Judge Denies Robin Thicke’s Request for Unsupervised Visitation As Source Says ‘He Wants to Show He Is a Responsible Dad’
Robin Thicke and Paula Patton‘s ugly custody battle continues.
The exes appeared Tuesday in court, where Thicke’s legal team requested either “no monitor, a change in monitor or a ruling that said the monitor couldn’t make changes to the visitation” with their 6-year-old son Julian, two sources confirm to PEOPLE. The court denied all of his requests.
“Robin wants to spend as much time as possible with Julian, and he was upset because the monitor was trying to cut his visit time short, so his team went and filed to change to a new monitor, which was denied,” says a Thicke source. Last month, an L.A. judge granted Patton sole custody of Julian until their Feb. 24 court date and ordered Thicke to stay away from his son and ex-wife other than for supervised visitation three days a week.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Thicke insists there is “no need for a monitor” because he has “never done anything to harm Julian, and I never would.”
In her response to Thicke’s request, Patton’s legal team asked for Thicke to have only two nonconsecutive visits per week for no more than two hours per visit, but the judge denied her request, according to court documents. However, a source close to the situation says Patton “had to show up but didn’t ask for anything” in court.
“Paula did not have to request that the court grant Robin court-appointed monitored visits with Julian three days a week but did so with the belief that maintaining a relationship with the father in the presence of a monitor to ensure his safety and well-being would be in Julian’s long-term best interest,” says the source close to the situation.
“Stability and structure are of paramount importance for a child in Julian’s emotional state right now,” the source close to the situation continues. “A change in monitor would have disrupted any trust he built and would make him feel even more vulnerable with Robin. That would not have been in anyone’s best interest, including Robin’s, if his goal is to heal his relationship with his son. Continuously trying to change the arrangement or forcing a child to be with you against his will is not a way to repair a relationship and only serves to damage it further.”
The latest square-off comes just days after Thicke, 39, took Julian to Kids World in L.A. An onlooker previously told PEOPLE the father-son duo “enjoyed the time they had together” playing arcade games, riding slides and climbing on the jungle gym. However, the source close to the situation says “the monitor did not make Julian see his father on Friday because Julian didn’t want to go” to the visitation with his dad, and that “Julian asked to go back to his mom after family fun zone.”
In the court documents, Thicke says he “very reluctantly agreed” to end his visit with Julian six hours earlier than expected on Saturday after the monitor “indicated that I really did not have a choice.” In the papers, Thicke states the visit at Kids World was going well until he told Julian he had to have a “decent meal before he ate more candy.” After that, “Julian whispered to the monitor that he wanted to go to his mom’s house,” Thicke says in the papers.
“I am especially concerned that Petitioner and the monitor have empowered our six (6) year old son with the ability to end a custodial period if he does not like a parenting decisions I make,” adds Thicke in the court docs.
In the papers, the monitor says he canceled Friday’s visit because “I felt that we might have made your son feel forced and that we did not listened to him. I felt that having him go to today’s visit may stress him and may cause trauma.” However, Thicke states in the documents that Julian’s “story changed” after going back home to Patton after Thursday’s visit, and that “Julian is either being coached, or telling Petitioner what she wants to hear based on Petitioner’s feeling about Julian spending time with his dad.”
Last month, a judge granted Patton, 41, a temporary restraining order against Thicke, as well as temporary sole custody of Julian after she accused Thicke of domestic violence, infidelity and addiction in explosive court documents.
Thicke’s lawyer Angela Pierce di Donato blasted the legal development at the time, saying: “Infidelity has nothing to do with custody. She is attempting to throw anything at him to hurt him, but Robin’s focus is their son. The Court issued temporary orders today based solely on paperwork. will be closing the physical abuse allegation against Robin as ‘Unfounded.'” (The DCFS investigation is still ongoing).
Another Thicke insider says the “Blurred Lines” singer continues to be focused on his son. “Robin seems to be doing better. He knows he can’t continue to party if he wants to spend time with Julian,” says the insider. “He spent time with Julian over the weekend and says nothing makes him happier. He wants to show the judge that he is a responsible dad who doesn’t need a monitor. To have the best relationship with Julian is all that he wants and cares about.”
A Patton pal insists the actress also only has her son’s best interest at heart. “She will continue to ask for sole custody for as long as she can,” says the pal. “She still wants a monitor present for all the visits and feels that is the only way to fully protect Julian.”
