The lingering legal aftermath of Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez’s high-profile marriage has re-entered the judicial system with newfound intensity. Just days after Martinez obtained an emergency temporary restraining order against the 60-year-old Oscar winner—stemming from allegations regarding their son Maceo, who celebrated his 13th birthday on Monday, October 5—Berry has filed sweeping counter-documents asking a Los Angeles judge to immediately restore the former couple’s balanced custody parameters.
Court filings reveal that the Catwoman star is urging the court to reinstate the strict 50-50 legal and physical custody framework finalized during their long-delayed August 2023 divorce settlement. Within the petition, Berry asserts that the French actor has repeatedly derailed court-ordered parental protocols, alleging a total breakdown in communication and a refusal to engage with their designated co-parenting counselor—a issue Berry first brought to judicial attention back in 2024. By asking the court to enforce the original 50-50 model, Berry seeks to retain final tie-breaking authority on key life decisions while forcing Martinez back into structured co-parenting therapy.
Central to Berry’s comprehensive filing is a troubling claim that Martinez is systematically working to alienate Maceo from her. She claims her son consistently returns from his father’s residence exhibiting “angry and combative” behavior while parroting complex adult talking points directly from his father’s legal defense.
While Berry noted that she initially entered their 2023 agreement hopeful that it would “create a change for the better with respect to my and Maceo’s relationship and my relationship with Olivier,” she explicitly claims the arrangement has done the exact opposite, writing that it has in fact “led to more conflict”—a result she places squarely on Martinez.
The documentation outlines a systematic list of operational failures by Martinez, including “unilateral decision making” regarding Maceo’s education, placing the adolescent in the direct crossfire of parental disputes, and active “interference” with Maceo’s independent therapy sessions. Berry summarizes these behaviors as intentional “attempts to align Maceo with him and against me,” while alleging Martinez actively attempts to sway the opinions of school administrators and mental health professionals.
The friction reportedly extends directly into Berry’s private life with her fiancé, musician Van Hunt. Addressing the household dynamic directly, Berry wrote in her statement:
“The eighth concern is Olivier’s continued refusal to accept my relationship with Van, who plays an important role in Maceo’s life. Olivier’s lack of acceptance of Van has resulted in Olivier refusing to permit Maceo to work in a family therapy setting with me and Van as a means to continue to create a healthy environment for our son within the structure of a blended family.”
In response, Martinez filed opposition papers demanding the court deny Berry’s petitions entirely. The actor emphasized that the active temporary restraining order remains a necessary safeguard due to perceived “immediate danger” to the minor, while accusing Berry’s legal team of improperly filing emergency petitions to bypass normal calendar scheduling.
The exes, who met on the set of Dark Tide in 2010 and married in 2013 before separating in 2015, endured an eight-year divorce battle before reaching their short-lived 2023 peace agreement. Berry is also mother to 18-year-old daughter Nahla, whom she shares with model Gabriel Aubry.
