Halle Berry's Relationship With Her Ex-Husband Olivier Martinez Is Messier Than We Thought

It's no secret that Halle Berry and her third husband Olivier Martinez had a tumultuous split. Well, "had" might be the wrong word, here. After all, despite their divorce finally coming through in August 2023 (proceedings began a whopping eight years prior), the latest development at the time of this writing is a custody dispute. Berry is requesting full custody of their son Maceo Martinez, or to be granted the position of tiebreaker when it comes to decisions about the 10-year-old. 

News of Berry's request broke in August 2024. As seen in court docs accessed by Fox News, Berry had been upset by Olivier's' unwillingness to follow through on things like taking Maceo to therapy and educational assessments. Unwillingness is probably too lenient a term in this particular instance. Per People, Berry's court docs said of Olivier's response to Maceo's therapy and tutoring, "He aggressively stands in the way of implementing strategies and interventions to assist Maceo." As a result, Berry claimed, "Respondent's refusal to allow early interventions have caused Maceo to fall further behind in school." That wasn't all, though. Berry also accused Olivier of turning their son against her, noting that whenever Maceo had spent more time with his dad, he tended to return to her with a hostile attitude. On top of that, she complained that she often wasn't involved in decisions when it came to the little boy. 

In a word: yikes. Given all the drama, Nicki Swift spoke exclusively with family law attorney Holly Davis of Kirker Davis LLP. Davis shared some insight as to what a tie-breaker situation might entail, as well as her thoughts on how likely Berry is to win her case. 

Right off the bat, Holly Davis noted that Halle Berry stood a good chance of winning custody or being named a tiebreaker. "It looks like there are very specific things that Martinez has done over the course of several months or years that have shown he's unwilling to participate in the co-parenting sessions or decisions between Berry and Martinez for the benefit of their child," she said. 

Davis added that if the court went the tiebreaker route, there was a chance Berry herself would be granted that role. After all, regarding Berry's claims about Olivier Martinez's actions, Davis said, "Typically, the courts don't like that type of behavior." Moreover, Davis pointed out that if Berry could prove that she was consistently trying to focus on Maceo Martinez (who, as an aside, approves of Berry's new boyfriend, Van Hunt), and getting no response from Olivier, that would stand her in good stead with the judge.

Of course, there's also a chance that if a tiebreaker was put in place, it might not be Berry. As Davis explained, in instances where co-parents couldn't see eye-to-eye, courts sometimes appointed doctors or therapists as third-party decision-makers. Having said that, she added that it's often a last resort. Though the third-party route sounds great on paper, Davis noted, "Professionals are really hesitant, and don't want to be put in the middle and to be held accountable for making decisions about what is in the best interest of a child when they've got two parents who could get mad at them." Berry being granted that role is the more likely outcome, then. 

Speaking exclusively with Nicki Swift, Holly Davis made a point of noting that the court would look into Halle Berry's conduct as well as Olivier Martinez's. This would be to assess whether her own behavior had anything to do with Martinez's failure to effectively co-parent. "If Berry has been shown to be really difficult and abusive in her communications and it's just impossible to enter into a meeting or a therapy session with her because she just flies off the handle, that could be a reason why he's refusing to co-parent with her," she reasoned. 

It does bear mentioning that, as seen in court docs acquired by Us Weekly, Martinez has accused Berry of forcing him and their son to do what she thinks is best. He also claims that Berry's much higher net worth allows her to take him to court, and he's unable to fight back (though she does pay him a stunning amount in child support). 

Davis' take? Both Berry and Martinez could be in the wrong. "I rarely see high conflict situations with just one person being high conflict. It's usually a combination of both," she told us. Ultimately, we'll have to see what the court decides. It's heartbreaking that even post-divorce, Berry is still dealing with the effects of her stunningly awful love life. Here's hoping she and Martinez can find a solution, for their son's sake.