Judge Dismisses Serena And Venus Father's Richard Williams’ Divorce Petition, Still Legally Married To Ex-Stripper
Richard Williams' divorce was reportedly thrown out by a Florida judge last week, leaving him still legally married to his third wife, Lakeisha Graham Williams.
Judge James Martz dismissed his case after he failed to make a recent court appearance, according to 'The U.S. Sun,' after a seven-year-long court battle. The 82-year-old fathered a son, Dylan, known as Junior, with his estranged wife, a former dancer.
Chavoita LeSane, "King Richard's" son, told the outlet he missed court proceedings because he was "terrified" due to his speech problems caused by multiple strokes.
"It wasn't just court," added LeSane, "He was supposed to show up for his deposition. I had to talk to the attorney and say, 'He's not gonna make it.' It was terrible."
"Every time I turn around she's [Graham] doing the dumbest stuff," he alleged.
"[Graham] comes to the house, she uses Junior as a pawn and then he'll [Richard] end up giving her his card or something," LeSane, 51, alleged. "It's his fault to a degree because he allows her to get the card."
He continued: "I tell him, 'Okay, if she says you can't see Junior then you just can't see Junior for a while, and we will go through the courts and deal with it.' "
Graham, 45, previously admitted in court documents to forging the former tennis coach's signature to transfer the deed to their $1.4 million family home into her name. She reportedly admitted to selling his 1999 Bluebird Wanderlodge Motor Coach — worth $45,000 — and racking up over $600,000 worth of debt.
The couple married in 2010 when Lakeisha was 32 and Richard was 69.
"I just want a divorce. It's been six years, man. Just a bunch of junk, junk, junk. [I'm] so tired of that junk now," Williams told the Sun in January 2023.
The Louisiana native filed for divorce from Lakeisha after seven years of marriage in 2010.
Richard Williams is the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams.
Williams began teaching his daughters how to play the sport when they were four and a half years old, taking them to practice on public tennis courts. The siblings would go on to trailblaze the sport with multiple titles, including grand slam tournaments. Serena, 42, won the US Open in 1999 and her big sister Venus, 43, won the 2000 Wimbledon title, to name a few.
The lives of the trio were depicted in 'King Richard' (2021) where Will Smith played the patriarch.
It was named one of the ten best films of the year by the American Film Institute and earned six nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Actor for Smith.
