Tristan Thompson’s life in the limelight has been filled with controversy — from cheating scandals and paternity claims to high-profile breakups.
Thompson joined the NBA in 2011, but it wasn’t until he started seeing Khloé Kardashian in August 2016 that his personal life became so public.
Thompson’s past relationship with Jordan Craig became a hot topic as news broke in September 2016 of his romance with Kardashian. While Thompson claimed that he and Craig were over way before he was set up with the reality star, Craig’s pregnancy caused speculation about the timing.
At the time, both Thompson and Kardashian denied that they were together while he was still romantically involved with Craig.
However, that wasn’t the only time that Thompson was accused of cheating. In fact, his February 2019 hookup with Jordyn Woods resulted in his first breakup with Kardashian. While the pair, who share daughter True, reconnected in August 2020, Us confirmed in June 2021 that they had again called it quits.
Relationship drama appears to follow Thompson, who has been accused more than once of parenting children with various women. In December 2021, Us exclusively confirmed that Maralee Nichols welcomed a baby whom she claimed was fathered by the Canada native.
The NBA star confirmed in January 2022 that he is the father of Nichols’ son, Theo.
Scroll down to see all of Thompson’s controversial moments:
Thompson split from Craig ahead of their son Prince’s arrival. Us confirmed in September 2016 that the athlete had moved on with Kardashian, three months before he became a first-time father.
Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram
News broke that Thompson had cheated with multiple women while Kardashian was pregnant with their daughter, True. The story spread after photos surfaced that month of the professional basketball player kissing a random woman at a New York City club.
Later that same day, TMZ released never-before-seen footage of Thompson packing on the PDA with two different women while at a hookah bar in Washington, D.C. in October 2017. Amid the scandal, Kardashian gave birth to their daughter on April 12 and chose to remain in a relationship with Thompson.
MEGA
Kardashian spoke out about why she stayed with the NBA star following his infidelities, telling a Twitter fan, “You have no knowledge of what goes on in our household or the enormous rebuilding this takes to even coexist. I’m proud of my strength. I appreciate your opinion and I hope you hold that same opinion to everyone else who has stayed in situations.”
Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock
Craig claimed in court documents that Thompson’s romance with Kardashian caused her stress amid her 2016 pregnancy. In the docs, obtained by Radar Online in June 2019, the blogger alleged that Thompson knew of the pregnancy in April 2016 and began dating the reality star four months later.
“Their relationship went viral and everything took a turn for the worst. Every day several articles were published worldwide mocking my new unfortunate reality and my pregnancy would now become one of the most popular gossip headlines due to the woman Tristan was now publicly dating during my pregnancy,” Craig alleged in the paperwork, which was filed as part of her demand for more child support.
She pointed to the unwarranted scrutiny surrounding on her split from Thompson and the arrival of their son as a source of “negative, unwanted attention and stress into my life, and more critically, into my pregnancy.” Craig claimed: “My obstetrician ordered me to be on bed rest due to high levels of stress that eventually caused me to have serious pregnancy complications.”
Courtesy of Jordan Craig/Instagram
Ten months after Thompson was caught cheating on the Revenge Body host, news broke that he kissed Kylie Jenner’s former BFF Woods at a party. A source exclusively told Us at the time that Kardashian “feels so betrayed” by Thompson’s latest actions.
“This time it hurts even more because the person who it was with is someone who knows very much what Khloé has gone through in the past year. Jordyn is like part of the family,” the insider said. The infidelity led to Kardashian and Thompson breaking up, but they continued to coparent daughter True.
Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram; Shutterstock
The former Boston Celtics player shut down rumors that he was still with ex-girlfriend Craig when he first began seeing Kardashian. “When I met Khloé, I was SINGLE,” he tweeted at the time. “The negative comments that are constantly being directed towards [Khloé] are unnecessary. She does not deserve all this backlash for my wrong doings.”
One month prior, Kardashian explained her side of the story after the timeline of her and Thompson’s relationship was called into question. “MY TRUTH IS: I met Tristan because HE CHOSE to go on a blind date with me. A mutual friend set us up,” the Strong Looks Better Naked author wrote via her Instagram Story in June of that year. “After going on some dates, Tristan told me that he had an ex that was pregnant. Obviously, I was reluctant about us continuing to date or start a relationship.”
Kardashian alleged that Thompson showed her proof that things were over between him and Craig “long before” she met him. “[He] had me on calls with his lawyers to prove his point. His best friends, business associates and even his mother told me, him and his ex were broken up before we met,” she added.
Courtesy of Jordan Craig/Instagram; MEGA; Shutterstock
Thompson filed a libel lawsuit against a woman named Kimberly Alexander after she claimed that he fathered her 4-year-old son. He called her “a wannabe social media influencer and pornographic model/performer who is so desperate to achieve her 15 minutes of fame that she recently fabricated a false claim that [he] is the father of her nearly 5-year-old son,” according to court documents obtained by Us.
The athlete noted that he voluntarily took a paternity test in January 2020, which “conclusively determined that Thompson is not the father of Alexander’s child.” Thompson’s attorney claimed that after receiving the test results, Alexander “refused to accept the results” and accused him and those close to him, including Kardashian of “manipulating the results.” The attorney stated that the allegation was a “malicious lie.”
Courtesy of Tristan Thompson/Instagram
Multiple sources told Us that the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum and the former Cleveland Cavaliers player were back together and talking about expanding their family. “Khloé would love to give daughter True a sibling because she is at the perfect age,” one insider said at the time.
Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock; Photographer Group/MEGA
“I was kinda seeing Tristan before Khloé. Before Khloé or any of them knew he existed. I was seeing him, I had him come to L.A., I brought him to a party Kim [Kardashian] had,” Larsa Pippen claimed during an episode of the “Hollywood Raw” podcast. “I introduced him to all of them. Then a week later, or 10 days later, he started seeing Khloé. Which is fine, I don’t even care. It’s whatever. … I never cared that Khloé was with him after me.”
The Real Housewives of Miami star then denied rumors that she recently had an affair with Thompson following news of his and Khloé’s reconciliation. “I would never do that. That’s not even my personality,” she said. “If they love each other, then God bless. I think when you have a family with someone, it’s really hard to break up.”
A source exclusively told Us later that month, however, that Pippen had no part in Thompson’s introduction to Khloé. “No one remembers Khloé meeting Tristan before [being set up by mutual friend Brandon Jennings] or being introduced to him through Larsa,” the insider said in November 2020. “Larsa was never dating Tristan. They may have gone out in a group or met up, but they did not date.”
MediaPunch/Shutterstock; Brian To/Shutterstock
Us confirmed that the Good American cofounder and Thompson “broke up a few weeks” earlier and that they “remain amicable toward each other and will continue to coparent.” The insider told Us at the time that there was “no drama that broke them up, things just didn’t work out.”
Seth Browarnik/startraksphoto.com
Thompson got into a social media feud with Lamar Odom over their mutual ex, Khloé. After the TV personality shared a photo of herself in a bikini under an outdoor shower, both men left flirty comments via her Instagram page.
“@lamarodom God brought you back the first time. Play if you want, different results 🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️,” the Ontario native clapped back at Odom after he left a series of flame emojis and heat emojis.
The Khloé & Lamar alum — who was married to the former E! personality from 2009 to 2013 before they split — then seemingly threw shade at Thompson. He retweeted a video with the caption, “NBA Twitter watching Tristan Thompson pretend to act tough on Lamar Odom.”
Odom addressed the controversy during an appearance on “The Megan Promer Show” later that month, saying, “He don’t really know me, so that could have really turned ugly.” He went on to explain why he chose not to escalate things further, adding, “He’s a Black man [and] he’s in the NBA, so we’re fraternity brothers at the end of the day. I’ll just leave it there.”
MediaPunch/Shutterstock; Courtesy Tristan Thompson/Instagram
Thompson confirmed that he after taking a paternity test, he is the father of Nichols’ son. In his statement, shared via Instagram Story, he also apologized to Kardashian, writing, “You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you.”
Diggzy/Jesal/Shutterstock
Kardashian revealed that she was completely blindsided by Thompson’s paternity scandal during a June 2022 episode of Hulu’s The Kardashians. “I find out what Tristan is doing with the rest of the world. A courtesy would be not doing it. But fine, if you do it, you are not even going to give me a f–king heads-up before the rest of the world?” she told the cameras. “It is just an additional slap in my face. It is humiliating. I am embarrassed. I would prefer to be alone than to be around people.”
That same month, a source exclusively told Us that the power forward had “no immediate plans” to meet the son he shares with Nichols. “Tristan is very absent from Theo’s life. He hasn’t met Theo nor has he initiated any meetings,” the insider said, adding that Thompson “hasn’t been in communication with Maralee and hasn’t sent her any money for child support to date. This aspect hasn’t legally been resolved yet.”
Frank Micelotta/Shutterstock
Us confirmed in July 2022 that Thompson and Kardashian are expecting their second child together with the help of a gestational carrier. The child was conceived in November 2021, just one month before Nichols gave birth to Theo. “[Tristan] went through finding a surrogate and all that while he was cheating on [Khloé] and that’s unforgivable to her,” a source told Us about the pair’s strained relationship. “There’s no place in her mind that wants to take Tristan back, she is really done with him romantically this time.”
Just days after the news broke, Thompson was spotted holding hands with a mystery woman while on vacation in Greece.
Papadakis Press/MEGA
Us confirmed that Thompson and Kardashian welcomed their second child via surrogate. “Both baby and mother are very happy and healthy,” an insider told Us at the time. “Khloé is so thrilled to expand her family.”
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TMZ reported that Thompson reached a child support settlement with Nichols. The athlete, who covered some of the model’s legal fees, will pay Nichols $9,500 monthly.
Shortly after news broke of the development, Thompson shared a cryptic quote via his Instagram Story. “In life you will face a lot of Circuses. You will pay for your failures. But, if you persevere, if you let those failures teach you and strengthen you, then you will be prepared to handle life’s toughest moments,” the excerpt read.
Brian To/Shutterstock
After being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023, Thompson returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2023-2024 NBA season. He was suspended in January 2024 for 25 games without pay after he violated the NBA’s anti-drug program. Thompson tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs Ibutamoren and SARM LGD-4033.
Joseph Okpako/WireImage
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