Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry and her ex-husband Olivier Martinez will start working with a coach to better their co-parenting relationship for the sake of their son, Maceo. This step addresses the lingering and contentious custody issue still in play from their protracted divorce.
According to court documents seen by People magazine, Berry, 57, and Martinez, 58, have agreed to “co-parenting therapy” with a certified professional to “resolve disputes and conflicts between them in an effort to successfully co-parent” their 9-year-old son.
Co-Parenting Therapy For All Three Parents
Both parents will undergo therapy, starting with individual sessions with the coach followed by at least six joint co-parenting sessions.
Also, Berry’s partner, Van Hunt, 54, will be permitted to join these joint sessions. After the sixth session, the coach and the courts will assess whether further therapy is necessary.
This sorting out of their separation, particularly the care of Maceo, began in 2015 after the couple split.
Their divorce was finalized in August 2023, concluding nearly an eight-year process, when the “Jungle Fever” star’s estimated $90 million net worth was at the center stage as an agreement was reached on their divorce and custody terms.
The court document stipulates, “In exercising joint legal custody, each Party shall consult and cooperate with the other to reach a mutual agreement with respect to issues affecting Maceo’s health, education, and welfare and neither Party shall make unilateral decisions impacting Maceo… Each Party shall keep the other Party informed of all matters pertaining to Maceo’s health and/or illness, education, and general welfare.”
Maceo’s Almost $100,000 a Year Care
Effective April 1, the agreement went into play with Berry, who was once first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant, agreeing to pay her son’s father $8,000 per month in child support.
Additionally, she will provide 4.3% of any income exceeding $2,000,000 in extra support.
Berry will also offer additional child support in two equal payments by December 1 each year.
She is responsible for covering 100% of Maceo’s extracurricular activities and reimbursing Martinez up to $3,500 for soccer-related expenses in 2023. Berry will also handle the costs for her son’s private school tuition, uniforms, school supplies, and other extracurricular activities, reimbursing Martinez for any related expenses from the 2023/2024 school year.
Because of the prenuptial agreement set in place, there are no alimony payments due to Martinez.
Berry had been divorced twice before ending it with Martinez.
She was once married baseball player David Justice in 1993, but their marriage ended in 1997. In 2001, after two years of dating, she married R&B singer Eric Benet. However, by 2003, the couple separated following Benet’s completion of a treatment program for sex addiction, and their divorce was finalized in 2005.
In 2013, she married Martinez.
Berry Believes Child Support Laws Are Outdated
This is the second child support arrangement that the star has had hammer out with an ex.
Post-divorce from Gabriel Aubry in 2014, she was mandated to pay $16,000 monthly in child support for their daughter, Nahla, along with a $415,000 retroactive fee.
A recent decision has capped the annual child support for Nahla at approximately $206,000, a reduction from what Aubry might have claimed in 2023 under previous terms. Initially ordered to pay a lump sum of $115,000, Berry and Aubry eventually settled on this iteration of the arrangement.
Berry will continue to support Nahla, including her private school expenses, until she turns 19. Currently, Nahla is 16 years old.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Ohio native was vocal about her views on custody laws.
“The laws are outdated and no longer reflect the modern world. This is just my opinion,” she said. “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.”
To keep up those payments, Berry has had to keep working. She took to her social media last week to announce her new film with Mark Wahlberg titled “The Union.” It will debut on Netflix on Aug. 16.
your girl’s been working. 😉 “THE UNION” on @Netflix August 16. https://t.co/fEATJL2qPp pic.twitter.com/fvUpmPJc9x
— Halle Berry (@halleberry) May 30, 2024
