Halle Berry is seeking sole custody of her 10-year-old son Maceo, asserting that his dad, French actor Olivier Martinez “refuses to co-parent or communicate in a child-centered” manner.
According to People, weeks after the Catwoman star, 58, alleged that her ex-husband discontinued his co-parenting sessions – and amid reports that co-parenting “hasn’t been easy” for the former couple – Berry filed a request for sole custody of Maceo on Friday, August 16.
Per documents obtained by the outlet, Halle Berry is requesting sole custody or “in the alternate, tie-breaking authority to make all decisions” about her son’s education, health, and therapy needs.
The Union actress claims she’s made an effort to address her son’s educational challenges and additional behavioral concerns, but Martinez’s “turbulent and detrimental behavior” has negatively impacted Maceo as he “deals with serious behavior and learning problem” that the S.W.A.T star allegedly brushed off on him.
Berry claims Martinez is more interested in their son’s soccer ventures than in his schooling, alleging that the Taking Lives actor refused to get their kid a tutor since it would interfere with is practice schedule.
“Because of Respondent’s opposition to any interventions whatsoever for years and because of Respondent’s prioritizing soccer activities over Maceo’s educational and psychological well-being, Maceo’s educational and behavioral challenges worsened, and he continued to fall further behind in school,” the documents allege.
The award-winning actress also claims that Maceo returns to her angry after spending time with his father and that he would “repeat disputes” that the former spouses hadd in private.
And upon confrontation, Berry alleges that the French actor claims that the boy is “old enough to make his own decisions.
A lawyer for Martinez told People that he’ll be “responding to these allegations” in the coming weeks. Representatives for Berry did not respond to the outlet’s request for a comment.
However, the Kidnap star’s legal team argues in the filings that Martinez “ignores the professionals hired to help Maceo, and he aggressively stands in the way of implementing strategies and interventions to assist Maceo” and alleges that he “refuses to co-parent or communicate in a child-centered way or make child-centered decisions, which interferes with getting Maceo the help he needs.”
A source told People earlier this month that Berry and her ex-spouse have “very different parenting styles,” but emphasized that “they both love Maceo,’ whom they welcomed in October 2013.
Court documents obtained in May reveal that the former couple had agreed to work with a coach to “resolve disputes and conflicts between them in an effort to successfully co-parent” Maceo.
However, Berry later claimed that Martinez “unilaterally terminated” the sessions without informing her. When she asked the court to Matinez’s compliance” a judge denied the request citing a “lack of exigent circumstances,” meaning the situation wasn’t considered urgent.
Berry and Martinez first met in 2010 and separated in October 2015 after two years of marriage. Since 2020, the actress has been romantically linked to musician Van Hunt.
“She’s incredibly happy with Van. He’s always her biggest fan. They are great together,” a source revealed earlier this month.
Berry is also mom to 16-year-old Nahla, whom she shares with ex Gabriel Aubry.
