Jesse Williams and his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee‘s unpleasant divorce battle came to an end in October 2020. However, the pair’s legal issues aren’t quite over just yet.
TMZ reported on Monday, April 12, that the “Grey’s Anatomy” star and the real estate broker were both ordered by a judge to take a six-hour high-conflict parenting course. The two are sorting out the details of their tense custody arrangement for their two small children, 5-year-old Maceo and 6-year-old Sadie Williams. As of late, the pair have been sharing joint legal and physical custody, and things haven’t been going well, the media outlet reported.
According to website onlineparentingprograms.com, a “high conflict” course is usually assigned to divorcing, separating, or never-married parents in conflict or contested cases. It’s designed to “teach parents how to manage emotions in order to protect their children during transition and moving forward.”
Before this latest development, Williams had unsuccessfully tried to get the court to change the terms of the former couple’s custody and visitation schedule for their kids. The 39-year-old protested that sharing joint legal and physical custody with Drake-Lee was an issue.
Williams and Drake-Lee tied the knot in September 2012 after meeting in 2007. At the time, Williams was a teacher in New York City. However, after five years of marriage the pair called it quits, with their divorce finalizing three years later.
As part of their separation agreement, Drake-Lee was given the former family house in Los Angeles, and other properties in Oakland, California, and Brooklyn, New York. Williams was also ordered to pay his ex-wife child support totaling $40,000 a month — a $60,000 decrease from what he was initially paying.
Since divorcing, Williams has gone on to date actress Taylour Paige. The two went Instagram official in 2019. During an interview with GQ magazine, the pair opened up about their romance. Williams told the outlet, “I don’t often let things happen to me. But because I had decided I was going to be open, I didn’t pull the brake like I normally would.” He added, “I didn’t try to control, or position, or take a breath, and I just went along for the ride, as scary as that was and has been. She blew in.”