Aaron Donald’s alleged private texts with his ex come to light in court as the NFL legend faces a custody battle involving their children

Aaron Donald’s alleged private texts with his former partner, Jaelynn Blakey, have surfaced as part of a court dispute involving their children and a French bulldog. The former couple disagreed over whether the dog posed a risk to their kids, with Donald seeking court action after claiming the animal had bitten family members. Blakey disputed his account and defended keeping the dog, saying it had been part of the family for years. The dispute eventually ended with the dog being permanently removed from her home.The court fight has added a personal wrinkle to a major period in Donald’s life. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year retired from the NFL in 2024 but is now preparing for a return with the Los Angeles Rams. While his football comeback has drawn plenty of attention, documents from his custody dispute have brought his family life into focus as well.Aaron Donald’s alleged private texts with ex revealed in custody battleThe dispute centered on Aaron Donald’s concerns about the French bulldog living at Blakey’s Los Angeles home. According to court documents, Donald claimed the dog had bitten their daughter on the mouth in September 2023. He also said Blakey’s niece was bitten less than a year later and alleged their son was bitten in the face in March 2026.Donald said Blakey had agreed after each incident to remove the dog. He later claimed the animal had returned to the home without his knowledge and that their children told him about its return.In one message obtained by TMZ, Donald wrote, "But on another note don't fill comfortable with kids in that house with that dog. It bit 3 people in the face and 2 of those people was Jaeda and AJ."He followed with another message, saying, "You said you got read [sic] of the dog and it keep popping back up not really understand the disconnect with that."Donald also wrote, "There's multiple different places you can put the dog; it's just not stable having that dog around no kids because it got a history of bitting , it already happened multiple times."He accused Blakey of telling the children not to tell him the dog was back at the house.Blakey pushed back strongly against those claims in an email dated July 2, 2026. She denied hiding the dog and questioned why she would need to tell the children to conceal its presence."Why would I tell my children that when the dog moves freely and talk with their father daily at my home, and he can see for himself?"She added, "You have no proof of that, so let's not even start making accusations ... I would never tell them that. I told Mr. Donald at the time of the incident the dog was removed ... and he was. Your claims are ridiculous."Blakey also denied agreeing to permanently remove the dog. She said the children were not afraid of the animal and described it as an important part of their home.What happened between Aaron Donald and Jaelynn Blakey?Donald and Blakey never married. They separated around the time Donald and the Rams moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016.The former couple shares two children, daughter Jaeda and son Aaron Jr. Donald later asked for sole physical custody of the children until Blakey removed the dog, according to the court documents.Blakey argued the animal was not dangerous and said Donald was trying to force her to give up a pet she had relied on during difficult periods.Aaron Donald is happily married to Erica DonaldDonald later married Erica Donald, and the couple has two children together. Erica has also been closely involved in his career and business interests.She worked with the Rams in community affairs and player involvement before moving into sports marketing. She later worked with Game1 and Donda Sports, where Aaron also had a partnership.When Donald announced his return to the Rams, Erica joked on X, "I let him out [of] the house y’all 🤣💙🫶🏽," after he signed a one-year, $20 million deal on Aug. 30.Their family now includes their two children together and Donald’s two children from his previous relationship.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.