SERENA Williams’ dad and family are “battening down the hatches” as her crumbling 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood home could be affected by Hurricane Milton, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal.
The star’s father, known as “King Richard,” and his wife Lakeisa Williams fought for years over the house in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Richard Williams is seen at the Sony Open Tennis tournament in 2014 in Key Biscayne, FloridaCredit: Getty
Serena Williams attends The Prelude to The Paris Games 2024 in JulyCredit: Getty
This dilapidated pad was at the center of a years-long legal battle involving Lakeisha and Richard WilliamsCredit: The U.S. Sun
After reconciling and calling off their divorce earlier this year, they ended up selling the home to a man linked to Lakesiha as they wanted to “keep it in the family.”
But the home needs extensive work and could end up destroyed if it’s in the path of the Category Four hurricane heading to the Sunshine State this week.
Richard, 82, and Lakeisha, 45, are now said to be living together at a four-bedroom property just minutes away.
According to documents seen by The U.S. Sun, the one-story home is listed in Serena’s name and was bought for $815,000 in June 2015.
Richard’s son, Chavoita LeSane, said the entire family is preparing for the hurricane to make sure their houses are not badly affected by the storm.
He said, “We’re battening everything down. We are okay. We are close, he [Richard] is okay, just spoke with him. We are prepared.”
Serena herself also lives in a mansion in Palm Beach with her husband Alexis Ohanian and their two young 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren.
All of South Florida, including Palm Beach County, is currently under a tropical storm warning, even though the hurricane may not directly pass through the area.
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According to the Palm Beach Post, sustained winds in the county could reach up to 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph.
The Mayor’s Office for the City of West Palm Beach said on Tuesday it is taking measures to ensure storm and water management systems are ready for possibly heavy rains.
They said, “At this time, we are not expecting hurricane conditions within the City of West Palm Beach areas; however, residents should prepare for significant rainfall and potentially tropical storm winds later this week. Impacts could include a major rain event of up to 10 inches that will result in localized flooding.”
Palm Beach County leaders later issued evacuation orders Tuesday for residents in some areas and five general population shelters have been opened.
According to reports, residents need to evacuate if they live in a manufactured home, a home of substandard construction, or a home prone to severe flooding.
The old home Richard once owned is thought to be empty and in terrible condition, although some of the roof has been fixed, according to his son.
Lakeisha admitted to forging Richard’s signature and had the property transferred to her before taking out a loan with a lender, David Simon, according to court documents.
She was unable to pay back the loan which almost saw the house auctioned off in a messy legal battle over around $436,000 she owed to Simon.
The house was saved from foreclosure at the last minute by a mystery purchaser, who bought the property for $1.2 million just days before a court-ordered auction.
This meant that Lakeisha’s debt was paid off – and she is even believed to have made nearly $500,000 profit from the sale.
According to public records, the buyer is a company set up in June last year called Hardy Firm LLC.
The only named agent or director listed for the company is a man named Darrious Christian of Fort Lauderdale, who is linked to Lakeisha.
It is not known what will happen to the house now, but Chavoita previously said it was in good hands and they didn’t want to sell it to anybody else.
Florida is now braced for what is being described as “the worst storm in a century” with winds up to 150mph winds already hitting Mexico.
The hurricane is allegedly set to double in size before hitting the state on Wednesday night.
President Joe Biden said, “This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century, and God willing, it won’t be, but that’s what it’s looking like right now.”
He has delivered a stark warning to residents who sit in the path of Milton to evacuate immediately as he labelled the choice “a matter of life and death.”
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) also warned of the damning predictions today, saying: “Milton is still a relatively compact hurricane, but the wind field is expected to continue to grow in size as it approaches Florida.
“The official forecast shows the hurricane and tropical storm-force winds roughly doubling in size by the time it makes landfall.”
The NHC added Milton will be “an extremely dangerous hurricane when it reaches shore.”
The storm was downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 hurricane by Tuesday morning but is still expected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast tomorrow evening.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm was likely to hit near the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, although surrounding areas will be affected.
Six million people have been put under hurricane-watch warning along with the million already told to flee.
Serena Williams’ dad Richard is said to be relieved the house drama is now over even though he lost control of the propertyCredit: Getty
Serena Williams’ stepmom Lakeisha showed off her glam lifestyle on Instagram which left her $600,000 in debt at one pointCredit: Instagram/@keisha.dylan.williams
