Maralee Nichols Courtesy of Maralee Nichols/Instagram
Showering her little one with love! Maralee Nichols shared a new photo of her son with Tristan Thompson — which came hours after Khloé Kardashian gushed over the athlete in a birthday tribute.
The fitness model, 31, took to Instagram on Monday, March 13, to share a snap of her cuddling up to her 15-month-old son, Theo. In the photo, Nichols is in bed while holding her sleeping child.
Earlier that day, Kardashian, 38, honored Thompson, 32, on his special day with a tribute.
“@realtristan13 You are truly the best father, brother & uncle. Your love, attention, silly dances, hugs, carpool rides, bed time rituals, the way u show up for them. All of the above means more than you’ll ever know to your family of littles,” the reality star wrote via Instagram alongside photos of the athlete with their daughter True, 4, and their 7-month-old son, whose name has yet to be announced.
The social media upload also included pics with Thompson’s son Prince, 6, whom he shares with ex Jordan Craig. “My birthday wish for u is that u continue to crave change, healing, and transformation. Be strong, be kind, be patient, be free,” Kardashian continued. “Make your soul and your mommy proud. Happy birthday baby daddy.”
Thompson first became a father after Craig, 31, welcomed their son in 2016. Following their split, the Canada native moved on with Kardashian, and they expanded their family with their baby girl in 2018.
After dating on and off, Thompson and the Hulu personality briefly rekindled their romance in 2021. Later that year, news broke that Nichols was suing the NBA player for child support. Thompson, who previously requested genetic testing, acknowledged in January 2022 that he is the father to Nichols’ son.
Khloe Kardashian Matt Baron/Shutterstock
At the time, the professional basketball player issued an apology to his ex-fiancée, writing, “Khloé, you don’t deserve this. 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. I have the utmost respect and love for you. Regardless of what you may think. Again, I am so incredibly sorry.”
Us Weekly confirmed in July 2022 that Thompson and Kardashian were getting ready to expand their family with a second child. Their son was born later that month via surrogate, which was documented on season 2 of The Kardashians.
A source later exclusively told Us that Thompson is focused on helping Kardashian raise their children. “He wants to be present and spend time with the kids and of course Khloé is allowing him to be present in both of the kids’ life,” the insider shared. “He wants to be part of the baby’s life and she wants him to be. When he’s there, he’s a good loving dad. He’s not there all the time though as Khloé primarily has custody.”
