Jeff Lewis Says Ex Accused Him of Bribery Amid Contentious Custody Battle: ‘How Dare You’
Jeff Lewis and Gage Edward are in the midst of a tumultuous custody battle over their three-year-old daughter Monroe, and the harsh words just keep flying.
On Wednesday, Lewis, 50, opened up about his ex on his SiriusXM radio show Jeff Lewis Live, and claimed that his former partner of 10 years had recently accused him of bribery.
“We’ve been in contact for the past couple of weeks and it’s been very civil, friendly. But then, of course, me, I really just want to resolve all these issues and move past this,” the former Flipping Out star began, explaining that he was the one to bring up their custody situation, upsetting their tentative peace.
“I did say, you know, what is it that you want? Just tell me what you want,” Lewis continued. “And he goes, ‘I want fifty percent custody.’”
RELATED: Jeff Lewis Slams Gage Edward After His Ex Breaks Silence on Their Split: 'I Feel Sorry for Him'
Lewis has previously shared that the two are currently working on a permanent custody agreement with their lawyers. Lewis had previously filed a proposed agreement and Edward, 35, countered, demanding equal time with their daughter, as well as requesting to change her name from Monroe Christine Lewis to Monroe Christine Edward Lewis.
Since their split in February 2019, the exes had an informal shared custody arrangement, but when that system broke down, they involved their lawyers. An attempt at mediation to find a permanent arrangement has so far been unsuccessful.
Lewis continued on his show: “I said, 'Okay, but the financial end of things we’ve never talked about before. But now that’s apparently an issue for you, because you told me for a year you didn’t want child support but now you do. What are you looking for?'”
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“So I really was just trying to figure out, what do you want and let me see if I can do that,” the reality TV alum continued, insisting that by offering Edward financial assistance outside of any legal agreement he was trying to “be generous” and “solve all these problems.”
“A couple hours later,” Lewis says, “he sent me a couple of really nasty texts.” According to Lewis, Edward’s messages said, “How dare you try to bribe me?”
Lewis told listeners that he was not trying to bribe Edward, but was instead trying to settle their issues. “This is me trying to mediate,” he says.
Edward told PEOPLE, “I cannot comment on pending litigation.”
RELATED VIDEO: Jeff Lewis Says He's 'Panicked' After His Daughter Monroe, 2, Started Calling Her Nanny 'Mom'
Jeff Lewis Says He's 'Panicked' After His Daughter Monroe, 2, Started Calling Her Nanny 'Mom'
"Her mom sued me, so we’re not going to be meeting mom," he joked on his radio show 'Jeff Lewis Live'
While their relationship has been volatile over the last year, Lewis said later in the same show that he often feels regret over the breakup.
“There have been many times over the past year where I felt like I had feelings for him and I feel like I have regret, and I go through it,” he says. “Especially when we have really nice exchanges and things like that, which I think is normal.”
He continued: “But what happened on that text… It made me realize that this is where I’m supposed to be — not with him.”
RELATED: Jeff Lewis and Boyfriend Scott Anderson Split After a Year of Dating
In addition to the custody battle, Edward also filed a civil lawsuit against Lewis in March, which requested a return payment of $125,000 Edward had loaned Lewis in 2016.
Jeff Lewis Live airs weekdays (12 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy (Ch. 102).
