Halle Berry Says She Spent $200K Fighting Olivier Martinez for Custody

Halle Berry continues to assert that ex-husband Olivier Martinez is derailing their coparenting progress and court orders.

In recently filed documents obtained by Us Weekly on Wednesday, September 4, the actress, 58, expressed her exacerbation and disappointment when it comes to her strained relationship with her ex in text messages revealed amid her bid for sole custody of their 10-year-old son, Maceo, with regard to his education and health decisions. 

“I feel very sorry that we are at odds. I had better hopes for us. I always hoped that we do better for Maceo and work together like we did before Van [Hunt] came along,” she wrote to Martinez, 58, referencing her four-year relationship with musician Hunt. “It’s all has gone to shit since then. We used to try to get along for maceos [sic] sake, now you don’t want to even try and I’ve tried Oliver… you know I have.”

The Oscar winner even pleaded with Martinez to try to see eye-to-eye.

“However, you just stay angry and I’m not sure why. We must let all this anger go and do better. Maceo deserves that. I’m tired of being called a lier [sic], I’m tired of fighting with you and I quit. If you want to keep this negativity going that’s on you, but I want no parts of it… we need to ban [sic] together now more than ever. However we face it we need to face it together not fighting. Just my opinion, but you will make your choice.”

But Martinez didn’t back down, responding, “The only way to work together is to work ur [sic] way. thats [sic] not working together. u [a]re [sic] playing dirty as you always did not putting maceos [sic] best interest first but karma is coming no worrys [sic].”

Berry is now pleading with the court for help.

“I have done everything possible to work with Olivier, to communicate with him, and to engage him in the decision-making process regarding our son [Maceo] in an amicable way,” she wrote in the court documents, which were filed Tuesday, September 3. “Olivier has refused to co-parent and communicate with me in a child-centered way; he has been oppositional and unmovable on all major issues relating to Maceo.”

According to Berry, she has spent over $200,000 in legal fees, including “voluntarily” contributing $80,000 toward Martinez’s own legal expenses. Berry also alleges that Martinez, also 58, “delayed” undergoing court-stipulated co-parenting therapy “despite several follow-ups.”

Berry further asserted that Martinez lives off of her child support payments, so she “has to go to work,” citing that he has allegedly objected to pay for a home visit with their therapist during a free window Berry had, then he changed his mind.

“I could not change my work schedule to accommodate Olivier’s whims,” she wrote in the docs. “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. I do not have the luxury of taking months off.”

Berry — who also shares daughter Nahla with ex Gabriel Aubry — and Martinez got married in 2013 three years after meeting on the set of Dark Tide. The pair split in October 2015 and were declared legally single one year later. In August 2023, Us confirmed that Berry and Martinez agreed to share joint legal and physical custody of Maceo, 10. The actress was also ordered to pay Martinez $8,000 per month in child support and an additional 4.3 percent of any income she receives over $2 million. Berry also covers all funds pertaining to Maceo’s school tuition, extracurricular activities and health insurance.

In July, Berry filed court documents claiming that Martinez had refused to attend joint co-parenting therapy sessions as previously agreed upon. Berry then petitioned the court for sole legal custody of their son. Last month, Martinez filed his own request for sole legal custody of Maceo, objected to Berry’s court request for an emergency ruling – and in turn he requested more time to prepare for the hearing set for Sept. 10.

The Unfaithful star claims in docs he wants the “chance to cross examine Halle, with regard to her false claims, twisted narrative, and basis for her extreme request. It is crucial that the court know what Halle has been doing and the level of pressure which amounts to near harassment, on a very constant basis from her, attempting to hurl us into discord and unnecessary problems.”

Martinez also claims Berry has been “pressuring both me and Maceo with repeated demands to do everything her way or else pay the price.”

Berry claims in her own August 23 paperwork that he has falsely accused her of attempts to “control” and “sedate” Maceo with interventions such as school and therapy.

According to Martinez, Berry has used her “extraordinarily high income” to paint “a false narrative” in court filings. Martinez, meanwhile, says he does not have the funds “to respond to every letter and every email.”

“[Berry] is attempting to ‘game the system’ by starving out [Martinez] from being able to defend himself against her last-minute draconian request for sole legal custody regarding health and education decisions,” Martinez alleged in an August motion.

“[Berry] cannot bootstrap her way into pulling the wool over [Martinez’s] eyes and keeping him from being able to defend himself both by not having any time or fees to deal with her extreme request,” he claimed, asserting that he is “very close” to Maceo.

Berry, for her part, denied Martinez’s allegations in an August response. She claimed that his motion was a “delay tactic,” preventing Maceo from receiving “time-sensitive” care regarding his educational and medical well-being.

“A continuance would only hurt Maceo, who has gone far too long without the interventions he needs,” Berry wrote in her August docs. “Being a responsible and committed parent who can be tasked with making decisions that promote the best interests of a child is not a popularity contest and requires that sometimes decisions are made that may cause friction between a parent and a child.”

According to Berry, Martinez still refuses to be a “productive and engaged co-parent” or “participate in joint decision-making.” On Tuesday, Berry alleged that she’s tried to “resolve issues amicably and privately” to no avail. While she stressed that Martinez is “now participating in co-parenting,” the actress hopes that the court will find his previous court claims categorically false.