NBA superstar Jimmy Butler will take his baby drama off the court after agreeing to resolve their differences privately, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The Heat forward, 35, filed papers last month asking a Miami judge to reject his ex-girlfriend Kaitlin Nowak's lawsuit for a babysitter to pay her $10,000 a month.
Butler insisted that the $55,000 she pays her former love each month in child support is more than enough to meet the needs of her three children, Rylee, Brayan and Kian, according to court documents published by DailyMail.com in December. .
But on Friday night Butler, 35, withdrew his motion for temporary relief, stating in a court filing that the couple had instead entered into “ongoing discussions to reach an agreement.”
The six-time All-Star has been the biggest story in the NBA over the past week after he surprised Miami by requesting a trade.
But DailyMail.com revealed that he was also secretly involved in a year-long paternity battle that went unreported because a Miami judge agreed to seal the records.
That changed last month when Butler's attorney filed a scathing court motion asking Nowak, 34, to explain how he spends the “tremendous” sums of money his ex gives him.
The filing further notes Nowak's alleged “refusal” to get a job and adds: “It should be noted that the father and mother were never married.”
Jimmy Butler is taking his baby drama out of court and has agreed to settle his legal battle with ex-girlfriend Kaitlin Nowak privately, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The Miami Heat forward and father of three was seen being a doting father to his son Brayan and daughter Rylee, who appeared as young children in the 2024 Netflix documentary, Starting 5.
“The mother does not have the right to live as if she were married to a National Basketball Association (NBA) player.”
Butler and Nowak began dating in 2019, but kept their relationship largely under wraps even though he is one of the most well-known athletes on the planet.
The couple welcomed their little girl Rylee, now 5, in October 2019, when Butler missed the Heat's first three games of the season to be present for her birth.
Two-year-old Brayan was born in 2022 and both boys appeared as adorable toddlers in Starting 5, a Netflix documentary that follows the lives of five of the best basketball players during the 2023-2024 season.
The birth of Butler's second child, 15-month-old Kian, was only revealed in confidential court documents when Nowak filed a petition in October 2023, just weeks after the child's birth, to establish paternity and child support.
That was around the same time that Butler publicly denied rumors that he was dating Colombian singer Shakira, hailing her as an “incredible human being” and insisting that they were simply friends.
He and Nowak reached a partial agreement in December 2023 that gave Butler joint custody and agreed that he would pay for a babysitter on a “temporary” basis.
The case was declared confidential and remained sealed until she decided, a year later, to request a hearing to challenge the nanny agreement.
Nowak asked a judge last month that Butler pay $10,000 for a babysitter for her three children.
Butler argues that the $55,000 she pays Nowak in monthly child support should be more than enough for her three children, Rylee, five, Brayan, two, and Kian, one.
The six-time All-Star has been the biggest news in the NBA over the past week after he surprised Miami by requesting a trade.
Rylee will attend school later this year and Brayan will enroll in preschool or daycare, thereby “reducing, if not eliminating, the so-called nannying” of his mother, his filing states.
'The mother is unemployed and refuses to look for work. With a child in preschool and a father sharing equal time with the older children, there is no legitimate reason for the mother to insist on having a babysitter and for the father to pay for her.
“The parties have attended mediation in an effort to resolve all outstanding issues, but the mother refuses to give up her demands that the father pay for the babysitter on top of the enormous amount of support she pays,” it says.
Lawyers for Butler, who earned $49 million this year after signing a four-year, $184 million contract extension in 2021, warned they could seek to appoint an independent mediator to examine Nowak's finances. That now seems unlikely to happen after Butler's sudden turnaround.
“The motion containing Mr. Butler's allegations contained therein has been withdrawn,” Nowak's attorney, Paul Leinoff, confirmed to DailyMail.com.
Butler has been with the Heat since 2019 and was the cornerstone of their run to two NBA Finals.
He has a $52 million player option for the 2025-26 season, but appears likely to leave Miami after telling the media last week that he no longer liked playing for the team.
Butler's comments led Heat officials to take the drastic step of suspending him for seven games for criticizing the organization.
Butler's attorneys noted that the children's mother “is unemployed and refuses to seek employment” and argued that a babysitter is not “reasonably necessary.”
With the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaching, he may have played his last game for the South Florida team, which sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
“Through his actions and statements, he has demonstrated that he no longer wants to be a part of this team,” a team statement read.
“Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated that they wish to be transferred, therefore, we will listen to offers.”
Rumors about Butler's future have been circulating since he sold his $8.3 million Coral Gables mansion last summer.
Since then, he's been shelling out about $70,000 a month to rent a palatial oceanfront mansion on Miami Beach's ultra-luxurious Hibiscus Island.
In recent years, Butler has stressed to the media that his children are now his number one priority.
“I always talk about my 'why' and my 'why' are my children,” he told ABC in June 2023.
'Like everything I do now, I want to come home to them. I want to make sure they are safe.