Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd has filed in a United States court for joint custody of his two daughters with estranged wife Alice Evans amid the former couple’s bitter divorce.
Gruffudd, 48, requested joint custody of Ella, 12, and Elsie, eight, in a filing presented to the Los Angeles Superior Court last week, after Evans, 53, filed for sole custody.
The documents, initially obtained by the Daily Mail and subsequently by multiple other publications, include allegations made by Gruffudd against Evans that she verbally abused him throughout their 14-year marriage, and a claim that he had not seen his eldest daughter since July 2021.
READ MORE: AFLW star Anne Hatchard engaged to Georgia Wirth
“Since I moved out of the family residence in January 2021, Alice has inflicted serious emotional harm on Ella and Elsie by her statements and by interfering in my relationship with them,” Gruffudd reportedly claimed in the documents.
He also reportedly alleged: “Alice has verbally abused me in front of the girls throughout their lives.”
The verbal abuse, Gruffudd alleged included taunts about his appearance, with an example he gave being Evans would mock his hair loss and tell him he had “saggy-vagina eyes.”
The court filing from Gruffudd also reportedly included comments regarding Evans’ “false social media narrative” where she claimed she was blindsided by the split and that Gruffudd abandoned their daughters.
READ MORE: Judge rejects Amber Heard’s bid for a retrial with Johnny Depp
“To this day, Alice continues to post false and misleading statements about me on social media,” Gruffudd reportedly alleged in the court documents.
“Alice has stated repeatedly that I want nothing to do with the girls, I refused to see them and I abandoned them,” he continued.
“Alice posted she fears she and the children would starve and become homeless because I refuse to contribute to their financial support.
“None of this is true and I fear that Alice’s false social media narrative is constantly being seen by the girls, and repeated to them by Alice.”
Gruffudd reportedly asked the judge for their daughters to attend therapy as he is worried about the effect the split is having on them.
READ MORE: Tom Jones denies ‘collapsing’ ahead of Budapest show and apologises for cancelling
Earlier this year, Gruffudd filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Evans for both himself and his girlfriend, Bianca Wallace.
Evans rejected all of Gruffudd’s claims in the restraining order filing, and accused him of filing the request as “a ploy to gain some sort of advantage” in their divorce proceedings.
Gruffudd split from Evans in January 2021, and filed for divorce in March 2021.
Months later, Gruffudd began dating 30-year-old Australian actress Wallace, however, Evans has accused the couple of conducting a three-year affair behind her back, which they have denied.
For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.