Halle Berry has spoken out through her attorney after her ex-husband Olivier Martinez secured a temporary restraining order against her and won primary custody of their son, Maceo.
Berry, 58, and Martinez, 59, who wed in France in 2013 and separated just two years later, saw their decade-plus legal battle reach a new flashpoint on September 26. Martinez alleged in court filings that the Oscar winner put her hands around Maceo’s neck and choked him during an argument over virtual reality goggles, with her fiancé Van Hunt present. The “Unfaithful” actor further claimed their son was “traumatized” and begged to stay with his father rather than return to Berry’s home.
Martinez was granted primary custody and a restraining order requiring Berry to stay at least 100 yards from him. She received two days of weekly visitation and every other weekend with the boy.
Through her lawyer Marina Beck, Berry fired back at the allegations in a statement on October 1.
“There is voluminous evidence, including numerous judicial rulings, that Olivier Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational interventions to the detriment of his and Halle Berry’s minor son, Maceo — misconduct for which Mr. Martinez has already been legally sanctioned,” Beck said.
Beck continued, “There is voluminous evidence, including numerous judicial rulings, that Olivier Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational interventions to the detriment of his and Halle Berry’s minor son, Maceo — misconduct for which Mr. Martinez has already been legally sanctioned.” Beck also alleged Martinez has a history of “erratic, possessive and violent behavior.”
The former couple’s divorce was only finalized in August 2023 after eight years of court disputes, with documents showing Berry pays Martinez $8,000 monthly in child support plus Maceo’s private school tuition and extracurricular costs. She also covered $55,000 of his attorney fees.
Their co-parenting arrangement has repeatedly collapsed into new litigation. In May 2024, they agreed to joint and individual therapy to “resolve disputes and conflicts between them in an effort to successfully co-parent” Maceo, with Hunt permitted to attend. But by August 2024, Berry accused Martinez of unilaterally deferring sessions until September, citing his travel to France and his brother’s visit to Los Angeles.
That same month, Berry sought sole custody, claiming Maceo suffered “serious behavior and learning problems” and that Martinez refused to hire a tutor because it might interfere with soccer. She described her own parenting as “exemplary” and accused Martinez of sharing his dating problems with their son. In a September 2024 filing, she noted spending over $200,000 trying to “work with” him under their 50/50 arrangement.
Berry also took aim at the child support dynamic in court papers.
“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,” she wrote. “I do not have the luxury of taking months off.”
The pair’s history stretches back to July 2010, when they met filming “Dark Tide” in Cape Town, South Africa. Berry had recently split from model Gabriel Aubry after five years and one daughter, Nahla, born March 16, 2008. By August 2010, Berry and Martinez were dating, with a People source recalling their “classic ‘I’m going to kiss you here in a dark corner’ move” during an evening out.
Martinez confirmed their engagement to the Miami Herald in March 2012, responding “Yes, of course it’s true” to rumors. That November, Berry filed to relocate with Nahla to France, citing safety concerns after men who allegedly threatened her were released. The move intensified tensions with Aubry, culminating in a Thanksgiving 2012 altercation outside Berry’s Los Angeles home. Aubry was hospitalized and booked for misdemeanor battery, though prosecutors declined charges; he obtained a protective order against Martinez.
Berry and Martinez exchanged vows at Chateau des Conde in Vallery, France in July 2013, with a local mayor officiating. Son Maceo Robert Martinez arrived October 5, 2013. Split rumors surfaced within months, but the outlet insider insisted nothing was “further from the truth.”
The facade cracked in 2015. After Martinez was named a suspect in a battery investigation over an alleged airport employee shoving incident at LAX — no charges filed — Berry was spotted without her engagement ring that August. The couple confirmed their divorce to the outlet that October, stating “It is with a heavy heart that we have come to the decision to divorce” and asking for privacy. They filed competing petitions on October 26 and 27, 2015, both citing irreconcilable differences, with the outlet source blaming “personality difference.”
They initially agreed to joint physical and legal custody in 2016, yet the filings dragged on for years before the 2023 resolution.
The September 2026 incident that triggered Martinez’s latest court action reportedly began when Berry called Maceo “stupid” during his VR game play. Martinez’s filing claimed Hunt witnessed the alleged choking.
Berry’s attorney called the filing “entirely meritless and deliberately misleading.”
The ex-spouses are scheduled to appear in court again on October 16.