Richard Williams and Lakeisha Graham
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*Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, is moving ahead with his divorce despite his wife claiming they have gotten back together.
According to the New York Post’s Page Six, Williams, 81, filed court documents in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Aug. 21 stating that he wants to move forward with his split from Lakeisha Williams because their marriage is “irretrievably broken.”
“I do not wish to reconcile,” he stated.
Williams’ move came two months after Lakeisha, 44, requested to have their divorce dismissed over a belief that they had reconciled, citing in court documents their “regular weekly sexual relations” as proof.
Lakeisha also claimed in her filing, submitted June 9, that her estranged husband continued to “declare his love and commitment” to her and their family. She further alleged that Richard’s desire for a divorce was the result of “undue influence from third parties” who want to stop what she stands to inherit upon his death. Weeks later, the court stated that it would defer ruling on Richard’s motion to compel Lakeisha into mediation, adding that the two should work out whether they intended to proceed with their dissolution.
Lakeisha also said her estranged husband should undergo a mental competency test.
The couple, who married on Dec. 29, 2010, have been seen in public together with their 11-year-old son, Dylan, but it appears Richard intends only to co-parent rather than stay married. He first filed for divorce from Lakeisha in May 2017 after seven years of marriage. Richard claimed at the time that she had forged his name on a deed transfer and stole his Social Security checks. He also claimed Lakeisha abused alcohol.
“His malicious and fabricated allegations will be completely disproven in court, and they are being alleged for the sole purpose of attempting to deceive the court into not awarding child support and alimony to his child and wife,” Lakeisha’s lawyer, Sandy Becher, told Page Six at the time.
In her counter-petition, Lakeisha claimed Richard exhibited both “hostile” and “abusive” behavior during their marriage.
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