Money can’t buy happiness, they say. But for Kesha Ni’cole Nichols, it may help soften the blow of being left at the altar by runaway groom Richard Jefferson.
The former New Jersey Nets and current San Antonio Spurs player is giving a “six-figure” settlement to his jilted bride she can start a new life, sans him.
Of the parting gift, Richard said, “I’m not trying to buy her off. She just has a lump sum to help her move on.” So basically, he is trying to buy her off.
“I won’t say a negative word about Kesha. She is one of my best friends.”
The Richard Jefferson wedding debacle came last weekend, when he did not show up at the posh Manhattan ceremony and did not bother to tell anyone.
He says he finally and officially ended their fairy tale relationship – via email – to his former bride-to-be, following a tense Fourth of July weekend.
Kesha Ni’Cole Nichols: Single, at least $100,000 richer and ready to mingle!
“Sometimes you might write an email to get your thoughts down right,” the NBA star said of his seemingly cold method of calling off his nuptials.
Richard Jefferson said a “combination of things” led to the split and that it’s been “an emotional time for both of us. I know she’s hurt. I’m hurt too.”
On rumors he is gay, which have surfaced in light of the wedding no-show, Richard said, “I’m not gay. That couldn’t be any further from the truth.”
“I have nothing to hide.”
After speaking on the phone with Kesha Ni’cole Nichols for two hours after he sent the email, Richard finally told his family the wedding was off.
Kesha Ni’cole Nichols, who checked into her suite at the Mandarin Oriental on what would have been her wedding night and stayed in a luxury suite overlooking Central Park, told family and friends the next day when she learned it was off.