Jaime King says being a working mother is "the hardest thing in the world".
The 41-year-old actress doesn’t get to spend as much time with her sons – James, six, and Leo, five – as she’d like, because she works full time and is also sharing custody of her brood with her estranged husband Kyle Newman.
And the ‘Hart of Dixie’ alum has admitted it’s tough to "say goodbye" to her children when she has to leave for work, or when they go to visit their father.
She wrote on Instagram alongside pictures of herself hugging her sons: "It’s the hardest thing in the world to say goodbye as a working mother. One day, I know my boys will look back and be proud. It’s all for you. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect and give you the best life filled with freedom, joy, expression, safety and happiness. Always."
Jaime filed for divorce from Kyle in May this year, after almost 13 years of marriage, and was granted a temporary restraining order against him on the same day.
And following the filing, it was reported that along with her divorce papers, Jaime also filed a domestic violence prevention petition that includes allegations of verbal and emotional abuse against Kyle.
In the documents, the ‘Sin City’ star claimed she and Kyle have been struggling for over five years, and alleged her spouse had told her she was a "terrible mother".
The papers read: "[Kyle] berated me … told me I was a terrible person and a terrible mother.
"[He has] appeared at a friend’s house … screaming and harassing me, chased me in his car, isolated me from friends, professional contacts, and employers by telling them lies about me, staged a fake intervention to force me into confinement."
Jamie claimed she’s lived in "fear" of the 44-year-old director, as she said he has gone to "efforts to demean and isolate" her.
She wrote: "I have suffered the most confusing trauma-filled experiences involving emotional manipulation and gaslighting caused by Respondent. I am afraid of, and feel anxious and sick to my stomach at every encounter with Respondent."
Kyle later responded to the documents, where he blasted Jaime as "a chronic drug addict and alcoholic who refuses to acknowledge that she has a problem, let alone seek meaningful treatment for such problem".
The filmmaker also denied Jaime’s allegations of abuse, insisting he has "never laid a hand" on his estranged wife.
He wrote: "I have never laid a hand on Jaime nor would I. In the past, threats of a legal and public battle on Jaime’s part would cause me to back down as I have never had any desire to fight her. I have only wanted to love and support her, and keep our family safe.
"But now that Jamie has filed such a fictitious declaration with the court, and is seeking to have unmonitored custody of our boys, I have finally reached a place where I cannot let her threats against me stop me from doing what is in the best interest of our children, who are the most important thing in the world to me. Jaime is a drug addict, alcoholic, and is not capable of caring for our children. It is essential for their safety that they not be left with Jaime unsupervised."