Actress Halle Berry and model Gabriel Aubry were together from 2005 to 2010, and ever since then, they have taken nasty swipes at one another. Most of the contention has been over child support. Berry, with an estimated net worth of $90 million, was ordered to pay Aubry a whopping $16,000 a month in 2014. The two shared custody of their daughter, Nahla.
At the time, Berry was also ordered to shell out a lump sum of $115,000.
But not it seems the two parties have come to an agreement that cuts the support significantly.
Support Timeline
When Berry was ordered to pay $16,000 monthly, she let it be known she was outraged.
She blasted it as “extortion.”
In a 2021 Instagram post, she wrote, “Women don’t owe you sh-t.” She reportedly replied to comments to the post by writing, “It takes great strength every day [sic] to pay it. And BTW, it’s wrong, and it’s extortion!”
When someone asked if she thinks that men paying alimony and child support is also wrong, Berry added, “I’m not going to speak on alimony as I have never asked for it nor have I ever paid it. However, as for child support, I feel I can speak on it as I’ve been paying it for a decade now.”
She continued, “I feel if a woman or a man is having to pay support that is way more than the reasonable needs to help SUPPORT the child, I think that is wrong! I understand some parents (man or woman) may need help, but I also feel that in these modern times, both men and women have the responsibility to financially take care of their children and work hard and make every effort to do so. The way many laws are set up, people are allowed to USE children in order to be awarded money to live a lifestyle that not only they did not earn but that is way above and beyond the child’s reasonable needs, and that is ‘THE WRONG’ and where I see the abuse.”
Berry went on, according to Vanity Fair, to say, “The laws are outdated and no longer reflect the modern world. This is just my opinion. I clearly don’t own the truth. I can say I’m living it every day, and I can tell you it’s hard. I do totally understand the feelings of those men who feel they are and have been taken advantage of by the system.”
When Berry was ordered by pay $16,000 a month, the ruling was based on each of their incomes at the time. In a nine-month period during 2012, Berry earned roughly $4.7 million. Aubry earned $192,921 Aubry from October 2011 to October 2012, according to legal documents obtained by E! News.
In addition to the child support, Berry also paid for the full tuition for Nahla’s private school.
Then, after more than a decade and numerous court battles, the child support was cut to half. In 2021 the court changed the support payment to $8,000 a month, but Berry was also ordered to pay 4.3 percent of any annual income she made over $1.95 million. So it the total annually was $96,000, but since Berry earns a reported $10 million per film, she would have to pay an additional amount if she did made a film–or two–that year. The new agreement still has Berry paying 4.3 percent on income above $1.95 million, but now that figure is capped at $4.5 million, and she would not make additional payments on anything above that amount.
New Victory
So the Oscar-winning actress has scored a win in her battle with Aubry. Nahla is now 15. Based on Berry’s current earnings, the child support payments will be capped at roughly $206,000 annually. This amount is potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars less than what Aubry would have received in 2023 based on the older ruling, reported The Daily Mail, which obtained the new filings. Berry and Aubry modified their child support deal on May 15, and it was signed off by a judge on May 17.
The exes agreed that any additional support over $109,650 per year “would exceed” their daughter’s needs.
“Halle shall continue to pay Gabriel 4.3% of any income she receives above $1.95 million, as and for additional child support for Nahla; however, any additional payments of child support pursuant to this Paragraph shall not exceed $109,650 per year, which is the difference between 4.3% of $1.95 million and $4.5 million,” the filing states, according to The Daily Mail.
“The parties agree that additional child support over and above $109,650 per year would exceed Nahla’s reasonable needs.”
Berry, who also has a son, Maceo Robert Martinez, with ex-husband Olivier Martinez, is currently filming the action thriller “Our Man from Jersey,” co-starring Mark Wahlberg. And her Netflix sci-fi film, “The Mothership,” is scheduled to be released later this year.
Berry still owes the Los Angeles-based Aubry $288,000 from her 2022 earnings; it will be paid in monthly installments starting June 1.
The agreement will remain in place until Nahla graduates from high school or turns 19 if she’s remains in school.
