EXCLUSIVE: Ioan Gruffudd accuses ex Alice Evans of keeping their daughters Ella and Elsie from him for the past year in ongoing bitter custody battle
- Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans’s custody battle resumed in a LA court on Thursday to thrash out the actress’s demands for spousal and child support
- In docs obtained by DailyMail.com, the Welsh actor claimed he has only spent 27 days with daughters Ella and Elsie this year due to Evans’s ‘alienation’ of the girls
- The exes – who are both seeking custody of the girls – were officially granted a divorce last month, ending a drama-filled celebrity marriage that lasted 14 years
Warring Hollywood exes, Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans took their long-running battles to a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, this time fighting over his claim that she has kept him from seeing his two young daughters for most of the past year.
The two – who are both seeking custody of the girls – were officially granted a divorce last month, ending a drama-filled celebrity marriage that lasted 14 years.
But it didn’t end their bitter and acrimonious disputes that began after their separation two years ago when Fantastic Four star Gruffudd, 49, took up with his current girlfriend Bianca Wallace – who, at 31, is 24 years younger than Evans.
On Thursday, their attorneys were at LA Superior court to thrash out Evans’s demands for spousal and child support – and Gruffudd’s plea to the judge to grant him more time with their daughters, Ella, 13, and Elsie, nine.
Attorneys for Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans were back in court Thursday as the former couple continue to fight for custody of their two daughters, Ella, 13, and Elsie, 9, (pictured in April) amid their messy divorce
Gruffudd who has been dating girlfriend Bianca Wallace (pictured in February) since his separation from Evans in 2021, is also requesting more time with his daughters, claiming his ex has kept him from seeing them for most of the past year
The feuding exes were declared legally divorced in July – two years after the actor filed for divorce after 14 years of marriage
Judge Josh Freeman Stinn banned the press from the hearing because it involved discussions about visitation and custody of minor children.
But while whatever was discussed or decide about custody of the girls remains secret, Gruffudd claimed in public court documents that he had only been allowed to spend seven per cent of the past year with his daughters while his ex has had the other 93 per cent of their time.
‘Due to (Evans’ ) alienation of the children, (Gruffudd) has only spent approximately 27 days with their children in the past year,’ his attorneys said in legal papers.
‘Gruffudd is hopeful for increased time share and custody arrangements.’
The judge continued the financial issues of child and spousal support to another hearing on February 7 next year.
In one of the former couple’s latest skirmishes, the Welsh actor accused Evans of setting up fake Twitter accounts to brand him and Wallace ‘child abusers’ after daughter Ella tried to get a temporary restraining order against her father and Wallace.
Gruffudd – who met Evans when they co-starred in the 2000 Disney movie, 101 Dalmatians – filed for divorce in March 2021, shortly after the blonde-haired actress claimed on social media that her husband of 14 years was walking out on her and their two daughters.
In docs obtained by DailyMail.com, Gruffudd claimed his ex has had custody of their daughters ’93 per cent of their time’
Gruffudd claimed in court papers that he has only spent approximately 27 days with Ella and Elsie this year due to Evans’s ‘alienation of the children’
The actress shared a slew of snaps with her two girls on Instagram as they celebrated her 55th birthday last week
She tweeted at the time: ‘Sad news. My beloved husband/soulmate of 20 years, Ioan Gruffudd, has announced he is to leave his family, starting next week.
‘Me and our young daughters girls are very confused and sad. We haven’t been given a reason except that he ‘no longer loves me.’ I’m so sorry.’
Their split would only grow nastier from there, as Evan made headlines with a slew of public statements and accusations against her estranged husband.
After months of barbed tweets and social media posts made by Evans, Gruffudd responded by filing for a restraining order, submitting 113 pages of unhinged texts and emails that had not previously been made public.
In his court filing, Gruffudd claimed he told Evans that he wanted out of the marriage in August 2020 and that since then, she had harassed him with hundreds of unanswered text messages, abusive emails and social media posts – many of which he included in the filing.
Having previously been awarded a temporary restraining order against his estranged wife, Gruffudd successfully obtained a three-year restraining order against her in August 2022.
Harsher restrictions were put in place by a US judge, including a ruling preventing Alice from leaking private text messages from their children.
The Welsh actor first filed for custody and visitation rights to see his children in December 2022. He is pictured with his estranged wife and their daughters in 2018
Gruffudd and Evans announced that their marriage was over in January 2021 and he went public with his new romance with Wallace that October
Evans appeared in court in February 2023 to answer two charges of violating a restraining order that was put in place by her estranged husband. The charges were later dropped.
Three months later, in documents filed at LA Superior Court, the pair’s teenage daughter asked for a restraining order against her famous father and his girlfriend.
In the documents, Ella stated that she is ‘afraid’ of her father and accuses him of ‘threatening to call the police on her anytime she misbehaves’ during their visitations.
Ella filed for a domestic violence restraining order against her Gruffudd following what she said was an ugly incident at their home, during which she claims Bianca ‘slammed a door on her head’.
In June, Judge Freeman Stinn turned down her restraining order application and appointed a minors’ counsel – a lawyer appointed by the court to represent the best interests of Ella and her younger.
Weeks before, Gruffudd had filed court documents that accused Evans of setting up fake Twitter accounts to brand him and Wallace ‘child abusers’.
He also claimed that Evans screamed at him outside his Los Angeles home and called him a ‘f***ing abuser’ and ‘abusive c***’ in front of Ella.
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