Tyrese Gibson Denies Locking 2-Year-Old Child And Estranged Wife Out Of Their House Amid Divorce
The couple trying to keep things amicable despite behind-the-scenes drama.
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock Tyrese Gibson is denying claims that he kicked his estranged wife and their daughter out of their Georgia home.
Gibson and his second wife Samantha recently announced their separation in a seemingly amicable joint statement on December 30, but behind the scenes, things might not be so civil. In documents filed in September 2020, Samantha alleged Tyrese had cut her off financially and locked her and their 2-year-old daughter Soraya out of their shared home weeks earlier.
Tyrese has responded to the divorce documents by denying the accusations. He is also refusing to concede to Samantha's demands for $20,000 per month in child support, calling the request "unreasonably high."
Who is Tyrese Gibson's wife, Samantha Gibson?
Read on for all the details about Samantha Gibson, her relationship with Tyrese, and their joint statement announcing the "difficult decision" to call it quits after almost 4 years of marriage.
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Samantha Gibson is Tyrese's second wife.
Tyrese Gibson, known mononymously as Tyrese, appeared in television shows and movies like Baby Boy, Four Brothers, The Fast and the Furious series, and the Transformers films.
He's also sold millions of records and has released six solo albums. Prior to meeting Samantha, Tyrese was married to Norma Mitchell from 2007 to 2009, with whom he shares one daughter.
His second wife, Samantha Gibson, gave birth to the couple's first child together in 2018, and while their relationship looked solid from the get-go it looks like it wasn't all plain sailing behind closed doors.
Samantha Gibson is an accomplished social worker.
Gibson fights for children and human trafficking victims, handling cases for the Division of Family and Children Services in Georgia.
She is also an advocate for Project Safe Inc, according to her LinkedIn profile. Lee has built a successful career, living "comfortably on a hefty salary."
She's a New Jersey native.
Gibson is originally from Dayton, New Jersey, and now lives in Athens, Georgia.
She also changed her last name from Lee to Gibson after marrying her husband. However, since announcing their separation, Samantha has taken the name "Gibson" out of her Instagram profile as she enters life as a single woman.
Samantha Gibson has a Master's degree.
Gibson earned her Master's in Social Work from the University of Georgia in 2015 after getting an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the school in 2012.
So, not only is she gorgeous, but she's extremely intelligent, too! And not only that, but she also received her certification in mixology and bartending from the Professional School of Atlanta in 2014.
She changed her name.
Before her marriage to Gibson, she also went by the name Samantha Schwalenberg.
The old name is used in Lee's LinkedIn profile, and also appears in a 2011 article from a University of Georgia school paper, which mentions Lee's participation in the school's Ms. Latin UGA pageant.
Samantha and Tyrese started dating in 2016.
Lee and Gibson met through mutual friends have been together since at least 2016. The couple was first photographed together at an Atlanta charity event in December of 2016, though Gibson later referred to Lee as his "future wife."
The two tied the knot in 2017.
The two wed in a secret ceremony on Valentine's Day 2017. Gibson revealed the marriage in a now-deleted Instagram video, but did not disclose his new wife's identity until later. "TMZ actually got it right!" Gibson captioned an Instagram post after TMZ first reported on Lee's identity.
The couple has one child together.
On October 1, 2018, Lee gave birth to their daughter, Soraya Lee Gibson. Tyrese took to Instagram to announce the birth, but not before he arranged a sexy maternity photoshoot with his wife in July 2018.
Gibson's oldest daughter, Shayla, was born in 2007 during his first marriage to Norma Gibson. The two ended their marriage in 2009, but the former couple were entangled in a contentious custody battle after the actor's ex-wife accused Gibson of abuse.
Fortunately, a judge ultimately denied the ex-wife's request for a permanent restraining order, granting Gibson 50/50 joint custody of his daughter back in November 2017.
Tyrese took to Instagram to announce their split.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Dec. 30, Tyrese released a statement about his and Samantha's relationship status, part of which read:
"We have decided to make a statement of a painful and significant development in our lives. After much thought, consideration, and prayer, We unfortunately have made the difficult decision to officially separate & divorce. Our intention is to remain the best of friends & strong coparents.
We feel incredibly blessed to have found each other and deeply grateful for the 4 years we have been married to each other. Our journey together has been a ride of both ups & downs, but it’s a journey that neither of us would have chosen to take with anyone else.
We truly have so much love & respect for each other. We both have grown tremendously within this relationship; we have shared so many beautiful memories and moments, and we also look forward to see the amazing futures we have ahead of us individually."
Since announcing their split, Samantha has shown love for her ex in an Instagram post wishing him a happy birthday and thanking him for being a supportive dad to their daughter. Looks like these two are still trying to put on a supportive show in public while they work out the terms of their separation.
However, in their divorce petition, Samantha claimed that Tyrese locked her out of their house.
While Tyrese and Samantha announced their divorce at the end of December, court docs revealed that the pair had actually filed for divorce in Sept. of 2020.
In the divorce petition, Samantha claimed that Tyrese cut her off financially and locked her and their two-year-old daughter, Soraya, out of their Georgia home.
Tyrese denied the claims, but alleges that his ex-wife's child support request is too high at $20K per month.
Seems like this "amicable" divorce has taken quite a turn.
Kayla Kibbe is a writer wrapping up her final semester at Connecticut College where she is an English major with a concentration in creative writing. She covers trending celebrity and entertainment news, love and relationships, and astrology.