Jaime King has broken her silence after losing custody of her children and being forced to move out of her Los Angeles home for failing to pay rent.

The Ocean’s 8 actress, whose son Leo is Taylor Swift’s godson, was sued by her landlord Sheila Irani over unpaid rent in January. Legal documents claimed she owed approximately $42,580 in back rent.

“The situation with my landlord was resolved privately,” she told Us Weekly on Monday (March 24). “It’s disappointing—but not surprising—to see someone try to exploit this moment for attention.”

She added: “I am currently focused on what matters most: my children.”

Actress and former model Jaime King handed over the keys to her rental home after being sued by her landlord

Image credits: jaime_king

Jaime signed her lease for the home in April 2023, with a rent price of $10,145 per month. According to the filing, she had “not paid [her landlord] any money, whatsoever” since January.

The landlord’s complaint for breach of contract stated she had locked the 45-year-old out of the property until payment was settled. 

She further alleged that Jaime had been “maliciously” remaining on the property as an unlawful detainer. 

Jaime’s attorneys denied the allegations in an amended court motion, claiming she had been taking acting jobs to pay her rent.

Jaime chose Taylor Swift as the godmother to her son Leo Thames in 2015

Image credits: Charley Gallay/Getty Images

“This is false. [Jaime] has attempted to raise the funds for the back due rent, but claims unavoidable hardship due to the L.A. wildfires and distracted by active litigation,” the legal documents state, as per Us Weekly.

Additionally, Jaime’s lawyers stated that the actress acknowledges that her delay in meeting the March 22 move-out date would cause her landlord “significant and incalculable damages,” including the inability to rent the property to a new tenant.

As a result, she has reportedly agreed to pay the additional sum of $1,000 per day for each day or part of a day as holdover rent. The agreement reportedly stipulates that Jaime must vacate the property by Saturday.

Image credits: Jerod Harris/Getty Images

“[Jaime] has expressed to [her landlord] multiple times that she desires to pay the past due rent and vacate the premises prior to the end of the lease,” the documents read.

“She has been acting in good faith to raise the funds to due [sic] so, however suffered continued setbacks.”

These setbacks included the Los Angeles wildfires, which “came within 800 feet of her home, forcing her to flee” the property, and “litigation concerning the custody of her children.”

Jaime lost custody of her boys, Leo and James, after failing to complete a six-month rehab program

Image credits: jaime_king

Jaime’s lawyers noted: “[The custody battle] has been extremely stressful and distracting from her work, which [Jaime] is fully aware of in that an eviction would be detrimental to [Jaime’s] custody matter.”

The Hart of Dixie alum shares two sons with her ex-husband, filmmaker Kyle Newman: 9-year-old Leo and 11-year-old James.

Earlier this month, Kyle was granted sole physical custody of both boys after Jaime allegedly failed to complete a six-month rehabilitation program to treat her substance abuse, and a 26-week parenting course.

Image credits: taylorswift

Judges consider many factors when granting custody to one parent over the other, explained attorney Megan Green of FMBK Law—one of the largest family law practices in California—to Bored Panda.

“To determine the best interest of the child, the court must consider the health, safety, and welfare of the child, a history of ab*se by either parent against the child or other parent, and the nature and amount of contact with both parents,” Green noted.

The court also considers “the habitual or continual illegal use of controlled substances, alc*hol, and/or prescribed substances by either parent.”

The mom of two is “devastated” by the ruling, which her family hopes serves as a “wake-up call” to seek help

Image credits: taylorswift

If the child is 14 years of age or older and wishes to address the court, the court shall consider the child’s opinion unless the court determines it is not in the child’s best interest.

“In addition to the age of the child, there are other criteria that may cause the judicial officer to not place great importance on the child’s preference,” said the certified family law specialist.

“For example, if the judicial officer believes that one parent is alienating the child against the other parent or engaging in gatekeeping, they may not place great importance on the child’s preference.”

Image credits: jaime_king

“There are several ways the court can obtain the preference of a minor, including, but not limited to, hearing from the child directly in chambers, on the record; through a minor’s interview; and through a child custody evaluation.”

A judge has ruled that Jaime is only allowed to spend four hours a week with her children, and all time spent with them must be supervised.

She is reportedly permitted to video call the boys on non-visitation days, but the calls should not exceed 20 minutes.

Jaime is only allowed to see the boys 4 hours a week and have 20-minute video calls with them

Image credits: jaime_king

Image credits: kyle_newman

A source close to Jaime spoke with The Sun about how she’s handling her family and financial issues. They said: “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 insider said, adding that the star is “shattered” after losing custody of her sons.

The Hart of Dixie star filed for divorce from Kyle Newman in 2020 after 14 years of marriage

Image credits: kyle_newman

A source alleged to The Sun that Jaime is “devastated and embarrassed” by the custody ruling, and her loved ones hope this is the “tough wakeup call” she needs to seek help.

According to the outlet, Jaime has already handed over the keys to the rental property and moved into a smaller space this month.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home is now rented to new tenants for  $11,900 per month.

People hope that the actress can get sober and continue spending time with her children

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