Halle Berry's ongoing custody battle with her ex-husband, Olivier Martinez, took a turn for the worse this week as a new filing revealed the depth of their dispute over their son, Maceo.
The Catwoman actress filed court documents on Tuesday, obtained by US Weekly, which revealed she had spent over $200,000 in legal fees during the custody battle, including giving her ex $80,000 towards his legal costs.
The couple married in 2013 and welcomed their son in the same year. Sadly, Halle and Olivier split in 2016 and bitter divorce proceedings ensued; they didn't finalize their split until 2023.
At the time, the pair agreed on joint custody of Maceo, with the mother of two agreeing to pay her ex $8,000 a month in child support and 4.3% of any income over $2 million.
However, Halle filed for sole custody in mid-August; in the latest filing on September 3, she claimed that Olivier "has refused to co-parent and communicate with [Halle] in a child-centered way" and that "he has been oppositional and unmovable on all major issues relating to Maceo."
The Academy Award winner also claimed that her ex was refusing to attend co-parenting therapy with her "despite several follow-ups".
© GettyHalle claimed that Olivier relies heavily on the child support payments for his livelihood, leaving her no choice but to "go to work". She highlighted an incident where he initially objected to paying for a home visit with their therapist during her free time, only to change his mind later.
"I could not change my work schedule to accommodate Olivier's whims," she said. "As Olivier has advised this court, he lives off my child support, and in order to be able to pay child support, I have to go to work. I do not have the luxury of taking months off."
Their son, 10, struggles with ADHD and mild dyslexia, and Halle claimed that Olivier is "either oblivious" to Maceo's learning issues or "carelessly disregards" them.
© InstagramFor his part, Olivier claimed in court documents that his ex-wife was "pressuring both me and Maceo with repeated demands to do everything her way or else pay the price."
The court documents also revealed a text conversation between the former couple, hinting that they co-parented successfully before Halle moved on with her current partner, musician Van Hunt.
© Getty"I feel very sorry that we are at odds," Halle texted. "I had better hopes for us. I always hoped that we do better for Maceo and work together like we did before Van."
"It's all gone to [expletive] since then. We used to try to get along for Maceos [sic] sake, now you don't want to even try, and I've tried, Olivier…you know I have."
© Phillip FaraoneThe actress also voiced her exhaustion over the constant fighting, writing, "Maceo deserves better. I'm tired of being called a lier [sic], I'm tired of fighting with you, and I quit. If you want to keep this negativity going, that's on you, but I want no part of it."
Halle has one other child, 16-year-old Nahla, whom she shares with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry.
