Jaime King was once the star of Hart of Dixie. Now she's lost custody of her children and her home.

In 2018, actor and model Jaime King stepped onto the red carpet at The Incredibles 2 premiere with her four-year-old eldest son, James.

He wore a pink tulle dress with matching ribbons. Jaime didn't comment on his outfit, didn't feel the need to explain it. Instead, she captioned a photo, "I love my baby SO MUCH!!! He chose my lipstick and dress."

It was a quiet but meaningful act — a mother letting her child be exactly who he is, without fanfare.

At the time, King was praised for her parenting and her advocacy for gender-neutral children's fashion. She even launched a clothing line that encouraged kids to wear whatever made them feel most like themselves.

Now, that same mum is in the headlines again. But this time, it's for something far more difficult.

Jaime King and her two children. Image: Instagram

A dark history.

Despite being known for her sparkly Hollywood life and close-knit friendship with Hollywood A-listers such as Taylor Swift (who is the godmother to her youngest son Leo), Jaime King's life hasn't been smooth sailing.

She spent her teenage years modelling, during a time when 'heroin chic' was actually involving, well, heroin.

She traded school life for the high-flying world of modelling, admitting that she was given the drug by a photo assistant at age 14. It soon became her drug of choice.

"Yeah, I was 14," she responded when asked. "I remember being naked as a 14-year-old, 15-year-old, 16-year-old, even at 13 years old, dude, it's — I remember being naked in a bathtub for Italian Vogue when I was not even 14 years old. I remember being given Champagne, and I never knew what to do with that. How could any child know what it is to do with that? You're just trying to get through it, and there's this pervasive terror that if you don't participate, you'll be sent home."

In an effort to fit in, a young Jaime became embroiled in a world she wasn't ready for.

"I got myself into a little trouble," she admitted to The New York Times Magazine. "I was missing planes, I was screwing up jobs."

The death of her partner, Italian photographer David Sorrenti, who she called 'the love of my life', was a wake-up call for the 17-year-old.

So, she embarked on a journey of spiritual growth, reading books like Spiritual Warrior by John-Roger. "It helped my young mind and heart," she said. "Now I'm just following that path."

King left the modelling industry at the top of her game, to pursue a career in acting. It was during this time that she met and married director Kyle Newman. They tied the knot in 2007 and tried to start a family for four years, but struggled due to King's diagnoses of endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

She went through five miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy, five rounds of IVF and 26 rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI) in order to get her beautiful brood of children.

"When I got pregnant, it was the best thing in the whole world. I had never felt so grateful, happy and elated," she told People. 

She welcomed her first son, James Knight, in October 2013. Her second son, Leo Thames, came along in July 2015.

When she welcomed Leo, King and Newman had to face a shocking reality for any parent: a rare heart condition that required open-heart surgery.

"He had a major heart surgery, that was terrifying, and traumatic for us as parents, for our family," she shared to People. "I was wheel-chaired to him every three hours, so I could breastfeed him and take care of him before he went into this huge surgery."

A messy divorce.

King and Newman appeared to be living the high life, but in 2020, King filed for divorce from her husband, simultaneously filing a domestic violence prevention petition, which claimed that Newman was verbally and emotionally abusive, per People.

She added that Newman had told falsehoods about her to the public in order to ruin her reputation.

"I have suffered the most confusing trauma-filled experiences involving emotional manipulation and gaslighting caused by Respondent," her court filing read. "I am afraid of, and feel anxious and sick to my stomach at every encounter with Respondent."  

She was granted a temporary restraining order.

However, Newman has also been very forthcoming since the filing.

He denied her allegations, saying, "I have never laid a hand on Jaime, nor would I."

He also called her a "chronic drug addict and alcoholic who refuses to acknowledge that she has a problem, let alone seek meaningful treatment for such problem."

He didn't stop there, with his allegations becoming even more brutal.

He claimed that "several friends" told him King was drinking and using drugs while pregnant with her second child, Leo. He even went so far as to say that they were told at the 20-week prenatal appointment that the "unborn child was also addicted due to her continued drug use."

"We found out at that same appointment that Leo Thames had a congenital heart defect and would need surgery to survive as soon as he was born," Newman says in his declaration. "I was devastated."

He also alleged that she was "driving under the influence with [their sons] in the car."

"Jaime's addiction predictably devolved as she abandoned her family for the real loves of her life – pills and booze," he said, even claiming she was "having an affair" while working in Canada.

In response, King's rep told People, "This is another vicious, failed attempt of Kyle to continue his abuse of Jaime and manipulate the court system.

"Today Kyle was denied all requests for emergency orders and the judge granted Jaime shared legal custody of their two children. The temporary domestic violence restraining order remains in place to protect Jaime."

A custody battle.

In April 2024, King filed an emergency request to change the spousal support agreements, per People as she lacked "the ability to pay the support". In response, Newman said that she had "been out of compliance with the court's child and spousal support orders for well over a year."

In court filings that year, Newman alleged that King had been "strung out" and "drunk" while caring for their sons — claims King has not publicly addressed.

On March 11, 2025, the Los Angeles County Superior Court gave primary custody of the children to their dad, Newman.

The judge gave King visitation rights, ensuring she could see her sons three times a week in specific hour blocks, under supervision by an approved person, which includes her mother, sister, brother-in-law and Newman's brother Kevin.

People report that an addendum to the ruling shows the supervision was required as King has not completed a six-month drug and alcohol program, along with the required weekly testing, after care, a two-step program, 26 week parenting program, individual counselling and conjoint counselling with the minors when the therapist deems it appropriate.

The order was given nearly five years after King's official divorce filing in May 2020, which was settled in September 2023.

Jaime King and ex-husband, filmmaker Kyle Newman. Image: Getty.

A landlord dispute.

Days after the custody ruling, King was forcibly removed from her rental property in Los Angeles.

According to documents obtained by Page Six, King reportedly owed over US$42,000 in back rent and was locked out of her Hollywood Hills home by the owner. She had been living in the $10,145-per-month property since April 2023, but allegedly stopped making payments in January.

Her landlord accused her of "maliciously remaining" at the residence, but King's lawyer disputed the claim, saying she had been working to repay the rent by taking on acting jobs. He added that the situation had been "blown out of proportion."

"[The landlord] claims that [King] remains on the property maliciously," the amended court docs stated. "This is false. [King] has attempted to raise the funds for the back due rent, but claims unavoidable hardship due to the L.A. wildfires and distracted by active litigation."

Jaime King addresses the media.

Following the publication of the Page Six report, King has spoken out about her two children — and being kicked out of her Los Angeles home.

"The situation with my landlord was resolved privately. It's disappointing — but not surprising — to see someone try to exploit this moment for attention. I am currently focused on what matters most: my children," King said in a statement to Us Weekly.

Image: Instagram.

While King hasn't posted on Instagram since February, her past posts show a mum who was engaged in her children's lives.

In a 2018 interview with People, King reflected on parenting, saying: "Somewhere along the line of 'dos and don'ts,' we relegated children into little boxes that are so restrictive.

"The world decided that boys belong in blue and girls belong in pink, and anything other than that is weird or strange. This collection is vastly important because we want any boy that likes our dresses to rock them."

She has also previously written on Instagram for Mother's Day, "I am incredibly blessed to be your mama. Thank you for choosing me my beautiful babies. May I always hold for you and be the safest space that you know."

Feature image: Instagram