Real Housewives Stars Entrenched In Legal Drama Over Kids

Former Real Housewives of Orange County cast member Slade Smiley, arrested last weekend, has issued a statement on his arrest. It turns out everyone was correct that the issue was unpaid child support, over $10,000 worth. Smiley’s son, Grayson has been fighting brain cancer for many years and as a result, an “enormous” amount of unpaid medical bills were at the heart of the issue. Smiley claims he never saw it coming. If you need a cry this morning, check out the site his mother has created detailing Grayson’s fight with unremovable brain tumor: Amazing Gray. You’ll find there is no mention of Slade anywhere. One has to wonder if they would be in this mess if Slade had used some of his time on air to raise awareness (and possibly money) of his son’s condition rather than indulge his fantasy that he is a real music producer. Can you pay for hospital bills with a black AmEX?

Across the country, Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Lisa Wu Hartwell is suing her ex-husband, singer Keith Sweat for full custody and “sole decision making authority” of their two children. The Atlanta Journal Constitution re-printed some of the text of the custody descision handed down back when Keith and Lisa divorced in 2003; it paints Lisa as never being around for the kids,that she spent money on herself “excessively”. and that she “implicitly participated in robbing Father in the presence of the children.”  This may be a reference to when Keith let Lisa borrow 150 grand to make a movie and then sued her when she did not pay him back, forcing her to declare bankruptcy. 

If you’re wondering where these kids were during the first season of Real Housewives of Atlanta, Keith did not allow them to be filmed. Lisa does have visitation rights at the time. if she wins this battle, we can safely assume the kids will become a part of the show. A legal expert posting over at My Family Law doesn’t think the judge will award her custody. They say:

“Based solely on the allegations set forth in the motion to modify custody, I would be very surprised if a judge changed primary physical custody unless it was to institute a shared custody arrangement. And if the relationship between Hartwell and Sweat is so strained that Hartwell doesn’t believe they can agree on major decisions for their children (thus, the request for sole decision-making authority), I would be surprised to see a judge order shared custody”

[Images: Bravo/NBC Universal, Sources: OC Register, Atlanta Journal Constitution]