Biggest Celebrity Custody Battles of All Time

Before they split, we assumed the Jolie-Pitt's family life was the stuff of inspiration. Then they separated — and all kinds of dirty laundry was aired. Brad responded to Angelina's divorce petition by asking the court for joint physical and joint legal custody of their six kids but not only was his request denied and Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne would remain in Angelina's custody but any visits he had scheduled were considered "therapeutic" and they were to be supervised. That was two years ago. Since then, the exes have reached a temporary custody agreement, and the two formerly known as Brangelina will have joint physical and legal custody, and Brad's visits will no longer be monitored. Things are finally moving in the right direction but took a lot for them to get there.

After five years of marriage, they called it quits — three months after they welcomed son Eissa. According to Page Six, Jackson was doing all the compromising, making London her home after Al Mana insisted they live under strict Muslim custom, which included prohibiting the new mom from being seen in public while nursing the baby. Early reports claimed the split was amicable and they would co-parent their son, but that quickly changed when she called the cops on her ex, fearing for his well-being. Now Jackson wants full custody.

Other celebrity couples who recently called it quits.

The custody war for daughter Bryn rages on as Bethenny and Jason continue to disagree. The Real Housewives of New York City star maintained that her ex is "abusive," feared that he took "no responsibility," and doesn't believe joint custody is realistic because he is unwilling to co-parent, "making it worse" for their daughter.

Hoppy, of course, argued that it was all a lie and "an attempt to manufacture a crisis where none existed," claiming she's using the case as a storyline.

A source claimed Hoppy is fine with their current agreement but Frankel wants primary custody and full decision making. To be continued. Sadly.

The exes are parents to 16-year-old Kassius, who lives full-time with Marcil, but it was recently revealed that Brian and Kassius have barely seen each other in nearly five years. Vanessa accused Brian and his current wife, Megan Fox, of trying to gain full custody of Kassius years ago and when they didn't get it, that's when the estrangement began. While it's not exactly a typical custody battle, it's sad not only that father and son haven't spent any real quality time together in years but that Kassius hasn't seen his half-brothers either.

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In April 2017, Williams and Drake-Lee ended their five-year marriage and a nasty custody battle ensued. Aryn filed for sole custody and rejected Jesse's request for joint custody, as she also laid out stipulations she wanted followed including nap times, "age appropriate viewing content" and that "neither parent will introduce a new intimate partner until the relationship has endured at least six months." The court eventually sided with the Grey's Anatomy star and he will get Sadie and Maceo every other weekend, two days each week, as well as every Father's Day, though he was ordered to pay more: $50,000 in monthly child support along with another $50,000 each month for spousal support.

In one of the more heartbreaking celeb cases, the former Gossip Girl star lost custody of her two children after a six-year battle and is no longer able to bring them to the U.S., after a Monaco judge ruled in Giersch's favour, granting him full custody of Hermes and Helena.

They had lived with their father in Monaco and France since 2012 and Rutherford can only visit with them in those two countries. Kelly's appeals in the U.S. were denied and the decision remains with the Monaco court. Prior to the ruling, Kelly was charged with kidnapping after she refused to put them on a plane to Europe at the end of their summer vacation.

Other scandalous breakups in Hollywood history.

As far as custody fights go, these two were as dirty and vicious as they get. The fight for daughter Nahla came complete with court-ordered counselling and anger management classes but after a lengthy court battle as well as a physical brawl with Berry's then-husband (now ex-husband) and other baby daddy, Olivier Martinez, Halle and Gabe finally reached an amicable agreement in November 2012. They would share joint custody of Nahla and Halle was ordered to pay Gabe $20,000 a month (which was eventually decreased to $16,000) in child support.

Things got scary after their 2006 split — including a four-hour police standoff after Britney refused to give sons Sean and Jayden to their dad. It all eventually smoothed over (thanks, in large part, to her conservatorship, which Britney's dad, Jamie, still has control over) and they've managed to co-parent smoothly — until this year when K-Fed requested for more child support from Brit. Which he got.

They married in 1995, four days after meeting, had two sons, Dylan and Brandon, but naturally they didn't last. Lee was arrested for spousal abuse with Anderson describing her ex as "a very angry, unstable man who presents a danger to others, particularly when he is using alcohol, as he is presently doing." Tommy argued that Pamela was also a bad influence on their boys. In 2002, the exes agreed to joint custody. However, now that they're adults, the young men have had issues with their dad, including a physical altercation between Tommy and Brandon, which led to a criminal investigation.

These two have been divorced for a while and their eight kids stayed with their mother, which helped her to continue filming their reality show. A couple years back, Kate sent Collin, one of the sextuplets, to a long-term care facility because of unknown issues and since then, Jon had been fighting for custody of him. And he recently won — because Kate didn't bother showing up for the court date. Another one of their sextuplets, Hannah, has also been living with him, while the other six — Alexis, Leah, Joel, Aaden, and older sibs Cara and Maddie are with Kate. Guess whatever works best for television — and out of the public eye?

The divorce of Denise and Charlie is the stuff of legends, what with all the tiger blood and winning involved. Richards accused Sheen of abuse, infidelity and an addiction to adult films and rightfully was concerned with Sheen having any alone time with daughters Lola and Sam. She wanted him to have supervised visits with a nanny present but that didn't work. His ensuing relationship with Brooke Mueller and their array of substance abuses problems was the last straw and the girls went to Denise. Obviously.

After their split, Mueller filed a restraining order against Sheen which resulted in police removing twin sons, Bob and Max, from his home. She had custody of the boys but her addiction issues were real and at one point, Sheen's second wife, Saint Denise, was given temporary guardianship of the boys because she knew they needed her. She was released from rehab, only to fall off the wagon again and custody was eventually given to her brother, Scott, while she checked into another treatment facility. In December 2014, Brooke regained full custody of her sons was returned to her by the court.

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A judge awarded Tyrese joint custody of his 10-year-old daughter Shayla after a long, tense battle with his ex-wife, who alleged child abuse — an accusation which caused the actor to lose temporary custody of Shayla months prior and resulted in an investigation from Family Services that was later closed with no criminal charges. Tyrese is currently seeking primary custody of the 10-year-old, so she can move to Atlanta with him.

Things got messy for these two, with Michaels wanting full custody after claiming Etheridge was verbally abusive to her in front of their kids, twins Johnnie and Miller. Melissa, on the other hand, called her ex "vindictive and angry," even burning one of the boys with a cigarette. They share joint custody, with Melissa ordered to pay $10,000 in child support, $13,000 a month in spousal support and 50 per cent of royalties from her album The Awakening.

The actor left his wife of 26 years, not to mention their seven children, for the Russian pianist. She gave birth to daughter Lucia but their happiness didn't last long, and the exes got involved in a messy custody battle with Mel threatening Oksana, allegedly abusing her, and trying to gain full custody of Lucia. after a lengthy legal battle, they agreed to joint legal custody of Lucia. The exes also came to a financial and custody settlement — $750,000 over five years — which was significantly less than the $15 million she was originally reportedly offered. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: The shortest Hollywood marriages were super-short.

It's been years since these two have been battling in courts and it doesn't look to end anytime soon. The Rehab Addict star's ex is fighting for sole custody of their son, Harper, claiming she is "not a fit" mother, has been playing games with their scheduled visits, and co-parenting has "proven to be a nightmare." Maguire reported moved across the country to be closer to their son but she just moved them to a different state. Eek.

The custody battle between the singer and his ex was a messy one. She accused him of being an absentee dad who emotionally harmed their sons Usher V and Naviyd. He claimed she was "incapable of being a proper parent" and "does not have the emotional stability to or capacity to bond with them, and therefore she is handicapped."

While the couple share legal custody, Usher was awarded primary physical custody in 2012. Then that awful freak pool accident happened, where their eldest son was hospital Usher V, was hospitalized in the ICU. Foster filed a request for a custody hearing to gain primary custody after Usher V's "near-death accident" but the case was dismissed and Usher won.

The singer and her ex-husband were embroiled in a tense custody battle of son Rocco but the 15-year-old has made it clear he no longer wants to tour with his mom and would rather live with his dad in London. A New York judge told the exes they needed to come to an agreement that was in Rocco's best interest and while Madge didn't agree, they eventually settled and Rocco stayed with his dad.

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What began as a custody war has, thankfully, evolved into a peaceful agreement. Rob and Chyna are getting along for Dream's sake and share joint and equal custody of the adorable toddler, though it wasn't always that way.

Their relationship and her pregnancy was televised but there were the heated exchanges on social media, Rob posting revenge porn of his ex, she withholding their child from him. Thankfully the drama ended on-screen and off.

Their beautiful marriage came to an ugly end in 2004 and the fight for their daughter began. During the notorious and nasty four-year custody battle, it came out that Alec once left a voicemail for Ireland, calling her "a rude, thoughtless little pig," and as a result of an outburst in court, Alec temporarily lost visitation rights.

Their daughter, now a successful model, had a pretty normal childhood, and Kim and Alec are "cool now," though Baldwin continues to advocate for parental rights.

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