Tristan Thompson shared a cryptic message that appeared to reflect his personal struggles in the wake of his paternity scandal.
“Sometimes you don’t realize your own strength until you face your greatest weakness,” the Sacramento Kings player, 30, posted via his Instagram Stories on Friday, January 21. “Hide from your demons and they’ll slowly destroy your potential. Face them and they can potentially become your greatest asset.”
Tristan has been keeping a low profile on social media ever since he confirmed that paternity test results revealed he did indeed father a child with Maralee Nichols on December 1. In an ongoing lawsuit in California, she claimed the child was conceived during his birthday celebrations in March 2021, at which time he and Khloé Kardashian were still together.
“I take full responsibility for my actions,” Tristan wrote in a Story at the time. “Now that paternity has been established, I look forward to amicably raising our son. I sincerely apologize to everyone I’ve hurt or disappointed throughout this ordeal both publicly and privately.”
In his statement, the power forward also took the opportunity to address on-and-off girlfriend Khloé, 37, for the hurt he caused with his actions.
“Khloé, you don’t deserve this,” he wrote. “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. My actions certainly have not lined up with the way I view you.”
Tristan is now a father of three, as the center also shares 3-year-old daughter True with Khloé and 5-year-old son Prince with ex Jordan Craig.
Maralee’s public relations consultant also issued a statement on her behalf following the paternity results in early 2022.
“There was never any doubt that Tristan Thompson was the father of Maralee Nichols’ baby,” Harvey Englander told In Touch on January 4. “Tristan made numerous false and defamatory statements and declarations about Maralee over the past few months, and she is taking his contrite statement today in the context of all of those statements.”
In the wake of his latest indiscretion, Khloé and Tristan have had “short and limited” conversations just to discuss their daughter, an insider told In Touch.
“That’s about as far as it goes,” the source added. “Tristan can’t stop apologizing, but the trust is broken, their relationship is broken.”