The stepmother of the tennis superstars, Lakeisha Williams, reportedly remains in the 'now-crumbling' home after she and her now-estranged husband called it quits in 2017.
- Apr 1, 2022
AceShowbiz - Venus Williams and Serena Williams' stepmother has reportedly filed for bankruptcy. Lakeisha Williams filed the paperwork just days after she asked the court to put on hold divorce proceedings with her estranged husband Richard Williams.
On Thursday, March 31, Daily Mail reported that Lakeisha filed the court documents in a final attempt to keep the home where Richard trained the tennis legends. Richard purchased the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida property in 1995 for $355,000 with Venus and Serena's mom, ex-wife Oracene Price. The home was in foreclosure by 2021 and is due to be auctioned off this year.
To move forward with her filing, Lakeisha must produce more supporting documents by April 8 and will be subjected to questions by Miami mortgage lender David Simon. Responding to Lakeisha's bankruptcy filing, David's lawyer argued, "This is a hotly contested case. A secured creditor has a judgment in foreclosure exceeding half a million dollars on a residential home that the debtor owns." He added, "This is the debtor's second bankruptcy case… if at first you don't succeed try again. But do it fast, and don't provide notice to your adversary!"
A neighbor told the outlet that Lakeisha, who shares her 9-year-old son, Dylan Starr, with Richard, remains in the "now-crumbling" home after she and Richard called it quits in 2017. "It would never be in that condition if Richard was still there. He adored that place," the source shared. "Richard is a wonderful man. I wouldn't hear a word said against him. We were neighbors for many years. Serena and Venus were just kids to me, not superstars."
Lakeisha's bankruptcy filing came after Lakeisha asked a judge to halt the divorce proceedings. As for the reason behind her decision, she argued that their marriage "is not irretrievably broken."
Lakeisha, who tied the knot with Richard in 2009, even claimed that their sex life is still going strong. "The wife believes that the parties have reconciled and have engaged in an active marital life including having regular weekly sexual relations including but not limited to on January 9, 2022 the night before filing this motion," her lawyer, Sara Lawrence, stated.
Richard's name has been in the headlines lately due to him being the focus of the 2021 film "King Richard", starring Will Smith, who shocked Oscars viewers by slapping presenter Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards livecast. Will ultimately won Best Actor for his role in the film which tells how Richard prepared and trained his daughters to be tennis superstars.
