Jesse Williams's Ex Aryn Drake-Lee Just Addressed Their Complicated Divorce
Jesse Williams's ex Aryn Drake-Lee opened up for the first time to People about her split from the Grey's Anatomy actor.
Drake-Lee is channeling the painful experience into a new podcast geared towards empowering other moms called BBSARETRASH (Babies Are Trash).
Two years ago on April 11, 2017, Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams filed for divorce from his wife Aryn Drake-Lee. The couple announced they were calling it quits after five years of marriage, although, according to Williams, they had been in a relationship for a total of 13 years. Following the announcement, Williams and Drake-Lee battled in the press, with outlets covering everything from leaks about custody battles and spousal support, to alleged rumors that Williams cheated with Friday Night Lights alum Minka Kelly.
Amid the messy divorce proceedings, Drake-Lee has finally opened up, sharing her side of the story in a new interview with People. Drake-Lee revealed how she's channeling her painful experience in order to help other moms.
"When the divorce process started I had two nursing babies, and I am the one that ran our household for the 14-and-a-half years that he and I were together in the same house," Drake-Lee told People. "And for our children, and for the creation of the businesses that we built together when I left my career in New York for us to move to California to pursue his, and then as a result built it…I knew, as the one that was really holding it all together, that I didn’t have a lot of room to fall, even though I was falling."
Drake-Lee, who is a former real estate broker, married Williams in September 2012, and they share two young children together, daughter Sadie, 5, and son Maceo, 3. Drake-Lee plans to use her voice (literally) as a form of therapy for other mothers with her new podcast, BBSARETRASH (Babies Are Trash). She hosts the podcast with fellow mom and BFF Trian Long-Smith.
BBSARETRASH's tagline is as bold as its two hosts: "Two liberated mamas smashing the patriarchy one candid conversation around healing through mothering at a time." The first episode premiered on Mother's Day, where the two hosts discussed the realities of giving birth.
"I think a lot of women are still in the place where we’re pretending like we can do everything," Drake-Lee said. "And it’s not realistic, and it’s not holistic, and it’s not sustainable. I want to empower women to find their voice, to take the mask off so that they can really find the connection and the community that they’re seeking."
Drake-Lee admitted during the interview that she never felt comfortable with fame, stating that her values didn't align with the "superficial" nature of Hollywood. This, arguably, could've led to the dissolution of her marriage. But Drake-Lee was adamant about the fact that many of the reports about her relationship were "wrong."
"People believe what they want to believe because it’s easy," she said.
Back in July 2017, Williams addressed the rumors surrounding cheating allegations and his imminent divorce.
"I was in a relationship 13 years, 13 real years, not 5 years, not 7 years-13 years," Williams said on Jay-Z's short film on Tidal called Footnotes for 4:44. "All of a sudden motherf-ers are writing think-pieces that I somehow threw away a 13-year relationship. Like, the most painful experience I’ve had in my life with a person I’ve loved with all of my heart–that I threw a person and my family in the trash because a girl I work with is cute."
Still, Drake-Lee insisted the breakup was a "blessing in disguise."
"I resisted this for the last 10 years, having a public profile, and then I got dragged into it against my will. It was possibly my worst nightmare," she said. "And then it played out, and now I’m better off for it."
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