Jesse Williams & Ex-Wife Ordered To Mediate Their Custody Battle

The custody drama between Jesse Williams and his ex-wife, Aryn Drake-Lee, continues with the court ordering them to resolve their differences.

The “Grey’s Anatomy” star and his former lover have been butting heads in court for years, before and after they settled their divorce in 2019. The actor has been pushing for equal timeshare with their two kids while accusing his ex of stirring up trouble.

Jesse Williams’ efforts to obtain a better child custody agreement with Aryn Drake-Lee began in September when he implored the court to alleviate his concerns. However, his ex-wife fired back with a plea to dismiss his request, claiming he tried forcing her into accepting his demands.

According to legal documents, the court ordered Williams and Drake-Lee to resolve their differences through meditation. They were told to reach an agreement about their child custody arrangement by themselves or appear for a video conference on March 10, 2025.

The exes share two children, a daughter named Sadie and a son named Maceo. Williams and Drake-Lee previously agreed to a child custody schedule that involved the kids spending two overnight visits with the actor when school was in session. However, he was displeased with the arrangement.

In September, the TV personality aired his grievances in a lengthy declaration to the court, stressing that he needed more time with his children.

He explained that he tried to make the old system work by moving closer to his ex-wife. However, according to In Touch, the number of transitions was “unnecessarily challenging” for the kids.

Besides the custody arrangement being a hassle for the kids, Williams noted it led to “unnecessary interactions” between him and Drake-Lee. To solve these problems, he asked for 50/50 custody, arguing that he deserved to spend equal time with the kids. In his words:

“The children and I are crazy about each other, and we have a deeply loving, active, and closely bonded relationship. There is absolutely no reason why Aryn should have more custodial time with the children than me.”

Another reason he wanted to modify the child custody arrangement was his ex-wife’s new boyfriend. Williams explained that she told him about her lover in April, revealing that he had been introduced to their kids and that she would add him to the school’s pick-up list.

Williams implored the court to force Drake-Lee to spill everything about her new boyfriend, noting she refused to answer his questions. “I have no interest in Aryn’s personal life; I care about my children’s safety,” he explained.

“They’re too young to have phones, and I should have his contact information/the other information required by the judgment,” Williams argued. However, his ex-wife shut down his request, claiming he was “out of bounds” for demanding additional information that wasn’t ordered.

Drake-Lee noted she was not obligated to give him any information when he did not share details related to his personal life. As for their child custody arrangement, she claimed the movie producer enjoyed threatening her with legal action, with her allegations reading:

“[Jesse] uses his attorneys to bully [Aryn], regularly makes threats to take [Aryn] to court if she doesn’t comply with his demands, usually ungrounded and riddled with lies.”

During his efforts to obtain a better child custody arrangement, The Blast reported that Williams had accused Drake-Lee of interfering whenever he tried bonding with their kids. He claimed she consistently blocked his FaceTime calls and prevented the children from attending the activities he had organized.

The list continued with the entertainer alleging Drake-Lee manipulated their vacation schedules to limit his time with their kids. “Causing drama and trying to fracture our children’s experiences with me is far more important to Aryn than their peace, health, and happiness,” Williams claimed.

The actor’s desire to spend equal time with his kids came two years after he requested a reduction in his monthly child support bills. He explained that coughing up $40,000 was no longer feasible, especially with his 2021 exit from the beloved ABC medical drama.

According to Williams, the popular medical series was his primary source of income, and without it, he could no longer maintain the $40,000 child support bill. While on the show, he reportedly earned $6.2 million annually and collected $183,000 in residuals.

Following his departure, Williams claimed he experienced a significant drop in his income and asked for the support bills to be reduced to something he could afford. Additionally, he argued that his children did not need $40,000 monthly to cater to their needs, noting:

“Our children’s lifestyle was/is in no way reflective of the $40,000 per month in child support. Our children have a modest lifestyle. They do not have expensive hobbies or attend expensive camps.”

Will Jesse Williams and his ex-wife come to a favorable agreement about their children’s custody arrangement?