Inside Jaime King's Messy Divorce
Spring 2020 has been a death knell for celebrity marriages — and not just the whirlwind kind that may or may not be well thought out. The seemingly strongest unions have been hit the hardest. First, it was The Hills alum Kristin Cavallari, who split from ex-NFL player Jay Cutler after seven years of marriage. May their good times forever be memorialized in Very Cavallari reruns. Then came Mary-Kate Olsen's emergency divorce petition, alleging her middle-aged banker husband was trying to force her out of their luxury Manhattan apartment. Apparently, even emergency divorces take longer than a New York minute in these trying times. There's also whatever's happening with Julianne Hough, who's spending an extended time away from her husband Brooks Laich. The tabloid's anonymous sources say it's fine; rumors say it's not. Only time will tell at this point.
As of May, Black Summer actress Jaime King and director Kyle Newman (the guy who made Taylor Swift's video for "Style") are the Spring of Splits' latest casualties. The actress was reportedly the one to pull the trigger after 13 years of marriage as the tabloids swirl with some of the worst kind of break up rumors. The pair share two children, Leo and James, which leads us to believe things are about to get really messy — but what actually happened. Where did they go wrong?
Jaime King and Kyle Newman moved in quickly
Did Jaime King and Kyle Newman have the odds against them from the start? Some reports allege that the couple moved extremely fast — at least when it came to sharing a home. According to InStyle, the couple first met in January 2005 on the set of Fanboys, and it was an instant connection. "We started hanging out all the time. After one week, we were so close," King told the mag in 2010. Things got significantly closer when the pair moved in together "within three months of dating," which King told Baby magazine only officially started after they reconnected six months after she wrapped her scenes for Fanboy. "It was as if I'd never seen him before," she told the outlet, adding, "It was love at first sight. Our destiny."
While King and Newman were quick to abandon their bachelor pads, they hit the next couple milestone at a fairly average pace with an April 2007 engagement. Then they hit the gas again, tying the knot around six months after King said yes, but it seems like she always knew Newman was the one.
"I don't know why, but some part of me was instantly connected to him, and I loved him so much," King told InStyle Wedding (via People). "It was intense. I never thought that would happen to me."
Their wedding was shockingly laid back
Jaime King and Kyle Newman had the type of wedding right out of a fairy tale — the flower girls even rushed the dance floor during the reception and "pretended to be fairies," according to InStyle's wedding profile. As it turns out, it wasn't that hard to pretend. The whole thing was pretty idyllic and surprisingly low-key.
Newman and King ended up tying the knot in November 2007 at Greystone Park in Beverly Hills. According to reports from People and InStyle, it was the same place they had their first date and the same place Newman proposed. "We always knew we wanted to get married there," King told InStyle.
The reception was held outside, and the pair opted for a buffet-style dinner, which is a shockingly laid-back move for an A-list pair. The flower girls were dressed in "wreaths of calla lilies, roses and ribbon." The three-tiered cake, flavored with berry and coconut, was a masterful floral creation that matched King's bouquet. Guests got goodie bags of chocolate, and King walked down the aisle barefoot. By all accounts, it seemed like the perfect, relaxed kick-off to a long marriage.
Jaime King and Kyle Newman almost couldn't have kids
Jaime King and Kyle Newman's marriage wasn't necessarily smooth sailing. The pair dealt with some pretty serious stuff, including heart-wrenching fertility problems. In an interview with Galore, the Hart of Dixie star opened up about how endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome tormented the couple's attempts to build a family. She had "countless miscarriages and almost lost [her] children."
"I thought that because my womb didn't work the way I was taught it should work, I was broken. We are told as women that our great value is to be able to carry life, to carry a child ... But for some reason, those parts don't function for some of us," she told Galore. "When I was told I couldn't carry a child, it crushed me in a way that was so much deeper than I could explain. I felt ashamed that I was suffering every day. I would wake up in pools of blood, and feel ashamed."
The couple did manage to overcome its struggles, and King was able to get pregnant against some tough odds. Though Leo, the exes' youngest, was born with a congenital heart condition, which was a whole different struggle.
Jaime King isolated herself while struggling with severe postpartum depression
Jaime King's path to pregnancy wasn't easy, and it didn't seem to let up when she had a kid either. In her 2017 interview with Galore, the actress revealed that she struggled with "severe postpartum depression" which led her to "isolate" herself as she attempted to forge an identity as a mother.
"I was anxious all the time, I felt like I was unlovable," she told Galore, adding, "I couldn't even think straight. I had to live through an entire pregnancy where I didn't know if my child was going to live or die. I couldn't even process the trauma because I was too busy trying to keep him and myself alive."
Though it's just speculation, this certainly couldn't have been easy on her marriage. Nonetheless, the couple seemed to come out on top. If anything, King's husband may have helped kick-start the healing. Although she didn't name him specifically, King told Galore, "When you're able to really speak and share from the heart, that's when you truly connect with other people, which heals everything. None of this outside stuff matters if we're with the people we love."
At one point, Kyle Newman was Jaime King's 'favorite human'
The problems with Jaime King's marriage seemed to come completely out of left field. Then again, we're just judging by whatever the pair told the press and whatever the paparazzi managed to snap, but as of December 2018, King was still legitimately gushing about her husband to Us Weekly. It seemed like the couple was really putting in the effort to keep the spark alive while raising two sons, who were both under the age of six at the time.
King revealed that the secret to her lasting marriage was personal fulfillment. The pair nurtured the things they each individually loved — be it their separate careers or the friendships. They completely removed the pressure of sharing every last thing with their spouse. "When you're fulfilled as a human being, then you're not just relying on your spouse to give you what it is that you need, which I think is sort of a tendency with a lot of long-term relationships," she told Us Weekly, adding, "And so when you come from a place of fullness, then you're sharing from a place that's really sexy and fun and free."
At the time, King claimed her husband was her "best friend" and "favorite human in the whole world."
Jaime King and Kyle Newman were allegedly living on different coasts for months
Almost a year and a half after Jaime King's glowing Us Weekly interview, rumors of marriage troubles slowly began surfacing in the press. It seems like the tabloids kind of collectively figured out, "Hey, we haven't seen King and Newman together in a while. What happened?" It was a shockingly late realization, but in this case, it turned out to be rather astute since the marriage dissolved just days later.
On May 13, 2020, an alleged source confirmed to Life & Style that Newman and King were "taking some time apart to focus on themselves." The Hart of Dixie actress was reportedly hanging back in Los Angeles, while Newman spent time in Pennsylvania with their kids (we can gather as much from Newman's outdoorsy and decidedly non-LA Instagram posts). "He's been staying with his family for months and is leaning on them for support," the insider said.
At the time of press, Life & Style's source claimed the pair hadn't "filed for divorce" and "everyone is just hoping they can sort things out before it's too late." Five days later, TMZ reported that King pulled the trigger.
Jaime King was quick to remove her wedding ring
Everyone's engagement ring is special, but Jaime King's was really special. The actress went on a wild goose chase just to find it. According to In Style Weddings (via People), the pair opted for the increasingly popular practice of picking out their engagement ring together, and it was meant to be shipped to them the day before they jet set off on a romantic holiday. Unfortunately, they somehow missed the FedEx truck.
King's proposal wasn't a surprise, but she still wanted it to be perfect, which meant the ring had to at least be present. Anxious to be engaged before her vacation, King jumped in her car and chased down FedEx trucks asking them if her ring was on board. Judging by the report, it doesn't seem like she was all that successful, but it was eventually delivered, and the pair took a walk where Newman got down on one knee.
For someone who put in so much effort getting her ring, King was certainly quick to ditch it when things went south. In fact, according to the paparazzi photo agency, Backgrid, King was snapped on May 15, 2020 sans sparker (shown above). That's a full three days before she officially filed the paperwork. In other words, she was done! She was, however, spotted wearing a diamond ring on her middle finger a few days after that. It's unclear if that was her engagement ring or not, but it's a strong public message, either way. Was she flipping the bird to her blessed union?
Jaime King requested a restraining order with her divorce filing
Though Life & Style reported that Jaime King hadn't filed for divorce despite briefly spending time separated, it seems like there was at least some sort of incident that caused her to file so quickly. After all, most people don't just give up a 13-year marriage in a matter of weeks, but there's no way to know because the couple has been so hush-hush. The one thing we do know is that King requested a restraining order.
According to TMZ, there's no information about why she wanted a restraining order, but one report claims it was a "domestic violence prevention order." According to Page Six, it was granted on a temporary basis. Newman is forbidden from contacting his ex and must stay at least 100 yards away from her (which shouldn't be difficult considering they appear to be on separate coasts).
It's important to remember that there are multiple types of restraining orders. According to Forbes, some restraining orders can be used to stop a spouse from changing a beneficiary on an insurance policy, "destroying or hiding an assets," or "changing bank accounts." This reasoning, although speculative, could make sense when you factor in King's reported multi-million dollar net worth, but reports are conflicting. King may have gotten a restraining order to protect her from all of the above. Abuse comes in many forms, and a hearing on the matter is still pending, as of this writing.
Jaime King and Kyle Newman's divorce seems far from amicable
Jaime King and Kyle Newman's split doesn't look amicable in the least. Not only was King gallivanting around town with a diamond ring on her middle finger, it also seems like Newman was totally blindsided. The director was the sole person to go public about the divorce, and it sounds like he didn't agree with the way his ex went about it. He also gave us a major signal that King's restraining order might have some not-so-great allegations behind it. There's no way of knowing now, but it will likely come up when the pair try to figure out custody.
"Kyle was deeply saddened by Jaime's attempt to obtain court orders based solely on false claims without providing him any opportunity to respond," a spokesperson for Newman told Page Six.
Speaking out is an unusual move for the director. The star has kept relatively quiet about his personal life in the 13 years since his marriage to King. Mostly, we've just seen King gushing about her husband to the tabloids, but the tables have turned. As of this writing, she's offered nothing more than an Instagram post of actor Andrew Scott reading the spoken word poem "Everything Is Going To Be All Right," and another asking fans, "How do you protect your energy?" Are these references to her divorce? A source did tell People that King was "distraught," so it makes sense her energy would be a bit drained.
Agreeing on child custody may get messy
The custody battle over Jaime King and Kyle Newman's children is already looking pretty messy. According to People, King filed for "an emergency motion related to custody and visitation," but we don't know her reasoning. All we know is that it came along with her "temporary restraining order" petition — but Newman seems to be flipping the script. According to his camp, King is the one who needs help.
As of this writing, it looks like the kids are in Newman's care. People reports that King's emergency order request was "denied without prejudice." Another report clarified that Newman wasn't specifically granted custody. Rather, the judge took "no action." In a statement to Page Six, the father-of-two threw some thinly-veiled barbs at his estranged wife. A spokesperson for the director told the tabloid that Newman "was extremely pleased that the judge nevertheless permitted their children to remain in his care. Kyle wants nothing but the best for his whole family and hopes that Jaime can find the peace and help she needs."
In the past, King has been open about her struggles with mental health, particularly postpartum depression. It's not like she's had the easiest life, either. According to People, the actress revealed that she was a survivor of childhood sexual abuse in 2016. If Newman's remark was indeed a reference to any of that, it seems like a low blow.
Jaime King wants to handle her divorce away from the press
Things are clearly got ugly right at the beginning of Jaime King and Kyle Newman's divorce. He says she needs help, she — through her restraining order, at least — alleges there's some kind of problematic behavior happening behind the scenes — and Newman claims whatever she's alleging is false. There's only one thing the pair seem to agree on: they want what's best for their kids. To King, this means things should be handled as far away from the press and as far away from the courts as possible.
An anonymous source told People that King was granted her "temporary domestic restraining order," but was hoping "for a private and peaceful resolution without further court proceedings, which would be best for their children." That may be pretty hard if both parties are ready to duke it out for custody. In addition, King is looking for Newman to stop dishing the details to the press. "Jaime strongly believes that their children's lives should not be discussed in the press," the source told the tab.
To be fair, Newman hasn't really spoken out much, although both he and King publicly share a great deal about their kids' lives. Newman's Instagram grid consists mostly of pictures of his sons, and King's, slightly less so, but not by much.