Is Robin Thicke Having A Meltdown, Or Is Paula Patton Seeking Revenge In Custody Dispute?
Robin Thicke’s ex-wife, Paula Patton, has filed for a change in custody of their son, Julian, following accusations that Robin has been heavy handed with spanking and verbal abuse in recent weeks. According to People, Paula accused Robin of spanking Julian in an abusive manner. Patton’s request to take shared custody away from Thicke was denied by a judge on Thursday.
While Thicke denies any sort of excessive spanking of their 6-year-old son, Paula reportedly stated in court documents that Julian demonstrated it for her and he reported it at school. According to Thicke, the school principal confirmed with him that he filed a report with the Department of Children and Family Services regarding the matter. Robin stated that he hasn’t seen his son in-person since December 31.
Patton also alleged that she had been concerned over Thicke’s drinking and drug use. Robin’s father, Alan Thicke, died suddenly of a ruptured aorta last month and so perhaps the singer had been trying to self-medicate due to his grief. However, according to Paula’s accusation, she has been concerned about Robin’s drug and alcohol use for the past year, not just the past month.
Robin’s response to Paula’s claims paint a different picture. According to Thicke’s court documented rebuttal, he states that he only uses light spanking as a last resort and very rarely to discipline, and that he and Patton had agreed to this form of reprimand for Julian when they were married. Robin also stated that Paula filed the custody motion out of anger in response to the Thickes denying her access to Alan’s funeral.
“Paula did not have a positive relationship with my father and often made negative comments to me about my father (Alan Thicke). As such, she was not welcome at his funeral. It is my belief that Paula only wanted to attend because it would have resulted in additional public exposure for her,” Robin Thicke stated in his legal response, according to USA Today.
Paula, however, following Alan Thicke’s death, appeared to be in mourning for her former father-in-law, posting a tribute on social media.
Paula Patton and Robin Thicke married on June 11, 2005. The two began dating as teenagers and all together spent more than 20-years together before Paula filed for divorce in October of 2014 after accusations of Robin’s infidelity.
Thicke repeatedly denied that unfaithfulness was the reason behind their split. According to Entertainment Tonight, Robin said there were many things that factored into their separation and eventual divorce.
“[Cheating] is not why we’re apart. We’re apart because we just couldn’t be together anymore for a while. There’s a hundred different reasons, there isn’t just one. There’s a long list… I changed, and I got a little too selfish, a little too greedy and little too full of myself,” Thicke said.
While Robin may deny he cheated on Paula, he did eventually confess to having a drug and alcohol problem.
“I was high and drunk every time I did an interview last year,” Thicke told People in 2014. Despite his confession, it took Robin more than a year to enter rehab for his alcohol problem, though Thicke insists he kicked his Vicodin habit in 2014.
The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services is unable to comment on the situation due to privacy laws, so it is unknown whether or not there is an open investigation involving Thicke. According to documents from the couple’s divorce and original custody agreement, Robin is supposed to have Julian overnight every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, meaning father and son should have been reunited today.
Whether or not the allegations are true regarding Thicke’s drug and alcohol use, as well as the alleged physical abuse are true or Robin is right that Paula is just seeking revenge remains to be seen. Hopefully the formerly-happy couple gets it all worked out as well, as Alan Thicke would have on an episode of Growing Pains.
[Featured Image by Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Hyundai.]
