Maralee Nichols’ road to motherhood! The fitness model shared stunning glimpses of her baby bump ahead of welcoming her and Tristan Thompson’s son in December 2021.
The professional basketball player was already the father of two — son Prince and daughter True — and dating on-again, off-again girlfriend Khloé Kardashian when he conceived a baby boy with the Texas native in March 2021.
“I met Tristan in 2020 at a party at his home in Encino, California. He told me he was single and coparenting,” Nichols claimed in a statement nine months later. “I would never have gotten involved with Tristan if I thought he was in a relationship.”
The new mom went on to say in December 2021 that she allegedly “communicated daily” with the athlete, adding that she saw the Canada native “several times” every month.
“Despite the challenges that I know I would have as a single mother and Tristan’s reaction to my pregnancy, I told Tristan I would be having the baby,” Nichols told Us at the time. “I do not want any further media attention, nor do I want a romantic relationship with Tristan. My goal is to raise our son in a safe, healthy, loving and private environment.”
Court docs revealed that same month that the former personal trainer had sued Thompson for child support in June 2021. The Sacramento Kings player confirmed his paternity one month after Nichols gave birth.
“Today, paternity test results reveal that I fathered a child with Maralee Nichols. I take full responsibility for my actions. Now that paternity has been established, I look forward to amicably raising our son,” the power forward wrote via Instagram Stories in January 2022 before going on to apologize to Kardashian.
“Khloé, you don’t deserve this,” Thompson added. “You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you. You don’t deserve the way I have treated you over the years,” he shared. “My actions certainly have not lined up with the way I view you. I have the utmost respect and love for you. Regardless of what you may think. Again, I am so incredibly sorry.”
The former Cleveland Cavaliers player began dating the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum in 2016, and Thompson cheated on her two previous times — once while the reality star was pregnant with their daughter in 2018 and again the following year with Kylie Jenner‘s then-best friend Jordyn Woods.
Keep scrolling to revisit Nichols’ baby bump photos.