Marc Anthony’s ex, Dayanara Torres: ‘My children do not deserve less’ child support


Marc Anthony’s first wife, Dayanara Torres, covers People en Espanol. They have an accompanying English article on People.com which mostly focuses on Torres’s child support battle with Anthony. You may recall that Torres took Anthony to court in late 2013 over his child support for his two sons in her primary custody, Cristian, now 16, and Ryan, 13. Many people thought that her demands were exorbitant in that she wanted a raise in child support from $13,000 a month to $113,000 a month. Anthony’s argument to the court was that increasing child support to Torres would spoil the children essentially, while she maintained that he was hiding millions and that Jennifer Lopez was receiving more child support than she was. Torres was able to get her child support essentially doubled*, and after that was settled we really didn’t hear much from her. It’s about three years later, Torres is ready to restart her career as a model now that her boys are teenagers, and so she’s talking to People. She has some interesting things to say about the child support issue too.

“Being a mother is my main role, and I pushed my career off to the side,” admits Torres in an exclusive interview for People en Español, now on stands. “Now that they are older, Cristian is already [16] years old, Ryan is 13, I feel like I can let go a little. Work is already starting and I feel happy. The kids also want me to do what I’m doing.”

In the interview, the former beauty queen spoke publicly for the first time about her recent legal win against Anthony for child support. The case, settled in 2014 in a Los Angeles court, was tedious—but resulted in a win that increased monthly payments from $6,500 a month to $14,340 and vacation expenses increased from $ 6,000 to $ 12,000 a year. The Latino mega-star also agreed to continue paying for the kids’ educational and medical costs as well as their extracurricular activities.

“It’s not a process where you just go to court and the judge says’ Here you go! It’s yours,” says Torres, who had moved into a small apartment, where the boys shared a room after the divorce. “There were days when I had to face my children; When I would [return home from court], they would ask me every time, ‘Did we win mom? Please tell us we won.’ And finally we were given what we wanted, more than double of what we originally asked. I am happy because my children do not deserve any less than that.”

Torres faced backlash for taking her ex to court for more money, but she says it’s all about stability for the children. She told People En Español that the disparity between the homes was confusing for the kids. “If they are going to have a Disneyland there,” she explained about their father’s home, “then this [living situation] has to be at least be normal.”

Torres also shared her feelings about what happened during last November’s Latin Grammy Awards, where the “Vivir Mi Vida” singer received recognition for his career and sang with his ex Jennifer Lopez. The duet ended with a kiss while the boys watched in the front row. “Such a shame that a moment of so much stature lost quality with everything that came after,” says Torres, who had taken her kids out of school for three days to surprise and support their father. “My children are older now, and I cannot cover the sky with my hands.”

[From People]

You know what? As I said in our original reporting on this, this lady lives in LA with her kids. She’s not asking to live like a rock star, just that her sons have a somewhat consistent experience between their dad’s house and her house. The child support laws are there for a reason, and a judge needs to follow the law when awarding amounts. It’s not about being entitled, it’s a legal matter. Also, it’s telling that she’s waited three years to reboot her career. She wanted to be able to dedicate herself to being a mom and the increase in child support allowed her to do that. Torres is currently single. At the end of the article they quote her as saying that she’s open to a relationship but that she is looking for “a person who understands that [my sons] come first for me. She’s wants someone “who lets me make my dreams into a reality, who doesn’t cut my wings, who doesn’t want to control me.” That last line seems particularly telling when it comes to Anthony.

*People’s details of the child support raise that Torres received in 2014 differ from TMZ’s original reporting.

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Photos credit: Getty, People en Espanol, WENN

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61 Responses to “Marc Anthony’s ex, Dayanara Torres: ‘My children do not deserve less’ child support”

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  1. Jerkface says:

    Anthony is not a nice man. Not where it counts. Very selfish and so boring sorry I just fell asleep while thinking about him. Back to bed for me

    • ctgirl says:

      He is creepy as hell and keeps trying to make a career outside of his musical niche and it never quite works. And his personal life is a shambles, to much back and forth with wives, ex-wives and girlfriends.

  2. Sara says:

    My mother had far more money than my father and when we went to our mother’s for the weekend, our lifestyles were different. I was not traumatized nor was my father, who got a normal sum of child support for us.

    I don’t think there is a “normal” for families. People don’t deserve huge sums of money.

    • Annie says:

      Sorry but these kids were here first and it’s unfair his kids with Jlo were getting more child support when Jlo is filthy rich herself. He wants to punish Dayanara even though he left her for Jennifer. He needs to be a good father to all. If he’s rich, why should some of his children live differently than the others?

    • Algernon says:

      I’m glad it worked for you, but the reason this keeps coming up in family courts is because many people use money to punish, intimidate and control their exes. They make their house a “Disneyland” as Dayanara says, only to send the kids back to the other parent who can’t afford to compete. That can be used to create resentment in the children and it is a form of manipulation. Child support is supposed to allow the lesser-earning parent to remain stable with the other parent so that the kids can’t be manipulated like that.

      Beyond that, I can’t imagine it creates healthy, respectful sibling relationships when one set of kids is clearly “less favored” than another. I always think about Linda Evangelista and Salma Hayek’s husband having that ugly public fight about support, and what it must be like for their son to know Mr. Salma Hayek (I forget his name) doesn’t value him the same as he does his daughter with Salma. What kind of relationship will they have as that boy grows up? How does he ever look his son in the eye?

      • Lilly says:

        Agreed. She’s been an excellent mom, it’s obvious, and he’s lucky. The kids do deserve parity.

    • MB says:

      It’s not about whether the kids would be ‘traumatized’ staying somewhere the lifestyle was on the more affordable side.
      It’s supposed to balance things out so that the kids have consistency no matter which parent they are with. It also prevents one parent having the upper hand just because they can win the affection of the child by being able to afford a more lavish lifestyle.

  3. Jess says:

    I’m completely on her side here, and actually I still don’t think he pays enough for those boys. Does he really pay Lopez child support?! That’s wild to me since she’s so rich too. Dayanara seems like a decent person, and she got tossed aside for Jennifer, hopefully she can find someone who treats her better!

    • Sara says:

      I hate that image of her kids asking her “DID WE WIN MOMMY” when she came back from court. Ugh, why involve your kids in this???

      • Jess says:

        Yeah that’s pretty sad actually, she shouldn’t have put that on them!

      • QueenEllisabet says:

        i thought that was pretty strange too.

      • Bitsy says:

        You sound so miserable. “People don’t deserve” money from divorce…? Why on earth not? She quit working at his request, then got dumped when JLO got dumped as her husband wanted to play hero. Literally dumped one day out of no where. As for her kids, they have famous parents. It’s not like they weren’t going to know what happened. When my parents divorced I was 13 and they tried to stay secretive but I knew my dad was cheating and treating my mom like crap because I had eyes and a brain. Not hard to conclude. And when your lifestyle changes significantly, it is very hard. Just because you didn’t mind doesn’t mean it’s not though on everyone else. Living in a mansion, private schools and fancy vacations then one day an apartment and public school? Harsh.
        But again, why are you so miserable…or misogynist?

      • LoveIsBlynd says:

        No one knows if there was a court investigation that the kids were involved with. My child -had- to know about court because he was interviewed by a court investigator. Our process took 5 years and now he’s 10. When he was 5 years old I told him the investigator was a “friend”, but when he got older he was clued in. My point is that as the kids get older they (a) may be involved and (b) are old enough to know what’s happening.

      • JennaR says:

        I was thinking the exact same thing.

    • Nicole says:

      I’m sure he does. She’s rich but that does not negate his monetary responsibilities to the kids either. I believe she has primary or joint and in both scenarios he would have to pay for the twins.
      The problem is she should not have compared her sons to the twins. The twins have two rich parents and unfortunately that will make a disparity. JLo can afford to spoil the kids on her own. However if they take into account just Marc’s money then yes he should pay more.

      To me she is doing a disservice to her kids for dragging them into it and clearly trying to compare households. Of course it will look different. I don’t blame her for getting more money but the comparison isn’t exactly correct

      • paranormalgirl says:

        She’s not comparing households as much as she’s comparing the amount of child support. He was paying one wife considerably more than the amount he was paying the other.

    • Loopy says:

      I was wondering how does that work? If one parent has primary custody but is mega rich,are they still entitled to child support? And what if Marc had primary custody does that mean Jennifer would have to pay him? Any Family Lay experts in here?

      • Nicole says:

        Yes again having money does not negate financial responsibility. the point of CS is to provide funds for the child’s upbringing. Ideally that is split 50/50 between the parents. Being rich does not mean you are not entitled to CS

      • Ramona says:

        The custodial parent is always entitled to support but the general practise with celebs of near equal wealth is to waive that or just agree that parent X will pay for certain things directly. For instance, they can agree that parent X will lease out that ski lodge every year or pay the private school fees. In other words, its highly unusual that a parent of Jlos stature would be taking a monthly check directly especially when they have close to the same worth. If you look carefully at the statements that came out of the three big divorces of last year (Steffani, Jolie and Garner) you’ll also see hints of waived direct support.

  4. Tan says:

    His disparity I never understand
    How can a parent be so cruel to their children?

    Like its your flesh and blood
    You may hate your ex partner but damn those two innocent kids didn’t choose to be here
    You both brought them together

    How can you wash your hands off/ offer minimal support to them while showing off to rest of the world

    How do you explain to the kids daddy does love you a lot when he is busy showing to the contrary with his action?

  5. Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

    Its well known Anthony is a piece of work – there were all sorts of stories about him and Lopez and how his ego couldn’t handle her being the bigger star. Don’t get me wrong both have massive ego’s if IIRC back in they day there were stories about him putting her down in front of people while she was standing there.

    I have never gotten his appeal – he has mega douche written all over his face.

  6. Adrien says:

    Go get the money, girl. I am a pageant enthusiast so I know her well. Dayanara came from a poor family before she became Miss Universe at 16 but she is far from being a gold digger. She worked her ass off. People I know who had worked with her in the past have nothing but good things to say about her. The Latino community in LA loves her. Heck, even Filipinos have adopted her as their own because she is down to earth and very professional.

  7. CommentingBunny says:

    My ex has our kids 40% of the time, which is shared custody in our jurisdiction. Since I make more, I pay him support. And I pay him well over the legally required amount even though I have the kids more often.

    I’m pretty certain that I pay a much larger percentage of my income than MA is of his. But I *want* my kids to have a similar lifestyle in both of their homes. It’s not about the dollar amounts. It’s about sharing your wealth and lifestyle with your kids. And if you’re making millions more than the other parent, hell yes you should be ensuring that your kids are sharing the lifestyle that brings.

    It takes a special kind of awfulness to begrudge that, to make your kids’ other parent into the bad guy for asserting their legal rights and making sure you live up to your moral obligations.

    TL;DR – what a jerk.

    • Cannibell says:

      What lucky kids you have to have such a great mom. It’s really about the long game – raising the most well-adjusted adults you possibly can, and what you’re doing is absolutely the best possible thing you can do to generate that outcome.

      I waived support and never regretted it, even though I had no way of figuring out how I was going ti make things work. He would have been happy to have the kids 100 percent of the time with their “new” mommy and step-sibling. Two of his mantras where I was concerned were “I’m going to need a big place because you’re going to be on the street” and “You’d better learn to say ‘Do you want fries with that order,'” the latter of which I only write or say when I tell this story. The former never happened. I’m not saying things weren’t dicey, but everyone’s grown up now and we mostly survived (except for my ex, who is now resting in peace).

      As for Dayanara & Mark Anthony, those children are absolutely entitled to child support and a mother who can devote herself to their care, given their father’s circumstances. She sounds like a great mom.

      • Aren says:

        @Canibell, you’re an awesome person. One day, I hope I can be as strong as you are.

      • Cannibell says:

        Awww., thanks {blushes}. There really wasn’t a choice. So many times I wanted to fold up, but I had these people (my daughters) watching me! It was a total Yoda “Do or Do Not, There Is No Try” situation.

  8. applapoom says:

    Whatever amount child support he gives to his kids with J Lo he should give to his kids with Dayanara. Favouritism hurts.

    • Jo says:

      Life isn’t fair. They have plenty to live off. Yes, it sucks, it hurts, it happens. Their dad is an idiot. It’s a tough lesson to learn, but he can spend his money how he likes beyond court ordered payments.

  9. Bridget says:

    Dayanara gave up her career in a field that has a very short shelf life, for this yahoo. Marc Anthony is a piece of work. I’m curious how she’lol start working again now, simply because she’s aged out of most traditional modeling.

  10. Beth says:

    Her getting $13,000 a month is more than plenty of divorced parents get a year. That amount each month doesn’t leave their kids starving, homeless, and not affording clothes. Making the amount 10x sounds a bit greedy and unnecessary

  11. a reader says:

    I have been friends with the lawyer who represented her in the divorce for nearly 20 years. He didn’t speak much of the case while it was ongoing bcus ethics, but afterwards he made it very clear that MA was a real bastard during the proceedings. MA was using the child support issue to crush Daya’s spirit and my friend made it very clear that MA seemed to be vindictive, using his wealth and power to back Daya into a corner until she accepted the original offer. MA doesn’t have these kids in his life as often as he does the twins with Jennifer. He acts like these kids are an afterthought. There is more that I’ve been told, but I’m not willing to post it publicly. Needless to say MA has serious problems with misogyny, control issues, and substances.

    • applapoom says:

      He really does sound like a prick. She ptobably gave into him over and over during their marriage and after.

      I understand some people feel 13,000 is a lot of money for a lot of people but as I posted above a father should provide the same amount for each child…it is terrible for Dayanara’s kids to be treated as the lesser ones.

      • a reader says:

        Total prick according to my lawyer friend. And yes, it’s about parity. Imagine how confusing it could be for a child to live in a mansion one week and a tiny apartment the next. I mean, it is so crystal clear that MA is punishing those children because of who their mother is. I feel very deeply for Daya and the kids.

    • Bridget says:

      I thought most of that was pretty well known. Anthony threw Torres over about as quickly as possible when JLo finally deigned to be with him. He strong armed that divorce and basically wanted to pretend that marriage never happened. He’s awful.

    • Cannibell says:

      Thank you for this post, which gives just the appropriate amount of information and respects the family’s privacy.

  12. Jo says:

    The amounts of money in these situations are ludicrous. If you can’t live off $13k per month then what you need is money management help, not more money. It would be lovely if everything was fair in these scenarios, but I’ve been in a situation very similar to this, with nowhere near these kind of sums were being thrown about and you either get bitter about it or just get over it.

    it sucks that some kids get more than others and there are regular people that really should be supporting their families better, but some single mothers go and get jobs. Urgh! This stuff is really frustrating!

  13. Upstatediva says:

    Dayanara was in a cute romcom set in Puerto Rico, opposite Lin Manuel Miranda, that came out in 2013. 200 Cartas. Just saw it this weekend. They were cute together, and the movie was light but fun.

  14. Mar says:

    Didn’t he marry het twice and then dump her like a yesterday’s trash when Bennifer broke up?
    He seems like a controlling egomaniac. Funny thing is Dayanara’s kids technically should be getting more than Jen’s kids from Marc.
    Jen has a way larger income than Dayanara.

  15. lucy2 says:

    I have always found him creepy and gross, and not at all surprised to hear he is controlling and a jerk.
    He has 5 kids, though I think one is an adult now. He should be paying equal support for the minor children, regardless of who their mother is, and it should be proportional to his income.

  16. kNY says:

    I hope she’s putting all that extra money away for the kids when they grow up. If he’s not willing to pay when they’re underage, then he’s probably not going to help with grad school.

    • Aren says:

      That’s a very good point.

    • Lyla says:

      According to the article he pays for their education, medical expenses, extracurricular activities, and vacations + $14340/month. Idk what their agreement is for education if the kid wants to go to grad school, but it’s usually covered in the divorce agreement.

  17. Aren says:

    This sounds very messed up, she may have gotten the money but that’s all; in the process she got the kids involved and tried to force MA to have a relationship with them to the point of taking them to some awards show to see how their dad kisses the woman he cheated on their mom with.

    Not everybody has their dad around, and if he’s a bad person, the kids would probably be better off without him.
    Those kids will never have what JLo’s do because she’s not JLo, and MA is an ar**hole to everyone, she should dump him.

  18. Lyla says:

    Does anyone know how much JLo’s twins get?

  19. holly hobby says:

    I’m glad the boys look like their mother. That’s all I got.

  20. tealily says:

    One thing you’ve got to say about Anthony is that his genes are strong! Look at those boys… spitting image!

  21. Shannon says:

    LOL your kids don’t have to be homeless or starving to deserve equal treatment to your other treatment and, at least where I am, child support is allocated based on a percentage of income. In other words, if daddy (or mommy) is doing well, kids need to be doing well as also. I’m definitely team Dayanara. I have two sons with two differerent fathers. I don’t pay child support as I have primary custody, however if I did, I wouldn’t sit on a pile of money and hand over just enough to keep them from being homeless. That’s ridiculous.

  22. JRenee says:

    I’m betting JLo, had better legal representation and knew exactly what he was making and asked for support based on that knowledge . I bet his legal team ramrodded her legal team to settle. This came up before in the media, she only wanted her children to receive the same in child support as the twins. Idc if it was 20k or 113k a month, if he was paying that for 1 set of kids, he should pay the same for the other kids.
    Btw, the boys resemble him but are more handsome.

  23. courtney says:

    his kids with Dayanara are 15 and 14 now so almost grown which is 18 by law and child support ends at 18 unless they go to college or are in an accident or something. besides that child support is determined by what the paying parent makes annually after taxes so say Marc clears 5 million for the year after taxes each set of kids would get roughly 500,000 a year in child support his oldest daughter is already an adult aged 23 born in 1994

  24. Loca says:

    I could make $6500 work just saying. Go to a third world country then try to complain.