The ongoing custody battle between Welsh-American actor Ioan Gruffudd and British-American actress Alice Evans, over their two young daughters, is escalating. The Fantastic Four star accused his ex-wife of being a ‘child abuser,’ while Evans alleged that Gruffudd had not seen or contacted their children for nearly three months, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.
Last Thursday, a Los Angeles judge sought to protect their daughters – Ella, 13, and Elsie, nine – from the fallout of their parents’ disputes. The judge barred the press from a custody hearing to keep the proceedings confidential as both parties vie for the custody of the girls.
Gruffudd, 49, who previously claimed that Evans, 55, had prevented him from seeing his daughters for almost a year, filed new legal documents. In these documents, he stated, ‘Alice has continued to inflict serious emotional harm on Ella and Elsie through her statements and by interfering in my relationship with them. Alice has verbally abused and undermined me in front of the girls throughout their lives. Since January 2021, Alice has also encouraged and instructed them not to see me or communicate with me. She has made thousands of threatening and abusive communications to me and about me.’
Gruffudd, citing a barrage of harassing messages from Evans, obtained a three-year restraining order against her last August. This was to protect himself and his girlfriend, Bianca Wallace, who is 24 years younger than Evans. He also accused Evans of violating the restraining order repeatedly.
He also criticized Evans for the children missing numerous therapy sessions, stating, ‘Although there is an order for the girls to attend therapy, Alice has repeatedly either refused to bring the girls or interfered with my bringing the girls to therapy.’
LA Superior Court Judge Josh Freeman Stinn has granted Gruffudd’s request for a child custody evaluation, which is set for August 17.
Evans, however, denied the allegations of child abuse, expressing opposition to a child custody evaluation. She stated in her court documents, ‘I have read and disagree with the declaration of petitioner (Gruffudd) as to allegations that I am inflicting or causing our children ‘serious emotional harm.” She also highlighted Gruffudd’s lack of recent contact with the children as a reason against the urgent need for a child custody evaluation.
Their divorce was finalized recently, but the issues of spousal and child support, as well as child custody, remain unresolved.
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