The sister of Tristan Thompson’s ex-girlfriend Jordan Craig has publicly accused him of being an absent father to his and Jordan’s first child, Prince.
For some context, Tristan and Jordan dated from 2014 until 2016. It’s unclear exactly when in 2016 they broke up, but he began dating Khloé Kardashian around September, and Jordan welcomed their now-6-year-old son in December.
In 2019, Jordan claimed in a legal request for child support that Tristan had started dating Khloé while they were still together and that it had caused her to suffer “serious pregnancy complications” as a result of stress.
Khloé ended up denying Jordan’s claim about Tristan, writing on her Instagram stories that the NBA player told her that his and Jordan’s relationship ended “long before” they met. Khloé also said that Tristan went so far as to show her “physical proof” that he and Jordan were no longer together, and that his closest friends, family, and lawyers stated that this was the case too.
Tristan later denied cheating on Jordan as well, claiming that he was “single” when he and Khloé met.
Over the years, Jordan and her innermost circle have remained quiet while Tristan has repeatedly been exposed for cheating on Khloé throughout their on-again, off-again relationship. Most recently, and most shockingly, Tristan admitted to secretly fathering a child with personal trainer Maralee Nichols while he and Khloé were engaged and preparing to welcome their second baby via surrogate.
This means that in addition to Prince, Tristan is dad to two kids with Khloé — 5-year-old True and 1-year-old Tatum — and 1-year-old Theo, whom he shares with Maralee.
While she was pregnant with Theo, Maralee sued Tristan for child-related and pregnancy expenses. Shortly after giving birth, she alleged that the athlete had made no effort to meet the little boy, whom he’s only acknowledged publicly once.
In spite of all this, the latest installment of Hulu’s The Kardashians saw Khloé’s sister Kim Kardashian defending her decision to remain super close with Tristan.
In the episode, Kim described Tristan as “such a good friend” and a “good dad” who was simply unable to be a “faithful boyfriend.”
“It’s so crazy because he’s such a good friend and he’s such a good dad, but he just couldn’t get it together in that area of, like, being a faithful boyfriend,” she said. “You wanna obviously hate him for that. Yeah, of course his actions and who he was, like, so fucked up — I can’t deny that.”
She went on, “We’ve had our talks about it, and we’ve had our fights about it, and we’ve had our arguments about it. But he’s also shown so many decent things and just has been a really good person and friend.”
Kim went on to praise Tristan for showing up for her kids, whom she shares with her ex-husband Kanye West (now known as Ye). “When he saw me struggling with my kids, he stepped up. He started showing up to the games, he picks Saint up, takes him to dinner,” she said.
“And [he] will always come to my defense — especially if it’s stuff with me and my ex. And I just never forgot that,” she added. “So it’s like, I’ll never really throw someone away and act like I don’t feel like they can grow and evolve.”
Several viewers were left shocked by Kim’s remarks and took to social media to criticize her for defending her close friendship with Tristan.
“the fact kim is besties with tristan is disgusting. he’s an employee of that family [...] not a good father. good fathers don’t cheat on the mothers of their children the way tristan has,” one person wrote.
“Just stumbled on the clip of Kim acknowledging Tristan for being a good friend and stepping up for her kids after her split with Kanye. This man did Khloe dirty in several different shades. He doesn’t deserve any public accolade,” someone else added.
More viewers went on to question why Kim — and the rest of the Kardashian/Jenners — are so insistent on painting Tristan as “father of the year” while he refuses to acknowledge his alleged lack of a relationship with his third child, Theo.
“Can someone update us on Tristan’s involvement in Maralee’s sons life? Because Kris and Kim keep going on and on about what a great dad he is,” one person wrote. “How are the Kardashian’s still claiming that Tristan is a great father when he hasn’t acknowledged his 1 year old Son?” another user questioned.
Amid all the backlash, Jordan’s sister Kai ended up entering the conversation herself to speak out on Tristan’s allegedly strained relationship with Prince.
Acknowledging her family’s yearslong silence on Tristan’s actions, Kai began by noting that she’s chosen to speak out now because things have gotten to be “too much.”
“It has been so hard to refrain from speaking up, and out of respect for my sister’s privacy, I haven’t for over 7 years, but this is just too much,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram statement.
“It’s so painful to see how Tristan can find the time to do these nice things for others but can’t seem to show up and be a real parent for my nephew Prince. The fact that he can take other children to school and activities in the same cart, yet never sees or speaks to his own son, unless it’s for a party or planned photo opportunity, is appalling and inexcusable,” she claimed.
Kai then directly called out Kim for choosing to “defend” Tristan’s character despite his controversies.
“@KimKardashian, I don’t want to believe that you are this insensitive to the fact that he literally ignores his children. That’s nice if he’s been a good friend to you, but let’s consider our sisters before taking to global platforms to defend this man’s character,” she wrote.
Then Kai alleged that Tristan has “not paid” child support for Prince “in a very long time,” and that he’s “stopped paying” his school tuition. BuzzFeed has contacted Tristan’s representative for comment on these claims.
“Tristan has not paid that child support in a very long time and has stopped paying Prince’s school tuition. Yet he’s being applauded for picking-up/dropping-off other kids to school/activities. He hasn’t even inquired where Prince goes to school now,” she claimed.
“Despite it all, my sister continues to work multiple jobs as she has since she was 16-years-old, so that Prince will never have to feel a difference. But regardless, stepping up for your son is not all about money it’s about the time spent. @RealTristan13 you are NOT a good father if you can’t be a good father to ALL of your children,” she concluded.
Ever since Kai’s statement was shared, several Instagram users have praised her for speaking out not just against Tristan but also against Kim for publicly praising him.
“Watching that episode they made him seem like some heaven sent father, and Kim claiming he stepped up and became sort of a fatherly figure for Saint. A good dad doesn’t pick and choose,” one comment read. “Well said. Be a father to ALL of your children,” someone else wrote.
