Halle Berry’s bitter custody battle with ex-husband Olivier Martinez has taken another expensive turn. The Oscar-winning actress is already paying thousands of dollars each month to support their teenage son. Now, her former husband wants a bigger check.
Another Demand
The latest financial demand arrives after weeks of explosive courtroom allegations, testimony from family members and a restraining order that a judge ultimately dismissed. While the legal battle has centered on their 13-year-old son, Maceo, money has remained a recurring issue between the former spouses.
On Monday, Nov. 9, Martinez filed documents in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting an increase in child support, according to Page Six.
Under their August 2023 divorce settlement, Berry agreed to pay Martinez $8,000 monthly, or $96,000 annually, plus 4.3 percent of her earnings exceeding $2 million. She also covers their son’s private education and certain additional expenses.
The original arrangement reflected equal physical custody. Martinez now argues that Berry’s parenting time has dropped to approximately 18 percent, leaving him responsible for Maceo during the remaining 82 percent.
The French actor, 60, claims his monthly expenses approach $18,000, while his acting residuals generate less than $800 monthly. He has not specified how much additional support he wants, citing the need for updated financial disclosures from Berry.
Martinez also pointed to Berry’s continued Hollywood career, referencing her work on “Crime 101” and upcoming projects “Fleur” and “Red Card.”
His argument centers on California’s child support principles, which consider parental income and parenting time. Martinez maintains that children of wealthy parents should benefit from their parents’ financial circumstances.
But the financial request is particularly striking because fans questioned Martinez’s motives long before he filed it.
During the October custody proceedings, social media users openly wondered whether Berry’s finances were influencing the increasingly contentious dispute.
“You’ve got to feel sorry for Halle Berry,” one commenter wrote when the trial first started.
Another complained, “Yes, really disgusting that she’s exploited this way by these no-good men.”
Those reactions were opinions, not evidence of Martinez’s intentions. Nevertheless, his latest filing has brought the financial implications of the custody battle into sharper focus.
The dispute escalated after Martinez accused Berry of physically abusing Maceo during a September confrontation involving a virtual reality headset. He alleged that she grabbed their son around the neck and choked him.
Berry emphatically denied the allegations.
“I have never physically, emotionally, or otherwise abused Maceo,” she declared in court documents.
During the proceedings, Berry’s daughter, Nahla Aubry, submitted a declaration defending her mother. Her fiancé, musician Van Hunt, also testified.
On Oct. 29, Judge Shelley Kaufman dissolved the temporary restraining order and denied Martinez’s request for a longer-term domestic violence restraining order. However, the judge maintained the modified custody arrangement, leaving Martinez with primary physical custody, according to ABC News.
The financial demands did not end there. Martinez separately requested that Berry pay approximately $240,000 toward his legal fees.
For Berry, the controversy echoes an earlier financial dispute with former partner Gabriel Aubry, father of her daughter Nahla.
Aubry previously received $16,000 monthly in child support before Berry successfully petitioned to reduce the base amount to $8,000 in 2021.
Berry has publicly criticized child support arrangements that she believes allow former partners to depend financially on successful women rather than pursue their own income.
Her current predicament raises a broader question about how courts balance a wealthy parent’s financial responsibilities against changes in custody and the other parent’s earning capacity.
Martinez’s request has not been granted. The former couple is scheduled to return to court Dec. 17, when their custody arrangement will face further review.
For now, the actress faces another financial fight, while the suspicions fans voiced weeks earlier have become an increasingly prominent part of the public conversation.
