Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson is facing a paternity lawsuit and allegedly pressured the child’s mother into getting an abortion.
Jefferson and ex-girlfriend Andrea Galea filed counterclaims against one another in Essex County, New Jersey Family Court back in January, according to the Daily Mail, which obtained the paternity suit.
Galea, a former swimmer at LSU, where Jefferson also attended, were romantically involved in 2019 and reconnected in April 2023, according to the suit. That month, according to Galea’s claims, Jefferson fathered her daughter, Stella, who was born in late December.
The Miami Law graduate is pushing for a paternity test as well as financial support and healthcare coverage from Jefferson, additionally accusing the receiver of pressuring her to abort the child mid-pregnancy.
In his own complaint, Jefferson also pushed for a paternity test while demanding an injunction preventing the further sharing of info about the child.
“Defendant [Galea] has a substantial presence and following on various social media platforms and apparently has strategically positioned herself over the last several years to become an ‘online influencer,’” Jefferson’s complaint states, per the Daily Mail.
Jefferson accused Galea of “using the [c]hild’s birth, and her assertions of the Plaintiff’s alleged fathering of the child as an apparent promotion on her various online platforms to self promote her online presence and following.” Jefferson also cited text messages between him and Galea within the complaint.
“In numerous transmittals to Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s family, Plaintiff’s friends, and other individuals, including but not limited to text messages, social media posts, blogs, and various internet messaging platforms, Defendant in the most unfortunate and temperate terms has and continues to announce to all the world that she is the natural mother of the child, and that the Plaintiff is conclusively the father of the child,” the filing read.
Galea’s filing claims Jefferson refuses to both acknowledge and support the child financially.
“Although he earns millions of dollars per year, Defendant has not provided a penny of financial support for the Child,” reads Galea’s complaint. “In addition to his physical absence from his newborn’s life, Defendant has unmistakably and reprehensibly evidenced a firm unwillingness to voluntarily support the Child in any capacity, be it emotionally, financially, or otherwise.”
Galea’s filing also contains text messages, allegedly between her and Jefferson, debating how to handle the pregnancy. Jefferson reportedly questioned whether Galea had taken a Plan B to terminate the pregnancy.
“The more u wait the harder the situation will be that’s why I wanted to get you the planB [because] I didn’t want to be in this situation but it’s totally my fault I shouldn’t have done it in the first place,” Jefferson wrote in one text message acquired by Daily Mail.
“Justin I took the plan b though it was just too late for it to be effective,” Galea responded. “Sometimes depending on the cycle unless you take it within like 2 hours it can be too late… and two people are always at fault in this. Personally I’ve never faced a situation like this…”
The suit comes during the offseason before a pivotal contract year for the Vikings star. Jefferson is playing on a $19.7 million team option to conclude his rookie contract, and he is due for a potentially market-setting extension within the next calendar year.
