Halle Berry and her former husband Olivier Martinez had previously turned to co-parenting therapy to address disagreements over raising their son, before Martinez later accused the actress of abuse.
On Thursday, it emerged that the French actor had been awarded temporary primary custody of their son after alleging that Berry had physically abused him. Berry has rejected the claims, calling them “entirely meritless.”
A judge also issued Martinez a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Berry, covering both him and their son. Under the order, Berry must remain at least 100 yards from Martinez.
The former couple had reportedly completed six joint parenting-therapy sessions as they tried to reach common ground on how to raise their son.
Berry and Martinez’s volatile separation unfolded over seven years and included a protracted divorce battle. A source previously claimed that Martinez’s “explosive temper” played a role in the breakdown of their three-year marriage.
Court documents obtained by PEOPLE state that Berry and Martinez had previously attempted to “resolve disputes and conflicts between them in an effort to successfully co-parent” through specialized therapy.
Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez attended co-parenting therapy to address disagreements over their son before Martinez accused the actress of abuse, pictured together in 2012.
The process began with individual coaching sessions before moving to six sessions attended by both parents. Berry’s fiancé, Van Hunt, was also permitted to take part.
However, the therapy did not produce a lasting resolution. In August 2024, Berry accused Martinez of attempting to step away from the arrangement and asked the court to require him to continue participating.
A judge ruled in Berry’s favor in October, while acknowledging that Martinez had already resumed complying with her request after she brought the matter before the court.
A source told PEOPLE that the pair “have very different parenting styles” and that co-parenting had been challenging. “Still, they both love Maceo and he’s amazing,” the source said, describing him as a “very focused student” and adding that Berry works hard to protect his privacy.
Berry and Martinez separated in 2016, but their divorce was not officially completed until 2023, following years of legal disputes.
After the split, sources said Martinez’s temper was among the factors that contributed to the end of the marriage. One source told PEOPLE that he had never been physically abusive toward Berry, describing him as possessive in a “caveman” way but not abusive toward her or their family.
“He had an explosive temper in a way that was profoundly frightening,” the source added. “You never knew when he would explode.”
Martinez had previously been involved in another public altercation. In 2012, he fought Berry’s former partner Gabriel Aubry, the father of her daughter Nahla, who is now 16.
Berry and Martinez’s tumultuous split stretched across seven years, with a source previously citing his “explosive temper” as a factor in the end of their marriage, pictured together in 2012.
The French actor was reportedly granted temporary primary custody of the couple’s son after accusing Berry of physical abuse, pictured with the actress in 2011.
The confrontation occurred when Aubry arrived at Berry’s Los Angeles home to drop off their daughter and became involved in a physical clash with Martinez.
Both men were treated at a hospital for injuries sustained in the incident.
According to court documents, Aubry said he was preparing to leave after dropping off his daughter when Martinez told him they needed to have a conversation.
‘All of a sudden, Mr. Martinez jumped on me on the side of my body, and punched me such that he had taken me down to the ground.
‘He continued to punch me at least two or three times, kicked me in the ribs with his knee or foot, and took my head in his hands and slammed it to the concrete driveway,’ he said.
‘While he was attacking me physically, Mr. Martinez said to me in an aggressive and threatening voice, ‘You cost us 3 million dollars. When you see the judge, you’re going to tell him you’re going to Paris or I’m going to kill you. You’re going to Paris, you’re going to get your 20 grand a month in child support.
‘From now on you’re going to do drop offs on the street. I’m not just some [expletive] actor, you don’t know me.’
Gabriel was arrested and issued a restraining order as a result of the incident.
A source told PEOPLE: ‘Gabriel attacked Olivier and Olivier defended himself.’
Gabriel ‘was booked for a private persons arrest for battery,’ LAPD spokesperson Andrew Smith told the publication.
An emergency protective order was granted requiring Gabriel to stay 100 yards away from Halle, Olivier and Nahla.
Olivier was also the subject of a battery investigation after pushing an LAX employee in 2015.
In video footage of the scuffle, Martinez is seen holding up an empty child car seat to use as a barricade between himself and photographers as he and Halle made their way through the airport.
As they come through a set of double doors, the airport employee is seen holding up a digital camera taking pictures of Martinez, before falling to the ground after he collides with the car seat.
TMZ reported that amid the scuffle an airport employee was pushed to the ground, after Martinez allegedly shoved an empty car seat towards him, making him fall backwards.
The employee is then said to have been taken to a hospital where he complained of abdominal pains.
While Olivier did not face prosecution, the employee involved in the clash sued him and Halle for $5 million in compensation. The case was later settled.
Halle and Olivier finalised their divorce in 2023, seven years after they first announced their split.
It was agreed that Halle would pay Olivier a whopping $8,000 a month with expenses for Maceo’s health insurance, therapy and school on top of that.
She was also ordered to write a check for an additional 4.3 percent of all income she receives above $2 million, while covering Maceo’s private school tuition and all of his other activities, like his soccer expenses.
Despite hopes this would bring an end to their disputes, in 2024 Halle began a legal battle for sole custody of their son.
Halle claimed she has spent over $200,000 in legal fees including ‘voluntarily’ contributing $80,000 towards Martinez’s own legal expenses.
She also claimed the actor was supporting himself financially using her child support payments.
Berry was seeking sole custody of their child as she claimed Maceo was struggling in school and that he is, ‘grade levels behind,’ adding he’d been diagnosed with ADHD and mild dyslexia.
Berry added that Martinez was, ‘either oblivious’ to his difficulties or, ‘carelessly disregards them,’ which she said proves he’s unfit for custody.
On Thursday, court documents obtained by The Daily Mail showed Olivier had been granted temporary primary custody of their 12-year-old son Maceo after accusing the actress of physically abusing him.
Olivier alleged Halle ‘physically abused our son by jumping on him and choking him’ during a September 26, 2026, incident.
The actor was also granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Berry, which protects both him and their son from the actress. The order required Halle to stay 100 yards away from Olivier.
Halle has also lost 50/50 custody, and will be allowed to see their son only during court-ordered visitation two days a week and every other weekend until a hearing on October 16.
Olivier was also the subject of a battery investigation after pushing an LAX employee with a car seat in 2015
Berry’s attorney Marina Beck told the Daily Mail the filing is ‘entirely meritless’ and added that Berry is ‘used to this kind of outrageous conduct’ from Martinez.
The actress is ‘deeply saddened’ by the situation, though she will ‘not allow it to deter her from fighting for Maceo’s best interests and providing him with the love and support he needs.’
The filing lays bare a series of alleged disputes between Berry, Martinez, and their son over the past few years – with the most recent one prompting him to take legal action against her.
‘Throughout the last year-and-a-half, Ms. Berry has wrestled Maceo to the ground and forced him to ‘tap out,” Martinez alleged.
The documents allege Berry has ‘grabbed our son’s neck from the back when he is not looking and forced him to tap out’ multiple times previously – instances that she allegedly insisted were done in jest, but which their son disliked.
Berry and Martinez have also been ordered to participate in confidential mediation to discuss custody, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
The incident which triggered the restraining order allegedly all began after Berry told Maceo he looked ‘so stupid’ and was ‘an idiot’ while playing a virtual reality game and wearing specialized goggles.
According to Martinez, Maceo told him his mother ‘came into Maceo’s bedroom and began pushing Maceo. From what I can tell, the initial contact appeared to be intended to be in a joking manner. Maceo told Petitioner [Berry], ‘Stop. Let me finish the game first.’ This sent Petitioner into a rage.’
The actor further alleged in the court document: ‘Petitioner told Maceo that he looks ‘so stupid’ and is ‘such an idiot’ for playing this game with the VR goggle.
‘The situation escalated from there. Petitioner jumped on Maceo and started physically fighting with him. She grabbed Maceo by the neck and started choking him while shouting, ‘Who is dominant now?! Who is dominant?”
‘Maceo told me he had to fight back,’ Martinez wrote in the filing. ‘Through his efforts, he managed to escape Petitioner’s grip. He started screaming, at which point, Petitioner’s boyfriend came into the room.
According to Martinez, Maceo claimed that Berry’s fiance, Van Hunt, treated him ‘fair.’
The document states that Hunt ‘defended Maceo as he was packing his clothes to leave when Petitioner tried to tell him that he could not take his clothes because Petitioner had bought them for him.’
‘When Maceo said that the clothes had been given to him so he could take them with him, Petitioner’s boyfriend agreed with him and convinced Petitioner to allow him to pack his clothes.’
Martinez claimed that on the night of the alleged incident, he received a ‘frantic call’ from his son asking him to pick him up ”right now.”
Martinez said he then contacted Berry over text message about picking Maceo up, asking if she was ‘OK with it.’
Text messages included in the filing show the correspondence between Martinez and Berry, with the actress allegedly responding to Martinez’s pick up request: ‘No I’m not ok with it. He wants to fight his mother?? What kind of kid are we raising.”
Martinez alleged he had several more calls with his son and could hear Berry’s voice in one of the conversations. He claims to have heard his son telling Berry that he is going to ‘leave forever’, with Berry ‘yelling’ to their son, ‘Good. Good. I don’t want to see anymore.’
He alleges to have received several more urgent-sounding text messages from Maceo asking when he will arrive.
When he arrived to the house, Maceo emerged with Hunt, who was carrying bags of Maceo’s clothing and ‘had a shocked look on his face’ when asked by Martinez about what had happened. He alleged Hunt ‘did not respond to my question.’
Martinez said he was unaware of the alleged physical confrontation between his son and Berry and did not push him for details during the car ride home. Maceo ended up sharing what had allegedly transpired later that night.
The following morning, Martinez allegedly received a text message from Berry which read: ‘Oliver, I’ve reached out to Maceo and asked to speak with him. I know you very much think he makes his own decisions but I would really appreciate it if you would encourage him to speak with me today. I feel terrible about what happened last night as I know he does as well.’
Martinez alleges Maceo no longer wishes to spend time at Berry’s home. ‘I believe he may be traumatized from the incident. My peace was disturbed by the fact that Petitioner physically abused our son,’ he wrote.
The September incident is allegedly not the first time Berry has physically abused Maceo.
‘Both our son and Petitioner have spoken to me about past attacks. Both have confirmed that Petitioner has unprovokedly attacked our son and has put him in choke holds that she learned while training in mixed martial arts.
‘Our son has repeatedly explained how much he hates this, while Petitioner has downplayed the incidents, claiming she was just joking or playing with him.’
It allegedly escalated to the point that Maceo told his father, ”The next time she does that, I’m going to kick her a**.”
Martinez further alleged: ‘While the September 26, 2026 incident in which Petitioner choked our son is the latest incident of abuse, I contend there have been other instances of abuse over the course of the last few years.
‘These other incidents involve additional physical attacks against our son, as well as verbal and emotional abuse from Petitioner to me.
‘All of these incidents have disturbed my peace and is conduct that falls within the scope of the Domestic Violence Protection Act. I have significant concerns about Petitioner’s mental health, as well as her alcohol abuse, which I believe have contributed to her abusive conduct.’
Martinez also accused Berry of slapping Maceo in the face twice around five years ago.
‘I am aware of the fact that Petitioner has struck Maceo in the face before,’ he says. ‘Specifically, she slapped him in the face twice, approximately 5 years ago. While I don’t have personal knowledge of this incident, I believe that Maceo would testify to this if he were asked by the Court or a Court appointed evaluator.’
In his filing, Martinez requested that Berry remain 100 yards away from them, attend a 52-week batterer intervention program, and be ordered to remain sober while caring for Maceo.
‘An Order that Ms. Berry must not drink or be under the influence of alcohol or other substances while exercising visitation with or custody of Maceo. Ms. Berry shall complete Sober Link testing before, during, and after visitation with Maceo at intervals the Court deems appropriate. Ms. Berry shall complete any other test the Court deems appropriate for protecting Maceo.’