‘Hart of Dixie’ Alum Jaime King Opens Up About Losing Kids After Ex Was Granted Full Custody

Jaime King opened up about losing her kids after her ex-husband, Kyle Newman, was granted full custody, and admitted she was naive about the legal system.

“I just didn’t know when I got married at a young age,” Jaime, 45, said during an appearance on the “Whine Down With Jana Kramer” on Thursday, April 10. “I just didn’t know that the world works like this. I didn’t know that legal systems work like this. And not to sound like some kind of neophyte, but I thought that, you know, when you choose to love someone, then you love that person. You build a family with them, and you trust them.”

She added, “My duty as a mother is to protect my children. And that’s all that matters to me. This is scary. I never wanted my children to think that some, any part of them was wrong. I’m extremely grateful, and at the same time, the system is really unfair. And I think that it’s really important to support the structure of family and kindness.”

Jaime and Kyle, 49, met on the set of the film Fanboys, which he directed, in 2006. They began dating and got married the following year. Kyle and Jaime welcomed two sons, James, 11, and Leo, 9, over the course of their marriage, but in May 2020 the Hart of Dixie alum filed for divorce from Kyle. She requested a temporary restraining order against him and alleged Kyle had abused her, but he denied the allegations.

The former couple settled their divorce three years later, but in October 2024, Kyle petitioned for a restraining order against Jaime that prohibited her from coming near him or their children.

“The children are currently in danger when in their mother’s care. Jaime King is suffering from drug and alcohol addiction and is emotionally abusing and neglecting our children; placing them in danger and exposing them to many disturbing people and situations, including sexual content. The children are begging me to help rescue them from the chaos in their mother’s home,” Kyle wrote in the document obtained by In Touch.

He also accused the Slackers actress of “severe drug and alcohol abuse and has had a major relapse endangering the safety and wellbeing of our children in her custodial care” and claimed that he was aware of two separate Department of Children and Family Services reports made by the children’s therapist and by their school counselor.

“Mr. Newman’s [previous] ex parte requests have been denied in their entirety by the court. The allegations against Jaime are entirely false and intended to cause her harm and garner damaging media attention,” Jaime’s lawyer, Diana D. Hagopian, told In Touch at the time. “It is unfortunate that Mr. Newman continues to utilize the court in an attempt to continue … the filing of unfounded malicious claims and to use the children as weapons and pawns without regard to their privacy.”

In March 2025, Kyle was granted sole physical custody of James and Leo after alleging that the White Chicks star had failed to finish a 26-week parenting course, along with a six-month drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. However, Jaime has yet to address the accusations.