Her Complicated Custody Battle and Staggering Child Support Payments

Halle Berry is known to many as Catwoman, Leticia Musgrove, or Storm, but at home, she’s simply mom.

The Monster’s Ball actress first embraced motherhood in 2008 with the birth of her daughter, Nahla. Five years later, her family expanded with the arrival of her son, Maceo.

Becoming a mom at 42 was a transformative experience for Halle. In a 2019 interview with InStyle, she revealed, “I felt the sexiest during both my pregnancies. I became a mom at 40. Knowing that someone would always be counting on me made me a better person. I’m more focused and in line with my values and my goals.”

She further shared, “I stopped letting negativity get me down. Plus, I loved being pregnant. I felt so alive with my purpose and my femininity. It felt like my body was doing what it was built to do.”

However, Halle’s journey through motherhood has had its complications and heartaches, including tense custody battles with her children’s fathers. Let’s take a closer look at what we know about Nahla and Maceo, including details about their dads.

Halle welcomed Nahla Ariela Aubry on March 16, 2008, with then-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, a Canadian model she met at a Versace photoshoot in November 2005. The couple raised Nahla together until their split in April 2010.

Their separation led to a bitter, years-long custody battle, especially after Halle expressed her desire in 2012 to move to France with her then-fiancé, French actor Olivier Martinez, and four-year-old Nahla.

The situation worsened when Halle accused Gabriel of trying to “white-wash” their daughter by allegedly dyeing Nahla’s hair blonde and straightening it without her consent, which Halle saw as an attempt to mask Nahla’s African-American heritage.

The legal battle escalated when Gabriel and Olivier had a physical altercation, resulting in both men obtaining restraining orders against each other. Halle was also legally required to pay Gabriel $16,000 a month in child support, a figure she criticized as “extortion.” She later succeeded in reducing this amount to $8,000 a month, plus a percentage of her annual earnings.

Despite her efforts to keep her children out of the spotlight, Halle occasionally features Nahla in her social media posts. For her 15th birthday, Halle shared a heartfelt message on Instagram: “One of the greatest gifts the universe has given me is my daughter, Nahla. She is the sun that never fades and the moon that never wanes!”

Halle welcomed her son Maceo-Robert Martinez with Olivier on October 5, 2013, the same year they tied the knot. However, the couple split in 2015, and their divorce was finalized last year, accompanied by another custody and child support battle.

As of 2023, Halle is required to pay Olivier $8,000 a month in child support, plus an additional 4.3 percent of any income she receives above $2 million. Maceo reportedly splits his time equally between his parents, alternating weekends with each. Halle is also responsible for paying his private school tuition and extracurricular activities.

Halle has been vocal about her dissatisfaction with the child support agreements. In a 2021 Instagram post, she shared a message that read: “Women don’t owe you [expletive],” adding in the comments: “It takes great strength [everyday] to pay it. And BTW it’s wrong and it’s extortion!” She continued: “I’ve been paying it for a decade now. I feel if a woman or man is having to pay support that is way more than the reasonable needs to help SUPPORT the child, I think that is wrong!”

She elaborated, “I understand some parents (man or woman) may need help, but I also feel in these modern times both men and women have the responsibility to financially take care of their children and work hard and make every effort to do so. The way many laws are set up, people are allowed to USE children in order to be awarded money to live a lifestyle that not only did they not earn, but that is way above and beyond the child’s reasonable needs.”

As Halle continues to navigate her roles as a mother and acclaimed actress, her commitment to her children remains unwavering, despite the challenges she faces.

Source: Getty Images, Instagram