Everyone is making a really huge deal about how much money Russell Simmons is giving Kimora Lee for child support ($20K a month per child). But Russell insists he's glad to hand over his money because Kimora is a great mom. Here's what he had to say:
“The fact is, we’ve had a pretty good partnership at sharing the girls in the past. There have been a few bumps in the road, and those bumps have led us to negotiate a minimum amount of time I’m guaranteed to see my kids. That deal is as follows: I have the girls one full week out of every eight, half of the summer, half of all the holidays, a full week at Christmas, and half of Spring Break.
Like in all good partnerships, contracts are meant to protect the partners but are usually not the only way the partners work together. If I show up in L.A., where she now lives, unannounced, I can call up Kimora and she will most likely send them right over. The same goes for when she comes to New York. We have always had a school in New York and a school with the same curriculum in L.A., so when the girls are with me in New York, we can spend quality time together. I can get up with them, take them to school and just be together.
Kimora consults with me about doctors or schools for the girls, but she’s always had final say in those areas. If we had an argument about a school, guess who’s going to win? But there are other
stipulations in our agreement where we have to make final decisions together. Anything having to do with business decisions pertaining to my kids cannot be done without my consent.
I’ve also seen a lot about people reading into the supervised visits stipulation. Kimora travels with a security guard and a nanny. In the past, she’s gotten really nervous that I never travel with security,
so if it makes her more comfortable to have her security and a nanny with us when I’m with my kids, that’s OK with me.
Finally, I want to say Kimora is a excellent mother and is doing a great job with them. My kids are studying a couple of foreign languages, they travel around the world, they practice yoga, ballet,
swimming, karate and piano, among other things…sometimes I think they do too much, but I trust in Kimora on this because she IS a good mother. Regarding the money, my kids live a tremendous life. They do have lots of security, nannies, educators, special programs, travel, chefs, on and on. Their mother manages all of those luxuries and I’m happy to provide for that.”
