All About Laughs
Keisha Knight Pulliam is getting ready to walk down the aisle again, this time to Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse actor Brad James. Life changed for the two when on a “magical” night, James asked for her hand in marriage and she accepted. It will be the second time that either will go down the aisle.
However, in the midst of preparing for her new journey to becoming “Mrs. James”, the legendary actress is still dealing with issues from being the former Mrs. Ed Hartwell. Keisha Knight Pulliam and the former NFL player met and dated for four months before surprising the public, which included their wedding guests, that they were getting married. New Years Day of 2016 brought the start of their marriage, but within six months it was over.
July of 2016, Pulliam announced that she was pregnant. Two days later, Hartwell announced that he had filed for divorce, which according to the Cosby Show artist, blindsided Pulliam. “Early in my marriage when I was faced with this [cheating], I was ready to leave,” alleges Pulliam in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “I had divorce papers ready… I presented them to him. He begged for another [chance], he said, ‘Please, I want my family.’ He said all of the right things and once I was pregnant I did decide to give him that one last chance.”
Hartwell’s side of the story was noticeably different from hers, citing jealousy amongst other issues. But he mentioned their differences in wanting to have children too soon, telling Page Six that after they got married, “she wanted a baby really fast, and what I was trying to explain to her was that — from my beliefs, from seeing other successful people — that when you first get married, especially since we didn’t have a long courtship, that we should actually focus on each other and not just have a baby. That’s something she really did want to do.”
A paternity test was administered per Hartwell’s request after the baby was born and results proved him to be the father. After their divorce was finalized in 2018, the actress was awarded primary custody. Hartwell was given visitation rights, however, he was ordered to pay $3,007 per month in child support.
The news would then break that reportedly Pulliam requested the judge place her ex-husband behind bars because she claimed he owed over $32,000 in back child support. According to the actress, he received over $9,000 a month in disability from the NFL as well as other miscellaneous income, however continues to default on his end of the bargain. Pulliam also stated that he was an absentee father.
Pulliam can now celebrate victory as the judge ordered that her ex-husband will now have to pay back all that he owes, and then some, although in increments. Court documents reveal that it was arranged for Hartwell to pay his ex-wife $6,588 in August 2020, another $6,588 in the fall of 2020, and $1,000 a month increments.
In addition to his $3k monthly payments, he must pay $28,360 in the Spring of 2021. Failure to do so will result in jail time.
