Halle Berry’s Custody Battle With Olivier Martinez Takes a Dramatic Turn With a Temporary Restraining Order

Few celebrity breakups have dragged on quite like the one between Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez. The Oscar winner and the French actor married in July 2013 and welcomed their son Maceo that October, but what began as a seemingly amicable split has turned into a custody battle spanning more than a decade.

Berry filed for divorce in October 2015, and it took 8 years of disputes over custody, child support and legal costs before the case was finally settled in August 2023. Under that agreement, the pair shared joint legal and physical custody of Maceo, while Berry agreed to pay Martinez $8,000 a month in child support plus 4.3% of any income she earns above $2 million.

Now the dispute has escalated dramatically. On Thursday, October 1, a Los Angeles County judge granted Martinez a temporary restraining order against Berry after he filed court documents accusing her of physically and emotionally abusing their 12-year-old son, an allegation Berry’s team strongly denies.

Martinez, 60, claimed in his filing that the most recent alleged incident took place on September 26 while Maceo was at Berry’s home, and he alleged other incidents over the past several years. He also accused Berry of threatening to have him deported to France and is now seeking sole custody of their son.

The filing included screenshots of text messages between the former couple following the alleged incident. In one message cited in the documents, Berry appears to say she felt terrible about what had happened, while other texts show her pushing back on Martinez and saying she had reached out to Maceo to talk with him.

The temporary order requires Berry to stay 100 yards away from Martinez until the next hearing on October 16. It also limits her time with Maceo to court-ordered visits on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the former couple has been sent to confidential custody mediation.

Halle Berry’s alleged texts to ex-husband Olivier Martinez have surfaced amid their custody battle. 🚨

According to court documents, Berry allegedly messaged Martinez the day after the incident involving their 12-year-old son, writing that she felt “terrible about what happened… pic.twitter.com/18p0u3xcAv

— Radar Online (@radar_online) October 2, 2026

The ruling is narrower than the headlines might suggest. Judge Kaufman did not suspend all contact between Berry and her son, allowing unsupervised in-person visits on certain days without overnight stays, and did not grant Martinez sole custody, meaning their August 2023 agreement remains in place.

The judge also ordered that Berry must not drink or be under the influence of alcohol or other substances around Maceo. However, a request for monitoring of her sobriety was denied, with the court citing insufficient information. Berry, also 60, isn’t staying quiet. “To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement,” her attorney Marina Beck told the Daily Beast.

Beck claimed there is extensive evidence, including multiple judicial rulings, showing that Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational support for Maceo, misconduct for which she said he has already been sanctioned. She also described him as having a well-documented history of erratic, possessive, and violent behavior.

“Fortunately, Halle is used to this kind of outrageous conduct from Mr. Martinez and, while she is deeply saddened, 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,” Beck added in the same statement.

This isn’t the first time the custody fight has spilled into public view. When Maceo was 10, Berry sought sole custody herself, alleging that Martinez’s behavior toward their son’s educational and therapeutic needs had harmed her relationship with him.

Martinez has also faced scrutiny before, including a Thanksgiving Day altercation years ago with Gabriel Aubry, the father of Berry’s daughter Nahla. Online, the latest filing has sparked strong reactions, with some fans rushing to defend Berry against the allegations.

For now, both sides will return to court on October 16, where the judge is expected to take a closer look at the temporary order. Until then, the allegations remain unproven, and the focus for many observers is simply on what’s best for a 12-year-old caught in the middle.

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