Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk split up a few months ago. I still don’t believe that Lady Gaga had anything to do with it. I think it was mostly a normal, un-scandalous break up, and it happened because they were both unhappy with each other, and because they wanted different things. I also think they both adore their daughter Lea. Lea is two years old and there were always a lot of photos of Bradley and Irina spending time with Lea, and she seems like a happy little girl, adored by her parents. But… Bradley and Irina were never married, and I didn’t know if there was going to be some kind of custodial dispute over Lea, especially given Irina and Bradley’s jet-setting schedules. Turns out, Bradley and Irina have quietly worked out a custody arrangement already.
Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk may have parted ways, but they have come together as parents in a big way … agreeing to live in the same town and share custody … TMZ has learned. Sources connected to the former couple tell us, they have agreed to joint legal and physical custody of 2-year-old Lea De Seine. We’re told it’s a 50/50 split, although with work schedules it varies from month to month.
And, what’s more … our sources say they do NOT have a formal, written custody agreement. They’re so in sync with co-parenting, they don’t feel the need to memorialize it. We’re also told they agreed to live in the same city … New York City. They had a home in L.A. and also one in New York that they bought last October. It’s unclear if Bradley will still be spending much time in L.A.
“Our sources say they do NOT have a formal, written custody agreement. They’re so in sync with co-parenting, they don’t feel the need to memorialize it.” I mean… they might want to “memorialize” it because you never know how sh-t might change. It sounds more like Irina and Bradley are working together for Lea’s happiness and well-being now, but how will everything look in a year or two, or five years from now? Irina will find another boyfriend, Bradley will find another girlfriend, he’ll work all the time and have to be on location and he’ll want Irina to drop everything so she can bring Lea to him for a visit, and on and on. It will get messy, regardless of a formal custody arrangement, and it might be better to just sit down and write it all out.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red, Backgrid.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up in court eventually with a formal agreement. I mean, hey, maybe they genuinely are flexible enough and ended on good enough terms that it won’t be an issue. But it isn’t often just that simple.
And I also wonder how they are going to work out child support. That is something that should be in writing.
It’s great that they’ve worked it out thus far, but they definitely should put it in writing. My husband and his ex had an informal custody agreement for years (they were completely split but hadn’t gone through the divorce process), and when there started to be issues with people not following the verbal agreement, things got ugly.
They should at very least put it in writing for now.
It’s good they’re doing things amicably, but both should want something legally written up, for custody, and the financials.
My guess is there is no “formal agreement” now because it was made before the baby was even born!! Who gets the baby when is in the original contract.
It’s ALWAYS best to sit down and have a formal LEGAL arrangement in situations like this. Even if both parties get along and are on the same page. Because yes – things change and situations change and there needs to be something on the table that protects the interests of BOTH parents and most importantly the child. I can’t count how many “informal” child support or custody arrangements I have seen go south for various reasons.
She is smart not to write anything down, especially if they haven’t yet agreed on child support. Because they weren’t married, he would need to file in order to get 50/50 legal custody. Currently she actually has full legal custody, it’s only automatic 50/50 once married in most states. If things get less sympatico, expect a court filing shortly.
Of course it’s possible that they can just coparent peacefully and will keep things private.
But why is Irina considered the one who has full legal custody now? I remember in one of the break-up articles, some “source” close to them actually mentioned that Bradley and Irina wanted everything in writing so there was no confusion down the road, so it’s odd that they didn’t do that.
Not that I’m surprised, but I had no idea they were splitting.
Good for them if they’re on the same page in terms of custody, even if they eventually have to draw up a legal document.
It would be really cool if people actually decided whether they wanted the responsibility of parenting a tiny new human before they just randomly go and make one. Do any kids in Hollywood actually have parents who care more about them than their own selfish desires/work schedules/crushes of the moment/whatever stupid excuses people come up with to abandon things the moment they get a little difficult? I know I sound like a stodgy old fart. And I’ll gladly eat my words if my kid comes to me when he’s grown and says “Ya know mom, I really wish you and dad had spent the majority of my formative years shuttling me back and forth between each other like a mis-addressed Amazon package and the low key guilt I could have felt for being the wedge that drove you apart would have been the highlight of my youth! Damn you!”
I would have thought they would have had a formal “pre-natal” agreement in place, especially since they aren’t married. It doesn’ have to adversarial to be legal: a simple this is the custody agreement, this is wat will be paid by whom, have it looked over by an attorney, file it with the court. A paper
trail is created, there are no misunderstandings and you don’t have to think about it until someone wants to change something.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this “figuring things out, nothing written” wasn’t actually happening under the supervision of some sort of legal mediation process. That is what a friend going through a divorce did. They separated, got a mediator, and agreed to work things out ad hoc with the kids for a year before drawing up a specific legal custody agreement. If things are trusting and amicable, it can be a very good way to figure out what works on a practical level without having a lot of court fights.
But wouldn’t it have been mentioned that they were working with a mediator instead of just revealing the results of the agreement?