Halle Berry: Maceo is ‘angry & combative’ with me after spending time with Olivier

On October 1, Olivier Martinez filed for an emergency restraining order against Halle Berry for himself and their son Maceo Martinez, claiming that Halle had abused Maceo and bad-mouthed Olivier to their son. The temporary order was granted, but it has the most bizarre terms I’ve seen from a family court. Apparently, the original custodial agreement between Halle and Olivier was for 50-50 custody, and the temporary order simply shifts Halle to “no overnights” with Maceo, but she still has Maceo through the day for four days a week, including weekends. There’s already a court hearing scheduled for the end of the month. Well, Halle has now made her own filing, asking the court to reinstate 50-50 custody, but with some modifications because Olivier is a terrible father (according to Halle).

Halle Berry is asking the court to reinstate her former custody agreement for her 12-year-old son Maceo, whom she shares with ex Olivier Martinez. According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the actress, 60, is asking to restore her former custody agreement from August 2023, in which Berry and Martinez shared 50/50 custody. She has also asked to be reinstated as the tie-breaking authority, which she had under their previous custodial agreement, and asked the court to force Martinez to attend their court-ordered therapy sessions.

Although Berry didn’t directly acknowledge her ex-husband’s recent claims that she abused their son, the actress alleged that Martinez’s anger towards her influences her own disagreements with their son.

“The fourth concern is Olivier’s continued attempts to align Maceo with him and against me in many areas of our child’s life and activities which causes Maceo to be angry with me about private issues relating to Maceo which Olivier and I were discussing at the time,” Berry wrote in the filing. She also claimed that when Maceo returns from spending time with Martinez, he can be “angry and combative” toward Berry. The actress added that this behavior is heightened when Martinez has Maceo for longer periods of time.

“When Maceo would come home from his custodial time with Olivier, he would be angry and combative. It took Maceo 2-3 days to acclimate to being at home and when he would go back to Olivier, the cycle would start all over again,” she alleged in the documents. “I also perceived Maceo to repeat disputes that Olivier and I discuss in private and take Olivier’s side/position in that dispute. If the dispute related to a decision regarding Maceo (for example, about soccer, school, or therapy), Maceo knew about it before Olivier and I reached a decision with respect to a particular issue and would tell me what he and Olivier are going to do (without my input) completely disregarding my authority as his mother,” continued Berry.

Berry alleged that Martinez’s actions and lack of cooperation with Maceo’s psychological and educational needs have been detrimental to his welfare.

“[Martinez’s] refusal to allow early interventions have caused Maceo to fall further behind in school, caused Maceo’s acting out behaviors to worsen, and caused further damage to Maceo’s and [Berry’s] relationship,” the documents claim. Berry claimed that Martinez told her that Maceo is “old enough” to make his own decisions and that she should allow this to keep him happy and make him nicer to her.

“While I am attuned to Maceo’s thoughts and feelings and encourage an open dialogue, I do not agree that a ten-year-old should be permitted to make decisions regarding his education, health, extracurricular activities, and general welfare,” she wrote. “Therapy with [his doctor] has improved Maceo’s behavior at home and with me. Sadly, the passage of time and Court orders have not improved or changed Olivier.”

Later in the documents, Berry claimed that Martinez has yet to accept her fiancé Van Hunt as her partner and refuses to include him in family therapy. “The seventh concern is Olivier’s active attempts to influence Maceo’s teachers and therapist to view me as a risk to our child by communicating false stories about my relationship with Maceo through Maceo or third parties,” she wrote. “The eighth concern is Olivier’s continued refusal to accept my relationship with Van, who plays an important role in Maceo’s life. Olivier’s lack of acceptance of Van has resulted in Olivier refusing to permit Maceo to work in a family therapy setting with me and Van as a means to continue to create a healthy environment for our son within the structure of a blended family,” continued Berry.

[From People]

I’m getting a better idea of what’s going on with their parenting styles and their toxic co-parenting relationship. It’s completely believable that Olivier has always been “the good cop” parent, the “friend” rather than the father, and that Olivier has always weaponized Maceo against Halle. But… Maceo just turned 13 years old. I don’t know if that’s a typo in Halle’s filing, but he’s not 10 years old, his 13th birthday was yesterday. Arguably, Maceo only has five more years of this – probably less, since a family court will begin to weigh Maceo’s thoughts more and more.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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16 Responses to “Halle Berry: Maceo is ‘angry & combative’ with me after spending time with Olivier”

  1. Tuesday says:

    It’s not a typo. She’s speaking of a decision in the past that Olivier influenced by telling Maceo.

  2. bisynaptic says:

    I have a bad feeling about this situation. I hope everyone comes out of, intact.

  3. Pipe says:

    Who knows what the real story is…that is a tough age though 12-13 – middle school is hard, puberty may be starting, different parenting styles, a new boyfriend/partner that the kid may resent, the kid may identify more with his dad as he is maturing. Hope they can figure it out – it’s hard enough when the parents are still together.

    • Louisa says:

      Agreed! 13 – 15 was a rough period for my son. And his Dad and I are together and always united in our parenting, but at that age they are really finding themselves and are testing you constantly. With parents who are fighting and using the kid to get back at each other, it’s going to be tough few years for them all. Poor kid.

    • Yup, Me says:

      That age and it also sounds like he’s neurodivergent without adequate supports because his father is sabotaging them. He’s also dealing with parents who not only aren’t aligned, but opposites regarding his needs. It sounds like Olivier is a permissive parent and, if Halle doesn’t think a child should get to make decisions regarding their school and extracurricular activities, she sounds like she lands more in the traditional/strict camp.

      This is not a dynamic that bodes well for their son. An unsupported neurodivergent teenaged boy is a daily challenge (sometimes a multiple times a day challenge). All that social emotional family drama on top and his nervous system is probably going haywire all day every day.

  4. Barbara says:

    I hope Van is a great guy who treats Halle well because in the past, she’s had absolutely shit taste in men. Poor Maceo.

  5. JayBlue says:

    I can hear Brad Pitts PR squad taking notes on how to actually make parental alienation claims.

    All jokes aside, this sounds like a poor kid stuck in the middle of warring exes. I hope he’s got a professional he can talk to, he seems to be the one suffering the most.

  6. Newt says:

    Either she has really poor taste in men. Or she’s the common denominator. I can’t decide. Probably a little of both. I hope they can get this worked out amicably for the sake of their child.

    • Lala11_7 says:

      In 2026 let’s stop blaming Women for Men being 🤬 ESPECIALLY since we know SOME folks change up in romantic relationships as they lock it down & the honeymoon period is ova…

  7. SarahMcK says:

    I feel sorry for Maceo in all of this.

  8. Jayna says:

    That gives a much clearer picture of what is going on. Sadly for Halle, Maceo will reach an age where, as a young teenager, he can request to live with one parent, and the judge usually takes into account their desire and grants it. Maceo will eventually go to live with Oliver, even as early as a year from now, when he turns 14, with the custody schedule going from 50/50 to probably more like 70/30. Teen years are tough.

  9. gaffney says:

    I understand how it feels to have a child with issues that need to be addressed in therapy and other interventions and having a co-parent that is against that child attending. That parent telling a child “nothing is wrong with you, your mother doesn’t understand you, she’s acting like this because of her boyfriend” and any other mixture of the above. A child with certain issues will take that parent’s word and start feeling that the parent who wants them to do the hard things, (like therapy, etc.) is the “bad parent”. Having joint custody with a parent like that then having to re-acclimate that child once they return to your home can be brutal. Then, mix in the above with the gaming and social media culture that grabs young boys at too early an age and warps them so that they feel everyone but them is the problem. It could make the sweet little child who came from your own body say and do some diabolical things. I don’t know who’s right or wrong here but if I hear that any parent has refused early interventions and therapy for their child I don’t trust their account of ANYTHING. I can imagine the things Halle has heard coming from her ex’s mouth then the things her son may parrot because of his dad’s influence. Pour a little of, “don’t talk to your mama like that” from Van and it’s a powder keg.

    • Yup, Me says:

      Hopefully, with all of this being made public, the judge will decide that Maceo needs interventions for his ADHD (if that’s what he has) as well as therapy and that his father cannot interfere with or sabotage those things.

  10. chloe says:

    I will agree that a 13-14 year old is still to young to be making decisions about schooling and health, it sounds like to court needs to step in and make the two parties to agree to the child’s well being. When it comes to Halle and Oliver I still remember everything they did to Gabriel, so I wouldn’t put anything past both of them when it comes to child custody.

  11. Chanteloup says:

    Why is all this available to the public?? It pisses me off. It’s one thing if the court filings of 2 adults are public record, but imho anything referring to a minor child should be sealed as a matter of course. He isn’t of legal age to agree to having a discussion of his behavioral issues, need for therapy or anything else blasted out to the public to read forever. It’s gross and harms the child.
    Also it seems evident to me that a large part of Martinez’ strategy is publicly filing to try Halle in a court of public opinion to try to get her to agree to what he wants; if the record was sealed, he or any other parent wouldn’t have that weapon.

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