Tyrese Speaks On 'Painful Process' Of Paying $1.2 Million In Child Support

Tyrese Gibson currently wants to hold off on marriage after going through a "painful" and costly legal battle with his ex-wife, Samantha Lee. The singer and actor discussed relating to Halle Berry, who opened up about not being ready to jump the broom again after several divorces, during a recent visit on T.D. Jakes' podcast NXT Chapter. Gibson shared that his girlfriend of five years, Zelie Timothy, is often "hinting at marriage," although he experienced a huge financial blow in his divorce from Lee. The ex-spouses share a seven-year-old daughter, Soraya, while the R&B vocalist also has an 18-year-old daughter, Shayla, with his first wife, Norma Mitchell. "You don't know what it's like to wake up, get married, have a prenuptial agreement in place, have the prenup get cracked where you end up paying all of her legal fees and my legal fees," Gibson told Jakes. "And now I'm paying all this money to attorneys trying to protect what I have. Gibson and Lee had several court disputes since announcing their divorce in 2020 after three years of marriage. Last year, Gibson claimed that Lee wanted him to increase child support payments to $40,000 monthly, and in addition to other legal fees, he was on the brink of bankruptcy. And then you realize that somebody marries you and then they said, 'I don't want to be here anymore.' And then they try to take everything that belongs to you with them," he told Jakes. "And it is really a painful process." Elsewhere, the "Lately" artist shared that his court battle with Lee took close to five years. "I lost all of my appeals in the lower courts. Then I lost all of my appeals in the Supreme Courts. And so I had three weeks to cough up almost $1.2 million—that I did not have—to give," he explained. After his grueling divorce proceedings, Gibson announced on Friday (Dec. 26) that the dissolution of his second marriage had been finalized.

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