Jesse Williams and Aryn Drake-Lee’s Divorce, Custody Battle Timeline

Jesse Williams and Aryn Drake-Lee’s Divorce: Everything to Know About Their Split and Custody Battle

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Tensions have been high between Jesse Williams and his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee in the years following their divorce.

After meeting in New York City while the Grey’s Anatomy alum was working as a schoolteacher, the couple tied the knot in September 2012. “She’s been with me through all different facets of my career,” Williams told USA Today about Drake-Lee in 2010. “She’s stuck with me through thick and thick and thick and thin. We know each other in and out.” They welcomed daughter Sadie in January 2014 and son Maceo in August 2015.

Williams filed for divorce in April 2017, and their split quickly became contentious. In June of that year, Williams claimed that Drake-Lee had rejected his request to spend more time with the kids.

“Aryn restricts my time with the children and decides when, and for how long I may have them,” Williams alleged in court documents obtained by Us Weekly at the time. “She has rejected, without any reason, each and every request I have made to have the children sleep over at my residence.”

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The real estate agent’s lawyer Jill Hersh responded in a statement to Us, arguing that Drake-Lee’s priority was “protecting the privacy and well-being of their children. … It is unfortunate that Mr. Williams has chosen to draw public attention to this difficult time and transition for their family.”

The pair’s divorce was finalized in October 2020. In court documents obtained by Us at the time, the pair agreed to share joint legal and physical custody of their children and their assets were divided between them. Still, the pair continued to argue over the amount of time they spend with Sadie and Maceo.

Keep scrolling for a full breakdown of their divorce:

Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Art Los Angeles Contemporary

Jesse Williams and Aryn Drake-Lee’s Divorce: Everything to Know About Their Split and Custody Battle

Tensions have been high between Jesse Williams and his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee in the years following their divorce.

Williams filed for divorce in April 2017, and their split quickly became contentious. In June of that year, Williams claimed that Drake-Lee had rejected his request to spend more time with the kids.

Keep scrolling for a full breakdown of their divorce:

Credit: Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

The Split

The Cabin in the Woods actor filed for divorce 18 months after the couple welcomed their son, Maceo. At the time, Us reported that he and Drake-Lee had made an amicable decision to part ways, although the reason for their split was not reported at the time. The divorce was finalized three years later, in October 2020.

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

The Fight For Joint Custody

Just a few months after calling it quits, the pair began arguing over custody of their two children, with Williams alleging that Drake-Lee was restricting his access to them. In response, his then-estranged wife filed for sole physical and legal custody, citing Williams’ unpredictable work schedule, and claiming that she was the primary parental figure.

“Jesse would ‘join in’ when he was available and home, but he rarely took care of the children without my or [the nanny] Martiza’s help and presence,” Drake-Lee alleged in court documents obtained by Us in August 2017. “Jesse became distant, secretive and was home less and less, traveling for unexplained reasons while telling the kids, ‘Daddy is at work.’ … Another factor in their stability is to prevent the children from seeing a revolving door of intimate partners.” Williams’ rep denied the allegations, claiming that he has been “working tirelessly to maintain his bond” with Sadie and Maceo.

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The Cheating Rumors

The Station 19 actor addressed the rumors that he had been unfaithful while appearing in Jay-Z’s “Footnotes” segment for the rapper’s track track “4:44″ in July 2017. “I was in a relationship 13 years, 13 real years, not five years, not seven years, 13 years,” Williams said in the video, though he didn’t refer to his ex by name, “and all of a sudden motherf–kers are writing think-pieces that I somehow threw a 13-year relationship — like the most painful experience I’ve had in my life, like with a person I’ve loved with all of my heart — that I threw a person and my family in the trash because a girl I work with is cute.”

Credit: Courtesy Aryn Drake-Lee/Instagram

The $100,000 A Month Child Support

In addition to fighting over custody, the pair also fought over their finances. In July 2018, Williams was ordered to pay more than $100,000 a month in child and spousal support to Drake-Lee. The following year, she requested that Williams pay a total of $200,000 to cover her legal fees and to pay a forensic accountant who she hired to look over her finances ahead of trial. When their divorce was finalized, Williams’ child support was reduced to $40,000 per month, with the agreement that he was no longer responsible for paying spousal support.

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The Parenting Classes

Amid their divorce drama — and their contentious co-parenting relationship — the duo was ordered to participate in a program for “high conflict parents” in March 2021. The six-session online course helps separated couples learn conflict resolution skills to ease tension after divorce.

Credit: Courtesy Aryn Drake-Lee/Instagram

The Allegations of ‘Erratic’ Behavior

The custody battle continued in February 2022, when Williams accused his ex-wife of “repeated violation of court orders” and “erratic, gatekeeping behavior” in legal documents obtained by Us. He continued by claiming that Drake-Lee had “become increasingly controlling and restrictive” of his time with their children and alleged that she had “manic outbursts” in from of the children. Williams also claimed that Drake-Lee screamed at him and “yanked Sadie from my arms like a rag doll” in October 2021.

Credit: NINA PROMMER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The Settlement

A temporary custody agreement was reached in February 2022, when a judge denied Drake-Lee’s request to reduce Williams’ visitation with the kids as he prepares to star in the Broadway production of Take Me Out from March to June 2022. In addition, the agreement also gives the Chicago native “tie-breaking authority” over COVID-19-related decisions for the kids for the rest of the year and declared that he could not cancel his scheduled visits with the children at his discretion.

Credit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock

Child Support Payments Request

In March 2022, Williams requested to reduce his $40,000 monthly child support payments since he no longer has the same salary as he did during Grey’s Anatomy.

According to the legal docs, the actor noted that he makes “far less” now that he is only appearing in the Broadway play Take Me Out. His paycheck comes out to $1,668 per week, which is a huge difference from his previous salary on the ABC series.

Credit: Broadway World/Shutterstock

The Reduced Child Support

In April 2022, a court ruled that Williams would no longer have to pay $40,000 a month in child support due to his “significant reduction in income” after leaving Grey’s Anatomy. Per Entertainment Tonight, the Broadway actor will instead be required to pay Drake-Lee $6,413 a month, with half due on the first of the month and the remainder due on the 15th. The ruling goes into effect on April 15 and will require another court order to change.

Credit: Evan Agostini/AP/Shutterstock

Passport Problems?

In June 2022, Williams requested that his custodial time remain intact between 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 28, until 8:30 a.m.. on Thursday, June 30, per legal documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight.

The Grey’s Anatomy alum also asked that the court force Drake-Lee to submit the necessary paperwork, in which she would have to sign off on a parental consent form, that would allow son Maceo access to his passport.

While the judge granted the request, Drake-Lee submitted a written email to the court that she sent to Williams’ lawyers that reportedly read, “I have told your client, Jesse Williams, multiple times that the passport renewal is in process.” She alleged that the payment for the passport renewal was processed in October 2021 and that the former couple’s first conversation about the issue took place one year prior.

Drake-Lee also noted that these types of issues can be avoided “if the orders are truthfully followed and your client shares necessary logistical details, instead of withholding them, with the goal being to find a reasonable solution, instead of using intimidation tactics.”

Credit: Aryn Drake-Lee/Instagram

The Cryptic Posts

In September 2022, TMZ reported that Williams requested an update to their custody agreement after signing on to return to Take Me Out on Broadway for another run. The Tony nominee claimed in court docs that Drake-Lee refused to extend their custody agreement to coincide with his time in the show and didn’t want their two children to return to New York while he starred in the production.

Days later, Drake-Lee seemingly slammed Williams’ parenting in a pointed social media post. “Is it good for the health and wellness of a 7yr and 8yr old to be taken out of school on a regular basis to fly cross country overnight on a red eye to be on the ground for two days?” she wrote via Instagram. “Is it reasonable for them to return dazed and confused and then be expected to pick right up and survive at school the rest of the week? I don’t think so! Neither do any of the parents who actually parent on a routine basis.”

Drake-Lee added that Williams seemingly “expects their children to indulge, caregive [SIC] and service that adult’s desires” without thinking about their kids’ best interests. She concluded her post with the hashtags, “#receiptsseason” and “#ihavestayedquietforfartoolong.”

Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock; Courtesy Aryn Drake-Lee/Instagram

A New Agreement

In October 2022, a judge granted Williams visitation with his children in New York while he continues performing in Take Me Out on Broadway. The decision overrules Drake-Lee’s previous request to keep the kids in Los Angeles during her ex-husband’s run in the play and allows them to visit him on certain dates in October, November and December. The judge also ordered the former couple to attend 10 sessions of co-parenting counseling and restrained them from “making derogatory remarks about the other party, either directly or indirectly to the minor children, nor allow any third party to do so.”

The order continued, “[They may not] discuss this case with or in front of the minor children nor allow anyone else to do so,” ask their children to pass messages to the other parent or interrogate them about what happened during their time with the other parent. The judge also ruled that neither Williams or Drake-Lee were allowed to “post derogatory remarks about the other party that the minor children can see in social media.”

Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association

Custody Change

News broke in March 2025 that Williams was awarded sole legal custody of Sadie and Maceo’s healthcare. He will, however, be required to inform Drake-Lee of all information pertaining to the kids’ health, education and welfare.

In court documents obtained by In Touch, Williams and Drake-Lee also agreed to share physical custody of their kids on alternating weeks.

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Alleged Dental Disagreements

According to a May 2025 legal filing obtained by Us, Williams accused Drake-Lee of interfering with Sadie’s dental treatment by allegedly yelling at the orthodontist.

“During our meeting with the children’s orthodontist when we were to discuss, among other things, the doctor’s game plan for treating Sadie’s impacted upper right canine tooth and the growing cyst around her tooth,” the filing read. “Aryn aggressively told the doctor she does not consent to treatment and that she will SUE the doctor if he touches the children. The orthodontist promptly asked us to leave.”

Williams requested that he be “permitted to obtain healthcare treatment for the children without any notice” to Drake-Lee and prohibit her “from interfering with or communicating with the healthcare providers.” He asked that the decision come before the pair’s July 2025 hearing as he was worried about Sadie’s condition.

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