SERENA and Venus Williams’ ailing father “King Richard” has been caring for his 11-year-old son full-time but his family claims his ex is still demanding money from him.
The former tennis coach, 81, has a son, Dylan, known as Junior, with his estranged wife, Lakeisha Graham.
GettySerena’s dad Richard has been struggling to get a divorce since filing in May 2017[/caption]
FacebookLakeisha has never publicly spoken about their split seven years ago[/caption]
His divorce from Graham was dismissed earlier this month after a seven-year court battle in Florida after he missed a deposition and court date.
Richard’s son Chavoita LeSane, 51, told The U.S. Sun it was because he’s “terrified” of legal proceedings due to speech problems caused by multiple strokes.
He spoke to his dad’s attorney and convinced the judge to dismiss the divorce while they figured out the next steps.
But Richard is still desperate to officially break ties with ex-stripper Lakeisha and refile, as Chavoita claims she is still causing problems within the family.
“Every time I turn around she’s doing the dumbest stuff,” he alleged.
“She comes to the house, she uses Junior as a pawn and then he’ll [Richard] end up giving her his card or something.
“It’s his fault to a degree because he allows her to get the card.
“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.’
“It’s better than all the stuff that’s happening. I don’t think it would take them long [in court] because he’s the primary care provider.
MOUNTING DEBT
“He stays with my dad seven days a week. My dad takes him to school, picks him up, my dad would tell you this himself.”
Lakeisha, 45, previously admitted in court documents to forging Richard’s signature to transfer the deed to their $1.4 million family home into her name.
He has been battling to get the house back ever since.
Lakeisha also admitted to selling his 1999 Bluebird Wanderlodge Motor Coach, worth $45,000, according to filings.
She claimed she did so as Richard left her and their son “starving,” which he has denied.
The former dancer has racked up over $600,000 worth of debt in recent years after taking out loans and failing to pay them off, as she continues to fall behind on a repayment plan.
Richard and Lakeisha’s Divorce Timeline
Photo credit: Getty
Richard Williams has been keen to finalize his divorce from Lakeisha Graham for years but their case has dragged out amid a fight over their marital home.
The couple married in 2010 when Lakeisha was 32 and Richard was 69.
Williams is a hands-on father to their young son, Dylan, known as Junior, and has tried to maintain a good relationship with his ex despite the court case.
May 2017
Richard filed for divorce from Lakeisha after seven years of marriage. He claimed in his initial petition that she had forged his name on a deed transfer for their home and stole his Social Security checks.
March 2020
Court documents revealed excerpts from Lakeisha’s testimony, in which she admits to forging her ex’s signature and also selling his 1999 Bluebird Wanderlodge Motor Coach, worth $45,000. But she claimed she did so as he had left her and their son to starve, which his legal team denied.
February 2022
Lakeisha told a judge that her stepdaughter Serena wanted to lock her out of the family home. She claimed a letter from the tennis star’s lawyers “threatened to change the locks” if she did not vacate the property. Her legal team at the time did not respond to requests for comment.
June 2022
Richard filed a $1 million lawsuit against Lakeisha, despite her claiming in court documents they had reconciled and had been sleeping together again, which he later denied.
July 2022
Their home was valued at $1.45 million and was due to be auctioned off, but Lakeisha filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and stalled the sale. The bankruptcy case was dismissed on July 5 but she filed to have it reinstated claiming she had found money for a repayment plan. She was in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt after taking out a huge loan from a hard lender and not paying it back.
January 2023
The U.S. Sun sat down with Richard for a world-exclusive interview in which he accused ex-stripper Lakeisha of “taking everything” and blowing his cash. Asked how he feels about the split, he said, “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.” But he didn’t seem to be getting any closer to finalizing it and his lawsuit was tossed out by a judge.
August 2023
It was revealed Lakeisha was struggling to keep up with her repayment plan as she battled to keep the house, where she was said to be living despite it needing extensive repair work.
April 2024
Richard missed a court date and deposition as he suffers from speech problems due to strokes, and didn’t want to be misunderstood. As a result, he had the case dismissed but plans to refile. Lakeisha has tried for months to stave off the house being sold at auction by filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy three times, but each attempt has failed. The pair’s divorce is expected to resume and play out for months as she continues to live in the rundown home.
She has also filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy multiple times but had a judge dismiss her most recent effort.
Chavoita claims she has continued to take money from Richard, who previously accused her in court documents of cashing his social security checks behind his back.
“She’s been stealing more money out of the account, she does the dumbest stuff in the world,” he alleged.
“She’s still trying to get my dad to pay off that debt, and he said, ‘No way’.
“I want to sue [Lakeisha] because if you go back in the depositions, she said she forged his signature [on the house deed]. She has no morals.
“She’s been buying jewelry in Chicago, $700 at a skating rink, which makes zero sense.
FAMILY CONCERNS
“It’s a business account he and I had, I had to shut it down because I can’t keep paying that.”
The U.S. Sun has made numerous attempts to speak to Lakeisha and her lawyer but received no reply.
Lakeisha’s Instagram features photographs of her young son to celebrate his birthday last year, and snaps of her and Richard as they continue to co-parent.
His son insists they are not romantically involved, despite her previous claim they had been sleeping together again.
Richard first met Lakeisha at a tennis tournament when she was working as a Miami nightclub dancer called “Angel.”
Chavoita previously admitted he had reservations about her, but his father was determined to get into a relationship with her.
“I just know that Lakeisha’s been a thorn in my side,” he previously told The U.S. Sun.
“But in the beginning, my dad was very smitten with Keisha. And she seemed to be very taken with my dad.
“I was thinking he was fully in control of what was going on.
“As far as me learning Lakeisha was a stripper, dancer, or what have you, I never look down on anyone for whatever their profession or life, career, or goals are. It never bothered me.
“The only thing I wanted to make sure of was that they are a great person [for] my dad, that’s all I cared about.”
They married in 2010, years after Richard’s divorce from Serena and Venus’s mom Oracle in 2002.
The U.S. SunRichard and Lakeisha’s disputed property in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she is still living despite forging his signature on the deed[/caption]
John Chapple for The US SunHis son, Chavoita LeSane, is concerned about his dad and wants to sue his stepmom[/caption]