Baby No. 3 is officially on the way—but who is Maralee Nichols, Tristan Thompson’s baby mama? First, we know that Nichols is yet another woman with whom the NBA player had an affair during his relationship with Khloé Kardashian. So, how did their affair begin?

According to paternity court documents obtained by the Daily Mail in December 2021, Nichols is a 31-year-old personal trainer and former friend of Tristan’s from Houston, Texas. In photos published by the site—which you can view here—Nichols appears to be heavily pregnant. The personal trainer claims she conceived her baby, a boy, with Tristan in March 2021 during what was a “months” long affair with the Sacramento Kings player, which would mean the alleged affair took place while Tristan was still dating Khloé. The basketball player already shares daughter True Thompson with the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star. He is also a father to Prince Thompson, his son with ex Jordan Craig.

According to Nichols, their affair began at least “five months” before Tristan’s 30th birthday in March 2021 and continued even after she got pregnant. Yet Tristan claims that he and Nichols only had sex twice during an encounter at a Houston hotel on his birthday weekend. In court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Tristan writes in part, “When we got to my hotel room, we immediately had sexual intercourse.”

“After we had sexual intercourse, Petitioner specifically asked me if she could spend the night because it was my ‘special birthday’ as she called it,” Tristan continued. “I told her I had to get up early in the morning but she said it would not be an issue for her. After we had sexual intercourse, we went to bed. We were both naked sleeping with one another.” The basketball star went on to note that they had sex one more time the following morning. “Before I left the hotel, we had sexual intercourse again in the morning.”

Nichols launched her paternity suit against Tristan in June 2021 in Los Angeles shortly after relocating from Houston, Texas. In her filing, Nichols is requesting child support, including reimbursement and payment for pregnancy-related medical expenses and costs such as prenatal vitamins, newborn clothing, formula, diapers and her birthing doula. Tristan, for his part, has not confirmed nor denied being the baby’s father, but has requested a paternity test to be administered once the child is born. The Canadian athlete also wants the case moved to Texas where the alleged affair took place, so as to limit the amount of child support Nichols could be awarded.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians is available to stream on Peacock.

Strong Looks Better Naked 

Image: Courtesy of Regan Arts.

For more about Khloé Kardashian, check out her 2015 memoir, Strong Looks Better Naked. In the New York Times bestseller, Khloé shares her secrets for finding strength in her body, mind and heart and opens up about her own struggles with her weight and self-image in a “culture that worships skinny.” Along with Khloé’s personal story, the book also features practical advice, recipes and personal anecdotes from Khloé’s life to inspire the reader to “create strength, confidence and true beauty in every facet of your life.” As Khloé writes in Strong Looks Better Naked, “There is no such thing as perfect. Nobody attains perfection. But if you keep trying, you grow and evolve, and to me that’s the point: To be a better person today than I was yesterday; to become the best possible version of myself.”

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