Celebs Who Got Into Messy Custody Battles -Reality star-turned-mogul Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy tied the knot in 2010. They then untied it in 2021 after separating in 2012.
Describing their custody war as unfriendly wouldn’t even come close to being descriptive enough. Words like vicious, ferocious, and downright nasty might be better suited to this particular showdown.
Celebs Who Got Into Messy Custody Battles
In 2014, the gloves were officially off when Frankel accused Hoppy of threatening her, and he, in turn, accused his ex of using their child, Bryn, as a prop, per People.
In 2019, the fight was still ongoing with Us Weekly reporting that the “Real Housewives of New York” alum had asked the courts for full custody of their daughter. In legal documents, Frankel said that her ex-husband had a temper problem, harassed her, and allowed Bryn to see negative press about her. At the same time, Hoppy accused his ex of bad parenting and making decisions that put Bryn in harm’s way.
Per Page Six, in 2021 the judge eventually granted 50/50 custody to the former couple. After Frankel suggested that Bryn spends most of her time with her, it was later ordered that she no longer had to pay Hoppy child support.
Per the outlet, he didn’t fight her on it. “I will not spend the remainder of Bryn’s childhood fighting as we share joint physical custody,” he said in court. “Bryn knows I love her, I want her, and I will always be available for our time together.”
Robin Thicke and Paula Patton
Paula Patton and Robin Thicke began dating as youngsters after meeting at an under-21 nightclub in Los Angeles. This is pretty much the order of their union after that: They married in 2005, their son Julian Fuego came in 2010, and their divorce arrived in 2015. Two years later, their custody battle became heated.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Patton accused her ex of using drugs and alcohol and of being physically and emotionally abusive to her. Thicke’s attorneys flat out denied the claims, saying they were Patton’s way of fighting dirty during the trial. She was regardless granted a temporary restraining order against him, meaning Thicke could only have monitored visits with Julian. According to ET, the actor also accused the “Blurred Lines” performer of child abuse — he was later cleared of the claims by Child Protective Services.
A few months later, the dust finally began to settle for the former lovebirds and they reached a custody agreement. Per People, it was decided that the two would share custody, with Thicke caring for Julian from Monday through Wednesday, and Patton taking the child on Wednesday through Friday. Weekend custody would be alternated in equal turns between the two. In 2021, Thicke told “Extra” that he and his ex managed to make peace after committing to co-parenting therapy together. “That really opened the door for communication in a much better way for us,” he said. “And our son is thriving.”
Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy
Reality star-turned-mogul Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy tied the knot in 2010. They then untied it in 2021 after separating in 2012. Describing their custody war as unfriendly wouldn’t even come close to being descriptive enough. Words like vicious, ferocious, and downright nasty might be better suited to this particular showdown.
In 2014, the gloves were officially off when Frankel accused Hoppy of threatening her, and he, in turn, accused his ex of using their child, Bryn, as a prop, per People. In 2019, the fight was still ongoing with Us Weekly reporting that the “Real Housewives of New York” alum had asked the courts for full custody of their daughter. In legal documents, Frankel said that her ex-husband had a temper problem, harassed her, and allowed Bryn to see negative press about her. At the same time, Hoppy accused his ex of bad parenting and making decisions that put Bryn in harm’s way.
Per Page Six, in 2021 the judge eventually granted 50/50 custody to the former couple. After Frankel suggested that Bryn spends most of her time with her, it was later ordered that she no longer had to pay Hoppy child support. Per the outlet, he didn’t fight her on it. “I will not spend the remainder of Bryn’s childhood fighting as we share joint physical custody,” he said in court. “Bryn knows I love her, I want her, and I will always be available for our time together.”
Janet Jackson and Wissam Al Mana
Janet Jackson and Wissam Al Mana’s 2012 marriage may have been private, but their 2017 split and custody battle was anything but. News of the breakup came just three months after Jackson gave birth to their son, Eissa. On June 2, 2018, the “Control” singer called the police requesting that a welfare check be done on a then one-year-old Eissa, who was with his billionaire father in the Nobu Hotel, California.
TMZ reported that the star was allegedly concerned her ex was using drugs around the baby. Meanwhile, her brother, Randy Jackson, told ET that his sister was contacted by a nanny who was helping Al Mana take care of Eissa. At some point, a disagreement broke out between the billionaire businessman and the nanny, who ran into a bathroom to call Jackson. According to the nanny, Al Mana was acting aggressively toward her. It was later determined the tiff was over them not having a proper wifi connection.
As far as Janet and Al Mana, however, their problems were much deeper. According to People, the former couple’s custody battle may have been complicated by their cultural differences. While the “Together Again” singer was raised Jehovah’s Witness, her ex is Muslim, which may introduce some co-parenting challenges. “They have very different ideas about how to raise Eissa,” a source told the outlet. “… During their marriage, Janet worked hard on adapting to Wissam’s culture, but she found it challenging.”
