San Antonio Spurs guard Bryn Forbes is currently battling for custody of his two sons, four and one, who he had with his ex-girlfriend and high school sweetheart.
The 24-year-old former Michigan State star has been battling with his ex-girlfriend Raelynn Taylor for months, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The pair, who were never married, are now in a tense fight before Ingraham County Circuit Judge Janelle Lewis, which will ultimately decide whether the boys stay with their father in Texas or come back to Michigan with Taylor.
Both sides are battling for full custody.
San Antonio Spurs guard Bryn Forbes star has been battling with his ex-girlfriend Raelynn Taylor for months over their two children, Carter, 4, and Leo, 1. He is pictured November 2 in a game against the Golden State Warriors
The pair, who were never married, are now in a tense fight before Ingraham County Circuit Judge Janelle Lewis, which will ultimately decide whether the boys stay with their father in Texas or come back to Michigan with Taylor. Raelynn is pictured with Carter, left, and Leo, right
Taylor, 25, claims Forbes took the children from where they were living with her in Lansing, Michigan, in June after they split up.
She said she didn’t tell Forbes he could take the children with him when he made the move to Texas.
But Forbes, in an emailed statement to the paper, said he was disappointed Taylor is going public about a ‘very private matter.’
He said he decided to fly his children to Texas to live with him because he was concerned about her ‘drinking, depression and parenting skills.’
‘After returning home to San Antonio, our children are again thriving,’ Forbes said in the statement.
‘I am hopeful that Raelynn will begin to focus and resolve her personal issues so that she can become a better parent.’
But Taylor has said that she’s worried that Forbes’ fame and fortune will swing the decision in his favor.
She said she doesn’t make much at the eyeglasses store she works at, while Forbes made a half-million during his rookie year in the NBA in 2016 and will only make more in the coming years.
Additionally, Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Amy Krause is his family friend, and testified as a character witness for him at a hearing.
Taylor’s attorney, Kristina Lyke, said the distraught mother feels like ‘everything is stacked against her.’
‘She doesn’t have a judge to testify on her behalf,’ Lyke told the Free Press.
Taylor started dating Forbes six years ago while he was at Sexton High School.
She said in a November interview that her children Carter and Leo are her ‘life’.
‘My kids have been everything to me,’ she explained.
‘They’re my life. I wake up, and that’s what I do. They come first.’
Taylor has said that she’s worried that Forbes’ fame and fortune will swing the decision in his favor. She said she doesn’t make much at the eyeglasses store she works at, while Forbes made a half-million during his rookie year in the NBA in 2016 and will only make more in the coming years
Carter was born while Forbes was traveling overseas with Cleveland State University’s basketball team in 2013. Forbes said he decided to transfer to Michigan State his final two years so he could be closer to the children. He is pictured in a game against the Miami Heat December 6
Carter was born while Forbes was traveling overseas with Cleveland State University’s basketball team in 2013. Forbes said he decided to transfer to Michigan State his final two years so he could be closer to the children.
Leo was born in 2016 after Forbes sighed with the Spurs. He was living in San Antonio at the time and Taylor said the couple were having problems.
Just after his birth she moved hte fmaily there to be together – but ultimately things didn’t work out.
They broke up in March, and Taylor moved back to Michigan with her sons.
Then in June the couple tried to get back together while Forbes was visiting the boys in Lansing.
At the end of the visit Taylor claims Forbes told her he was taking the boys to see their grandparents, but actually flew them back to San Antonio with him.
His attorney Stuart Shafer says Forbes had ‘every right’ to bring the boys back with him. He filed for custody in June after the visit.
Taylor has attempted to have police return her children to her, but because the pair hadn’t outlined a formal custody agreement for both children wasn’t able to.
She’s visited her children in Texas twice since June, and has them with her for the Christmas Holiday. She says that the pain of being away from her boys for so long is something that Forbes can’t relate to.
‘Bryn’s spent months without seeing the kids,’ she said.
‘This is the norm to him, so maybe he doesn’t feel the hurt I’m going through and the pain.’