The war between Halle Berry and ex-husband Olivier Martinez over their 12-year-old son Maceo is getting messier.
The 60-year-old actress is fighting back after Martinez filed a new restraining order against her, alleging that she had attacked Maceo on September 26 in the presence of her fiancé Van Hunt.
Over the weekend, Berry was spotted in public with Maceo in the wake of her ex-husband’s new restraining order.
Highlights
- Halle Berry is fighting back after Olivier Martinez filed a new restraining order against her, alleging that she had attacked Maceo and choked him on September 26.
- The actress is currently fighting to regain 50/50 custody of their son.
- Over the weekend, Berry and Maceo were spotted together in public in the wake of Martinez’s new restraining order.
- Halle Berry fights to regain 50/50 custody of son after ex-husband accuses her of attacking him
The war between Halle Berry and ex-husband Olivier Martinez over their 12-year-old son Maceo is getting messier
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
Halle Berry has asked the court to reinstate the former custody agreement that she and Olivier Martinez agreed upon in 2023.
The Oscar winning actress had taken responsibility for all the costs relating to her son’s private school tuition, uniforms, and school supplies, as well as any extracurricular activities. She was also expected to pay the French actor $8,000 a month in child support and “4.3 percent of any income she receives above $2,000,000” as additional support.
As per their previous agreement, Berry had 50/50 shared custody with Martinez, and she had the tie-breaking authority, which was suspended after Martinez’s new filing a few days back.
Berry responded by requesting the previous agreement to be reinstated and asked the court to force Martinez to attend their court-ordered therapy sessions. She also accused him of damaging her relationship with Maceo, who returns to her house being “angry and combative” towards her after spending time with his father.
Nowhere in the court documents does Berry directly acknowledge her husband’s allegations about her jumping on Maceo, putting her hands around his neck, and choking him during the alleged September 26 incident.
She instead listed out several “concerns,” one of which included Martinez’s attempts to “align Maceo with him and against [her]” in areas concerning their son’s life and his activities.
This “causes Maceo to be angry with me about private issues relating to Maceo which Olivier and I were discussing at the time,” she wrote in her filing.
Berry listed out reasons that make Maceo “angry” with her regarding certain issues
Furthermore, she claimed Maceo’s “angry and combative” behavior towards her intensifies after he returns from longer stretches of time with his father.
“It took Maceo 2-3 days to acclimate to being at home and when he would go back to Olivier, the cycle would start all over again,” she claimed in her documents. “I also perceived Maceo to repeat disputes that Olivier and I discuss in private and take Olivier’s side/position in that dispute.”
She cited possible disputes over his school, soccer, or therapy, saying Maceo would know about them before Berry and Martinez reached a decision.
Maceo “would tell me what he and Olivier are going to do (without my input) completely disregarding my authority as his mother,” she added.
Because of Martinez’s behavior and lack of cooperation, Berry said their son’s psychological and educational needs were unmet, causing him to fall “further behind” in school, worsening his “acting out behaviors,” and causing “further damage” in his relationship with his mother.
In response to Martinez’s claims of being “old enough,” Berry said she is “attuned” to her son’s “thoughts and feelings,” and even encourages open dialogue.
But “I do not agree that a ten-year-old should be permitted to make decisions regarding his education, health, extracurricular activities, and general welfare,” the actress wrote.
“Therapy with [his doctor] has improved Maceo’s behavior at home and with me,” she added. “Sadly, the passage of time and Court orders have not improved or changed Olivier.”
The Oscar winner accused Martinez of making their son's teachers and therapists believe “false stories” about her
Elsewhere in the documents, the Catwoman star said Martinez still doesn’t accept Hunt as her partner, who plays an “important role in Maceo’s life.”
She accused Martinez of refusing to allow their son to work in a “family therapy setting” that includes both Berry and Hunt to create a “healthy environment for [Maceo] within the structure of a blended family.”
Another “concern” Berry cited was Martinez’s “active attempts” to influence people in Maceo’s life to see her as a “risk” to the boy. This includes his teachers and therapist
Berry claimed he does this through “false stories about [her] relationship with Maceo through Maceo or third parties.”
Berry also accused Martinez of refusing to let her partner Van Hunt be a part of their family therapy sessions
Following Berry’s request to reinstate her 50/50 custody and tie-breaking authority over Maceo, Martinez swiftly responded by asking the court to deny the request entirely.
It was reported on October 1 that he had moved forward with a restraining order against Berry, asking for sole custody in the wake of her allegedly ab*sing him.
He claimed Berry had an argument with Maceo on September 26, telling him he looked “stupid” and was “such an idiot” for playing a game with his VR (virtual reality) goggles.
The situation “escalated,” and the actress allegedly “jumped on our son and started physically fighting with him,” Martinez alleged.
“She grabbed Maceo by the neck and started choking him while shouting, ‘Who is dominant now?! Who is dominant?!’” he added.
“She grabbed Maceo by the neck and started choking him while shouting, ‘Who is dominant now?!’” Martinez alleged
A “traumatized” Maceo then called his dad, asking him to pick him up and saying he didn’t want to return to his mother’s house.
“Are you here please come,” Maceo later wrote to his dad in a text message.
In the filing, Martinez claimed this wasn’t the first time Berry had had violent outbursts and taken it out on their son.
He accused Berry of striking “Maceo in the face” during an incident five years ago and also throwing a “plate, along with the knife and fork” towards her son’s seat on Thanksgiving 10 years ago.
Berry’s attorney Marina Beck pushed back against the allegations, saying the filing was “entirely meritless and deliberately misleading.”
After Martinez’s filing, a Los Angeles County judge ordered temporary modifications to visitation, which for Berry is now limited to Mondays and Tuesdays between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Berry and Maceo were spotted together over the weekend shortly after the order.
A witness claimed the actress looked “pretty subdued” while visiting the trampoline park Sky Zone in Los Angeles on October 4. She and Hunt watched as Maceo played indoor soccer and mostly kept a low profile.
“At one point a fan asked for a selfie, but she nicely turned him down, saying she was with her kid,” an eyewitness told People. “She and Van mostly looked at their phones and chatted occasionally.”
The actress was married to Martinez for two years before filing to separate in 2015. What followed was a long, heated divorce battle that was only finalized in 2023.
She is also a mother to 18-year-old daughter Nahla, whom she shares with Gabriel Aubry.
“These two have been fighting for years,” one commented on Berry and Martinez’s relationship
