The long-running and contentious Halle Berry custody battle has erupted once again as French actor Olivier Martinez submitted dramatic legal filings in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking sole legal and physical custody of their 12-year-old son, Maceo. In documents obtained by media outlets, Martinez alleges multiple instances of volatile behavior and physical abuse by the Academy Award-winning actress, marking a sharp escalation in their nearly decade-long co-parenting dispute.

Explosive Allegations in New Court Filings

According to the court documents filed by Martinez’s legal team, the French actor claims that the home environment provided by Berry has deteriorated into an emotionally unstable setting for their adolescent son. Martinez asserts that an alleged physical confrontation occurred involving the actress and Maceo, causing the pre-teen immense emotional distress.

The filings petition the court to grant Martinez full legal and primary physical custody, requesting that Berry’s contact with Maceo be temporarily restricted to monitored visits until comprehensive psychological and custody evaluations are completed by court-appointed experts.

A Decade of Legal Friction Following 2015 Split

Berry, 58, and Martinez, 59, first met in 2010 on the set of the action-thriller Dark Tide in South Africa. The pair married in an intimate ceremony in France in July 2013, welcoming Maceo just months later in October 2013. However, after two years of marriage, the couple announced their separation in October 2015.

What followed was an arduous, eight-year legal battle to formalize their divorce. While their marital status was officially dissolved in 2016, negotiations over asset division and child custody dragged on until August 2023, when a final judgment was entered. Under that settlement, both parties agreed to joint legal custody, with Berry ordered to pay Martinez $8,000 monthly in child support plus an additional 4.3% of any income earned over $2 million.

The Breakdown of Court-Ordered Co-Parenting Therapy

The recent court motions follow months of reported turbulence surrounding mandatory co-parenting therapy. Court records from late 2024 revealed that Berry had previously sought judicial intervention, accusing Martinez of repeatedly delaying and evading required counseling sessions intended to resolve communication breakdowns and facilitate academic support for Maceo.

Martinez countered in subsequent filings, asserting that Berry had weaponized the therapy process and attempted to dictate scheduling around her demanding international production calendar, including promotional tours for her recent cinematic projects. Representatives for Berry have denied the latest abuse allegations, characterizing them as a retaliatory legal maneuver amid ongoing disputes regarding custody schedules and financial obligations.

What Lies Ahead in the Halle Berry Custody Battle

Family law experts note that sudden emergency petitions requesting a complete shift from joint to sole custody face a stringent legal threshold in California courts. The presiding judge is expected to schedule an expedited evidentiary hearing where both parties, custody evaluators, and Maceo’s court-appointed minor’s counsel will present testimony before any permanent modifications to the 2023 custody agreement are enacted.