Halle Berry has earned a small victory in her bitter custody battle against her ex-husband Olivier Martinez.
The 58-year-old actress has been in an ongoing dispute with the French actor, 58, since she filed for sole custody of their 10-year-old son, Maceo, in August.
The former couple married in 2013 and welcomed Maceo in the same year. Halle and Olivier split in 2016, and 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.
As part of their agreement, Halle and Olivier were to attend co-parenting therapy, something he has failed to participate in.
According to recent court documents obtained by Us Weekly, a judge has ruled in Halle's favor and agreed that Olivier has failed to communicate his lack of availability to attend the sessions.
© Instagram"The court is not persuaded by [his] argument that he could not continue co-parenting therapy during the summer because he was traveling abroad and is not tech-savvy," the court filing reads.
"[The] sessions are done by Zoom, and [he] demonstrated an ability to use Zoom for his June session… as well as his ability to have FaceTime calls [with their son] almost every day in the month of July.
© Getty Images"[He] could have continued co-parenting therapy… but unilaterally declined to continue to participate in counseling."
The judge also agreed that Halle's attorney made multiple attempts to "get therapy back on track," but their requests allegedly went unanswered.
"Because [he] did not participate in co-parenting therapy in the summer, he stalled the process of moving forward with co-parenting therapy," the documents state, adding that Halle's resulting legal fees "could have been avoided had [Olivier] acted in a timely manner."
© Getty ImagesTheir custody battles continue, however, with a hearing scheduled for December 12.
The actress filed her complaint in September and claimed 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."
Halle also claimed that Olivier relies heavily on 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.
© Getty Images"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 struggles with ADHD and mild dyslexia, and Halle claimed that Olivier is "either oblivious" to Maceo's learning issues or "carelessly disregards" them.
© Getty ImagesFor 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."
As well as paying Olivier child support and a percentage of her income, she also covers all funds pertaining to Maceo's school tuition, extracurricular activities, and health insurance.
