Who is Jaime King’s filmmaker ex Kyle Newman, who just won sole custody of their children? He’s directed Taylor Swift’s music videos, written 2 books, and shares 2 kids with his current partner Cyn

Mar 19 , 2025

Kyle Newman and Jamie King have been locked in a legal battle for several years since filing for divorce. Photo: Getty Images

Newman, a well-known film producer and director, previously claimed that King had abused drugs and alcohol during her pregnancies, leading to their youngest son needing heart surgery

Jaime King’s ex-husband Kyle Newman has been awarded sole physical custody of their two sons James Knight, 11, and Leo Thames, 9. The former couple, who tied the knot in 2007, have been locked in a custody battle since 2020, when King filed for divorce from the Fanboys director.

Happier times: Kyle Newman and Jaime King at the Los Angeles premiere of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2010. Photo: Getty Images

According to recent court documents obtained by People, Newman has tie-breaking authority over the legal custody of James and Leo. King has also been banned from unsupervised visits with her sons as the former model has yet to complete a court-mandated six-month drug and alcohol programme. The programme includes weekly testing, individual counselling, a 26-week parenting programme, and conjoint counselling with children.

Kyle Newman with his two eldest children, James Knight and Leo Thames. Photo: @kyle_newman/X

In recent filings, Newman claimed that King was struggling with long-term substance abuse and attributed Leo’s congenital heart defect at birth to prenatal drug exposure – King reportedly drank and took opiates during her pregnancies. Newman also accused King of driving under the influence with their children in the car. Documents from earlier in the custody battle also claimed that King lacked the finances for child support.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been tangentially linked to the Barely Lethal actress’s long-term custody battle with Newman. Swift, who’s a long-time friend and confidante of King’s, was named Leo’s godmother in 2015, and in 2016, King revealed that Swift had made a donation to Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai hospital when Leo had to undergo heart surgery as an infant.

So who is Jaime King’s ex-husband, Kyle Newman? Read on to find out.

Kyle Newman is a director and producer

Kyle Newman on the set of a music video he directed for his partner Cyn. Photo: @kyle_newman/X

Newman graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he won the Martin Scorsese Award for excellence in directing, per his IMDB profile.

Since graduating, the 49-year-old has directed films including Fanboys, starring Kristen Bell and Seth Rogen, and Barely Lethal, starring King, Hailee Steinfeld, Jessica Alba, Samuel L. Jackson and Sophie Turner.