By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-13 18:25:24 | Updated at 2025-01-14 11:42:29
17 hours ago
NBA superstar Jimmy Butler is taking his baby mama drama off court after agreeing to settle their differences in private, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The Heat forward, 35, filed papers last month asking a Miami judge to slap down ex-girlfriend Kaitlin Nowak's demand for a $10,000-per-month nanny.
Butler insisted the $55,000 he pays his former flame every month in child support is more than enough to meet the needs of their three kids Rylee, Brayan, and Kian, according to the court filings published by DailyMail.com in December.
But late Friday Butler, 35, withdrew his motion for temporary relief, indicating in a court filing that the pair had instead entered into 'ongoing settlement discussions.'
The six-time All-Star has been the biggest story in the NBA for the past week after he stunned Miami by requesting a trade.
But DailyMail.com revealed he was also secretly embroiled in year-long paternity battle that went unreported because a Miami judge agreed to seal the records.
That changed last month when Butler's attorney filed a scathing court motion calling on Nowak, 34, to explain how she spends the 'tremendous' sums of money her ex gives her.
The filing further noted Nowak's alleged 'refusal' to get a job - adding: 'It must be pointed out that the father and mother were never married.
Jimmy Butler is taking his baby mama drama off court and has agreed to settle his legal battle with ex-girlfriend Kaitlin Nowak privately, DailyMail.com can reveal
The Miami Heat forward and dad-of-three was seen being a doting dad to son Brayan and daughter Rylee who were featured as toddlers in 2024 Netflix documentary, Starting 5
'Mother is not entitled to live as if she is married to a National Basketball Association (NBA) player.'
Butler and Nowak began dating in 2019 but kept their relationship largely under wraps despite him being one of the best-known athletes on the planet.
The couple welcomed their little girl Rylee, now 5, in October 2019, when Butler missed the first three games of the Heat's season to be present at her birth.
Two-year-old Brayan was born in 2022 and both kids featured as adorable toddlers in Starting 5, a Netflix documentary following the lives of five top basketball players during the 2023-2024 season.
The birth of Butler's second son, Kian, 15 months, was only disclosed in confidential court papers when Nowak launched an October 2023 petition within weeks of the boy's birth to establish paternity and child support.
That was around the same time Butler publicly denied rumors he was dating Colombian singer Shakira, hailing her an 'incredible human being' while insisting they were merely friends.
He and Nowak reached a partial deal in December 2023 which granted Butler shared custody and agreed that he would pay for a nanny on a 'temporary' basis.
The case was declared confidential and remained under seal until he decided, a year later, to seek a hearing challenging the nanny arrangement.
Nowak last month asked a judge to have Butler pay $10,000 for a nanny for their three children
Butler is arguing that the $55,000 he pays Nowak in monthly child support should be more than enough for their three kids Rylee, five, Brayan, two, and one-year-old Kian
The six-time All-Star has been the biggest story in the NBA for the past week after he stunned Miami by requesting a trade
Rylee will attend school later this year and Brayan will be enrolled in preschool or childcare, thereby 'curtailing if not eliminating Mother's 'so-called for a nanny,' his filing states.
'Mother is unemployed and refuses to seek employment. With one child in preschool and father exercising equal timesharing with the older children, there is no legitimate reason for mother to insist both on a nanny and that father pay for that nanny.
'The parties have attended mediation in an effort to resolve all outstanding issues, but mother refuses to waive her demands that father pay for the nanny on top of the tremendous amount of child support he is paying,' it says.
Lawyers for Butler – earning $49million this year after signing a $184million four-year contract extension in 2021 – warned they could seek the appointment of an independent mediator to examine Nowak's finances. That now looks unlikely to happen after Butler's sudden pivot.
'The motion which includes Mr. Butler's allegations contained therein have been withdrawn,' Nowak's lawyer Paul Leinoff confirmed to DailyMail.com.
Butler has been with the Heat since 2019 and was the cornerstone of their march to two NBA finals.
He has a $52million player option for the 2025-26 season but looks likely to leave Miami after he told the media last week he no longer enjoyed playing for the team.
Butler's remarks prompted Heat officials to take the drastic measure of suspending him seven games for criticizing the organization.
Lawyers for Butler noted that the children's mother 'is unemployed and refuses to seek employment' and argued that a nanny is not 'reasonably necessary'
With the February 6 trade deadline looming he may have played his last game for the South Florida outfit, who sit seventh in the Eastern Conference.
'Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team,' a team statement said.
'Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated that they wish to be traded, therefore, we will listen to offers.'
Rumors over Butler's future have been swirling since he sold his $8.3million Coral Gables mansion last summer.
Since then, he's been shelling out a reported $70,000 per month to rent a palatial waterfront mansion on Miami Beach's ultra-lux Hibiscus Island.
In recent years Butler has stressed to the media that his kids are now his number one priority.
'I always talk about my "why",'and my "why" are my kids,' he told ABC in June 2023.
'Like everything I do now, I want to make it home to them. I want to make sure they're safe.'
