On the move! Maralee Nichols is in awe of son Theo’s latest developmental milestones.
“My baby is walking everywhere now 🥺,” Nichols, 31, wrote via Instagram Story on Thursday, February 2, sharing footage of her son, 13 months, toddling around a child-friendly gym.
The fitness influencer gave birth to Theo — whom she shares with Tristan Thompson — in December 2021 amid a messy court battle regarding the now-toddler’s paternity. Us Weekly confirmed earlier that month that Nichols was suing the Chicago Bulls athlete, 31, for child support after claiming that he fathered her then-unborn child.
Thompson — who was dating ex Khloé Kardashian at the time he first met Nichols — initially denied her claims that Theo was his son. The Canada native eventually confirmed the little one’s paternity in January 2022.
“Today, paternity test results reveal that I fathered a child with Maralee Nichols. I take full responsibility for my actions,” Thompson — who also shares son Prince, 5, with ex Jordan Craig and two children with Kardashian, 38 — wrote via Instagram Story at the time. “Now that paternity has been established I look forward to amicably raising our son. I sincerely apologize to everyone I’ve hurt or disappointed throughout this ordeal both publicly and privately.”
The professional basketball player added an apology message to the Good American cofounder, with whom he shares daughter True, 4, and a son, born in July 2022. “Khloé, you don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you. You don’t deserve the way I have treated you over the years,” Thompson concluded his social media note. “My actions certainly have not lined up with the way I view you. I have the utmost respect and love for you. Regardless of what you may think. Again, I am so incredibly sorry.”
The former Cleveland Cavaliers athlete — who found out in November 2022 that a surrogate was carrying his and Kardashian’s second child — and Nichols eventually reached a paternity settlement last December.
A source previously told Us in June 2022 that Thompson is “very absent” from Theo’s life, noting that the pair have not met in person.
The NBA star’s attorney, however, did confirm to Us that August that Thompson is currently paying monthly child support payments to Nichols.
The fitness model, for her part, has since prioritized raising her baby boy.
“I love caring for my son daily and tending to his needs,” Nichols exclusively told Us in February 2022. “It is so rewarding. I never knew I could love someone so much. He brings such joy into my life and is my greatest blessing.”
She added at the time: “I will do everything in my power to make sure he is provided for. I will be the best mommy I can be. I love playing with him and making him laugh. He has the cutest smile and is always so happy. I also love reading to him and rocking him to sleep. He is so cuddly.”
