these two are going to lob accusations at each other for months.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
The energy of the header picture is so weird.
I feel bad for the kids, hopefully they have a good steady nanny since they are apparently being shuttled between the parents .
I feel like 14 friends staging an intervention is something easily corroborated. It could also be true that he’s controlling. I think it’s probably not as easy as good guy/bad guy here.
How messy. How sad and scary for the kids.
+1
Messy. And also how much would a partner of a long time addict need to do things that might appear to be controlling? For example, taking more control over finances.?
This was my thought, too. If she’s really been an addict for a decade, what kind of friends is he saying she can’t be around? Or what kind of things isn’t he allowing her to do. Either way…those poor babies.
I have to wonder if the “controlling behavior” she is accusing him of is more about him trying to maintain a structured environment for her to help with the temptations of addiction. This is VERY common when trying to keep someone you love sober. As is keeping them from bad influence friends.
Yeah, I also waited for more info on this story to come out, and here it is.
yep…….. this will be a messy divorce
I sometimes wish people will remember they have kids and used to love each other when divorcing……it will be so much better especially for their Kids
Divorce can happen, why does it have to be ugly?
Because in this case one person is a drug addict. Drug addicts dont keep their lives neat and tidy.
I think the 14-person intervention is a potential red flag for both how controlling he is and how out-of-control she is. He curated a list of people who wouldn’t comfortably fit together at an intimate dinner party to confront his wife about her mental and physical health. That there were that many people who could look at her behavior and say “This is how I’ve seen you hurt yourself/me/your family” is an indication that she was objectively troubled. Whether it’s true or not, you’re right to focus on the kids. This situation has to be terrifying for them, and it is traumatic, and it is changing the way they see and relate to the world. I hope someone understands that and advocates for their interests alone.
ITA. The intervention wasn’t a close 5 or 6, but 14 people. I’m sure this is a crazy, 2 sided street.
I got really controlling when I was in a relationship with an addict. I was young, didn’t know what to do, and thought I could make him stop. I couldn’t. I’d wager that the vast majority of people in my position have been called controlling by their loved one.
Legitimate addict or not, who the hell stages an intervention with FOURTEEN of the person’s friends?! That isn’t an intervention, that’s public humiliation.
Can addiction experts help us understand this one? Is there an optimal number to confront an addict?
If 14 people were already aware and concerned enough to attend is that really a) public b) humiliation?
Going beyond nearest and dearest? IMHO as someone who has been through this kind of thing with loved ones, yeah – that just seems so cruel and more likely to make someone who is already going to be defensive even more so, instead of creating a safe enough atmosphere that they can be receptive and those defences can be broken down.
Sounds like the addict was already public with the addiction and probably very messy. It’s was an open open secret. Smells of desperation and seriousness of issues too
Yes. Therapist here with specialty in substance use disorders. Anecdotal reports will say interventions work – THEY DO NOT. I cannot stress this enough. Unfortunately there is usually a few reports out there where people swear by it (just like the whole “jail saved my life” line). Recovery happens when a person is willing and circumstances allow. I always support families if they feel an intervention is something they want to do, but I am very clear (and every agency and private practice I’ve worked with has the same policy) I will not participate in an intervention, I will not provide any guidance, and what you see in TV is bullshit. Furthermore, most of these celebrity known rehabs make my skin crawl – little to no oversight, unqualified (if even properly licensed) staff, no use of evidence-based practices, etc …long story short someone on this thread will undoubtedly have a story about how an intervention worked. Ok, sure. I’ve only seen them result in humiliation, bullying, and usually led by someone without real clinical experience because no professional therapist worth their license would ever participate in such a thing (side note, the threshold for licensure and what constitutes a “licensed therapist” varies greatly from state to state, so even that must be taken with caution. I’m in NY where our standards are very high but in a lot of southern states there’s very little that goes into licensure)
Does seem a bit excessive, I have a pretty solid group of core friends I’ve been close with for 20+ years…I’m not sure I can think of 14 that are privy to my personal life enough to stage an intervention.
An intervention is public humiliation.
She is lucky to have 14 people willing to help her.
Following her on insta, i always got the sense that she had lots and lots of “best friends” – so this might be legitimately still have been intimate.
I was talking to my husband about all the divorces happening right now and I said it seems strange she filed a restraining order when he’s the one who is away with their kids. I remember hearing that she battled addiction in the past and thought that might be happening again. Addicts can make up lies and lash out … in this situation, especially with the intervention and support from their staff, that she’s lashing out. Obviously no marriage is perfect, but I don’t think he’s abusive.
Addicts can also tell the truth and not be believed because of their addiction. I think many things can be true: she is an addict who is unsafe with her children because of her addiction; she loves her children deeply and wants to be a part of their lives; he is controlling to the point of abuse; he is abusively controlling in an attempt to manage her addiction; he loves his children deeply and is only interested in their welfare; he loves her, and his behavior stems from a genuine concern for her…the list of possibilities goes on for forever. It’s even possible that she was no longer an active user but she relapsed, or he’s using a mental health crisis (either managed or unmanaged) against her. We simply can’t know.
Given how complicated human social dynamics can be, things that seem incongruent with each other can take place within the same relationship. It’s like Kaiser said, sometimes dysfunctional personalities “attract” each other: addicted personalities often end up with fixer personalities. This doesn’t make the relationship safe or excuse the behavior of any party…it just a sign that things are more intricately complex than they seem on the surface, even to the people in the relationship. And the situation definitely won’t be presented in a nuanced way by divorce attorneys — that is literally not their job. So I’m not comfortable yet saying that he isn’t abusive. He might be, but the kids might still be safer with him than with her. I am really comfortable saying that they need to start intensive family and individual therapy for their children *now* if they haven’t already.
Well said, I think both sides of the story here are true.
She’s been high for a decade and their children are age 6 and 4? I don’t know why that struck me as so odd.
Team kids.
The number of babies born addicted to drugs is alarming.
Wait did I miss something? Did her husband say their children were born addicted to drugs? How sad that this is all so public and her kids will be able to read it someday.
I read that in one of his court filings he claimed that one of the babies was born addicted to opiates (I think it was opiates, maybe it didn’t specify.) That should be easily corroborated with medical records, I would assume.
It’s odd because he seems to have chosen to have kids with someone he knew was actively abusing drugs. Maybe he’s just generalizing and she was clean off and on or something. If he isn’t then he’s just as responsible for putting the kids in a bad situation as she is.
She was probably on and off. I remember her looking very healthy on Hart of Dixie, which is also the time she had both of her kids. Maybe she steadied for a bit and was able to hold down a long term project and have a family. And then relapsed again after.
It’s so common, though. How many people do you know who have married or had children with addicts? I know so many.
Yeah “she’s been high for a decade” then why is he suddenly doing something now? He could have divorced her before the 10 year mark.
Pretty sure she’s the one who filed both for a divorce and restraining order, not him.
Pardon me, but is he supposed to keep going in the face of her addiction issues? It may seem sudden to us, but it’s likely been a long time coming, slo mo disaster. Especially with child safety concerns? Sometimes the stakes get too high and leaving is the only choice.
She was a heroin addict when she was 16 or 17, so for her to be a pill popper now it’s not really that surprising. Relapse is, unfortunately, almost inevitable.
Yeah, I remember this. I was just about to say that these drug claims aren’t new for her. Also, didn’t she have like five miscarriages? The drug use might have contributed to her fertility issues. It’s a shame. I’m a huge fan of Hart of Dixie and she was always my favorite character. It seems she’s more “stable” drug-wise when working. She, currently, does NOT look well.
This was my first thought sadly
I haven’t liked the way she looked for a while, it’s not just the weight loss . Her face looks like she did meth.
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who remembers Jaime as James King, heroin chic model and girlfriend of Davide Sorrenti. Now that’s a sad story.
James got into drugs really young – when she was fifteen or thereabouts.
You can try to outrun your past, but sometimes it follows you wherever you go.
I remember her dating Kid Rock too!
I remember seeing a photo exhibit of her at that age, can’t remember the museum or the city I was in. I felt so bad for her. Those photos were raw.
It was some time ago-maybe 20 years- I was doing my early morning run down to the ocean-when I was almost run over by Jamie King driving the wrong way down San Vicente Blvd. She was swerving all over the fairly empty street- I lurched to avoid her when she drove up the median and she incoherently yelled at me- I had always thought she was so pretty…she’s had problems for years
OMG thankfully you weren’t hurt!
Given her history with addiction and the statements he’s been able to quickly receive from nannies, I can believe she is dealing with a devastating addiction and that the result is her kids were not always safe in her care. I hope Kyle is able to keep the kids safe and well taken care of while this is sorted out.
As a sober person, I feel for anyone struggling with addiction. As a DV survivor where using was a major factor, I feel for the families of addicts. They’ve been together awhile; hopefully everyone can get healthy (especially those children).
This is really unfortunate all around. I don’t want to take sides because I could believe either story. I think it’s more plausible that she’s doing drugs and he has been “controlling” her to help her try to stay sober, but maybe he’s just holding her past against her. Who knows. I just hope their kids are happy and healthy.
That ‘isolated her from her friends’ struck me. Abusive men do do that. But I also know–through having a sister who’s been an addict pretty much her whole life–that addicts use the word ‘friend’ differently than non-addicts. He may have been trying to keep her away from her dealers & other users.
You mean isolating her from her enablers? Come on 14 of her friends showed up for the intervention
Her version of things sounds like what an addict would say. I’m basing this on my very personal experience with my siblings – especially my sister. When her son was removed and placed with me, she was making so many accusations that blamed everyone but herself. I’m happy to say she’s doing wonderfully now and she and her son are close to reunification!
I have a friend we just found out is struggling with opioid addiction. I think she will lose her new husband. It only came out because she had secretly racked up about 10k of credit card debt on her pills. After he discovered it and she came clean, she supposedly went to rehab but then lied again when she relapsed.
I feel sorry for her and for him. Addiction is terrible and it ruins lives. It’s the lies more than anything that destroys trust. And addicts lie a lot.
Having lived through this with my brother and his ex I can tell you addicts will make excuses and lie about everything. In my brothers case I was the one who was controlling and smothering when all I did was try and protect his son whom I ended up raising after their parental rights were terminated. I will reserve judgment on her husbands supposed controlling nature.
This is enough to make me want to cry. She was one of the OGs from the heroin cool 90s. I’m happy she’s alive, because battling a near 30 year addiction can’t be easy, but when will people around her realize her fame and money won’t solve the addiction? It’s tearing her life apart. I hope someone steps in to help her. Hubby has his hands full trying to keep the kids safe.
This is so sad. I read on another site that one of the kids was found to have a severe heart defect during her pregnancy and was born addicted to opioids and required immediate surgery after birth. She needs help and they should not have been bringing kids into this situation, those kids are going to have lifelong physical and mental issues. I hope the husband is keeping them safe and they are getting therapy.
I believe HIM. As someone who has been in a long-term relationship with an opiate addict (now years sober) – I know all too well the devastation it can cause on daily life and general functioning. If he really had a 14 person intervention that does seem unnecessarily humiliating.
However, I can attest when trying to help the addict you pretty much are grasping at straws. 12 step meetings say addiction is “cunning, baffling, and powerful” and it absolutely has been in my experience.
Denial is usually very strong in addicts until they finally bottom out which looks different for every one. Maybe she needed to lose temporary custody of her children to wake up to what she is doing to her self and her family.
Addicts also know what to say to get you off their back until the next time you catch them using again. It can feel like a game of cat and mouse because they get better at hiding their use. But in my experience eventually their using becomes obvious again. So while 10 years is a long time, I can imagine they were periods where it waxed and waned. Also, family members of addicts also go into denial because the truth is far too painful to swallow but the denial eventually cracks for the to family members as well.
I applaud him for making the moves to do what’s right for his child. No question about it – she’s an unfit parent until she becomes sober. I would even go further to say she’s an unfit parent until she has at least a few months of sobriety. I hope that she is able to find the willingness to get a help for those little babies and he finds help as well. Al-anon is a wonderful program for loved ones. Living with a using addict is like living on a roller coaster.
Hear hear.
The look in his eyes…. he is over it. He looks exhausted and ready to give up. I believe him just because…4 affidavits is hard to produce in a week or 2. Those people are afraid for the kids and agreeing to be part of a messy drama to help them. I hope she gets help and can go back to being a 50/50 parent to her kids even if the marriage is over. Such an awful situation all around. And I mean, if he can get half of the people at the “intervention” to testify she could seriously lose those kids if she doesn’t agree to treatment. Also, not for nothing, people saying things like “no you can’t drive high with the kids“ or “I will have to call the cops if you use while driving etc…” come across as controlling jerks to someone in the middle of an addiction. At the same time, years being on alert terrified of the next disaster probably make a spouse of an addict a control freak. Just an ugly ugly situation. Hope the kids are protected. They have no voice in any of this.
What a sad messy situation. I remember when she was one of those edgy 90s It-girl models and was called James. Maybe she never moved beyond that mindset. Who knows but there’s a lot going on there with both parties.
I read in another site that several nannies and close friends have fessed up to her drug problem, I feel really bad for the kids and her husband.
Just a note: klonopin is not an opiate. Benzodiazepines are a different animal. I was prescribed them for 13 years. Three years clean.
1 year clean from benzos. High five and I’m so proud of YOU.
Right back atcha!!♡
Couldn’t all of this have been kept from the public and just provided to the judge, lawyers etc? Because this seems excessively shameful to her which will affect her ability to get work in the industry where you need to be insured on set. So i fear her ex is trying to needlessly hurt her here
She accused him of abuse. She doesn’t get to ask for the his grace when she’s extended him none.
Yep especially if it’s made up. Now if you think it was true where are her affidavits? He seems to have an awful lot of people going to bat for him as an “abuser.” Where are her witnesses? That’s right where are the enablers.
I feel so bad for her. She actually gave an interview to Amanda de Cabernet (?) years ago and talked about how awful modeling was and how it made her more buttoned up and protective. I thought she was friendly with Taylor Swift and Jessica Alba too and there’s her acting work and her struggle to get pregnant. I hope she gets better she seems like a great person who is most likely struggling again. I feel for her and her family and friends. This must be so difficult no matter the details.
The public and media often fall into this framework, too. How often have we seen the partners of addicts called “controlling”, when they’re just trying to keep it together for their families, especially their children. And if you’re married to a mess like Jaime King or Ben Affleck, maybe you do have to be controlling in order to keep things from falling apart.
This sounds so much like my parents. Add alcoholism and pills to the controlling jerk of a husband. Nobody wins here. Those poor babies. My heart aches for them.
Yeah, I’m thinking that they’re both telling the truth. She’s an addict and he probably is abusive, because she was granted a temporary restraining order.
Even if she is an addict, she was granted a temporary restraining order. So, she must also have legitimate proof he’s abusive. He’s not much better than she is in that respect.
They’ve been apart for months so I’m not sure what good that order was.
I knew her when she was a very young model in NYC, known as James King. Her boyfriend, my friend Davide Sorrenti, died of a heroin overdose tragically at age 20, and it was a huge scandal amongst certain circles (fashion designers, art people, photographers) because of the whole heroin chic grunge aesthetic which prevailed at the time. It was horrible to lose such a brilliant artist and sweet sweet guy in Davide, and I knew from the friend group that JK was still using. (I was a student at NYU and luckily was able to avoid the darker parts of the ‘scene’ …my friends who got into big trouble didn’t have the same time constraints and work responsibilities I did, which kept me out of the deeper waters/later nights etc.) Because she’s done so well and rebranded so successfully over there years, I hoped that she had overcome her substance abuse issues and gone on to have a great career and adult life. I hope this is her nasty ex trying to destroy her reputation to ‘win’ the divorce, and that she can stay clean and stay strong. If not, I hope she can get good help and be a good mom with her kiddos. Go James!