Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez’s Custody Battle Escalates: Here’s What’s Happening
By Alexus Mosley
Photo Credit: Dominique Charriau/WireImage/Getty
Halle Berry and her ex-husband Olivier Martinez are once again at the center of a contentious custody battle.
The former couple, who finalized their divorce in 2023 after years of legal proceedings, have been locked in an ongoing dispute over their 12-year-old son. Now, the situation has escalated considerably, with Martinez seeking sole custody and obtaining a temporary restraining order against Berry, while the Oscar-winning actress has strongly denied his allegations and is asking the court to restore their previous 50/50 custody arrangement. Here’s what we know so far.
Martinez Sought Sole Custody and a Restraining Order
On October 1, Martinez filed court documents seeking sole legal and physical custody of the former couple’s son and requesting a domestic violence restraining order against Berry. In the filing, Martinez alleged that Berry physically assaulted their son during an incident on September 26, including allegations that she put her hands around his neck and choked him.
A Los Angeles County judge subsequently granted Martinez a temporary restraining order covering both Martinez and their son. The temporary order requires Berry to remain 100 yards away from Martinez and temporarily modifies her parenting schedule. However, the judge did not prohibit Berry from seeing her son altogether. Instead, the court maintained limited visitation to preserve communication between mother and son. The judge also denied Martinez’s request that Berry’s sobriety be monitored, citing insufficient information.
The temporary order is not a final judicial determination that Martinez’s allegations are true. A hearing regarding the restraining order is scheduled for October 16.
Berry Strongly Denies the Allegations
Berry, 60, has pushed back against her ex-husband’s accusations through her attorney, Marina Beck. “To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement,” Beck said in a statement following Martinez’s filing.
Berry’s legal team has instead pointed to the former couple’s longstanding disagreements surrounding their son’s therapy, education, and co-parenting arrangements. Their custody conflict predates the latest allegations. In 2024, Berry sought sole custody herself, alleging that Martinez was interfering with decisions involving their son’s education and therapeutic care. The former couple had also agreed to work with a co-parenting coach to resolve disputes.
Berry Is Now Asking to Restore Their 50/50 Arrangement
Berry is now asking the court to reinstate the 50/50 custody arrangement she and Martinez previously shared. In new court documents, Berry alleges that Martinez has repeatedly attempted to align their son against her, claiming that the teenager would return from his father’s custody “angry and combative.” Berry also claims that her son appeared to know details of disputes that she and Martinez had discussed privately and would take his father’s position in those disagreements.
According to Berry’s filing, the conflict has affected both her relationship with her son and his behavior and education. She alleges that Martinez resisted early interventions that she believed were necessary and has prevented their son from participating in family therapy with Berry and her fiancé, musician Van Hunt, which Berry says was intended to help establish a healthy blended family.
Berry is also asking the court to require Martinez to participate in previously ordered therapy sessions. Martinez has opposed Berry’s request and asked the court to deny it.
As with Martinez’s accusations against Berry, these are allegations presented in an ongoing custody dispute and have not been established as fact by the court.
Berry Has Continued to See Her Son
Despite some of the headlines surrounding the temporary restraining order, Berry has not been completely barred from having contact with her son. The court temporarily limited her parenting time to specified daytime visits while the case proceeds. Berry was also seen spending time with her son over the weekend following the court’s order.
For now, the legal fight is far from settled. The former couple is expected back in court on October 16, when a judge can consider the restraining-order dispute more fully. Until then, the current restrictions remain temporary, and the competing allegations from Berry and Martinez have not been resolved by a final court finding.
With both parents now asking the court for significant changes to their custody arrangement, their years-long co-parenting dispute appears to have entered its most serious chapter yet.