Jesse Williams’ ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee says she shouldn’t have to get a job just because he quit his high-paying acting gig.
Aryn responded to Jesse’s plea to lower his $40,000 in monthly child support. She told a judge her children shouldn’t have to live like paupers after Jesse chose to walk away from his lucrative job on Grey’s Anatomy.
According to court documents obtained by Radar Online, Aryn said she believes her ex has the necessary funds to continue paying her their agreed-upon support of $40K a month.
A judge previously ruled that the actor had to pay his ex-wife $50,000 per month in both spousal and child support, adding up to a total of $100,000 per month! The judge cited Jesse’s “extraordinarily high” monthly salary of $521,000 as a reason for his ruling, according to DailyMail.com.
After finalizing their divorce in 2020, the couple agreed he would pay $40,000 a month in child support and she would keep the house.
They managed to co-parent amicably over the next few years. However, earlier this year, Aryn filed a motion asking a judge to strip Jesse of joint custody because he was “behaving erratically” around their kids. She claims he fired their nanny without consulting her first.
Jesse countered, saying Aryn refused to work with him and he denied acting erratically.
In his motion to reduce his child support, Jesse said he decided to leave Grey’s Anatomy so he could grow as an artist. He is currently starring in a Broadway play, Take Me Out, but his salary is only $1,668 per week — a mere pittance of his Grey’s Anatomy paychecks.
The actor told the judge he is struggling to make ends meet after the drastic reduction in his paycheck.
“I am requesting the Court reduce the child support to a reasonable amount I can afford given the significant reduction in my income and the now fluctuating nature of my income. The child support should also be reflective of our two young children’s actual lifestyle and not some exorbitant/imagined version.”
Jesse suggested Aryn get a job to help support herself and their children. He noted Aryn previously earned a nice living working as a real estate agent in New York.
Aryn responded, saying “[Jesse] left a favorable, coveted, high-paying position on a successful T.V. show, in pursuit of his ‘own path,’ and now seeks to shed his family responsibilities.”
Her lawyer accused Jesse of placing his needs above the needs of their children.
“In his Request, [Jesse] mentions [Aryn’s] education and prior earnings as a real estate agent,” the lawyer wrote.
“However, he fails to mention that [Aryn] gave up her thriving career in New York for him more than 13 years ago, to relocate to California to support and focus on building his acting career and businesses. Her ‘income’ during the marriage as his unofficial manager, is comparable to her income now.”
