The vicious battle between recently divorced Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans over custody of their two young daughters has gotten even nastier as both fire angry new accusations at each other.
The Welsh Fantastic Four star called his ex a “child molester” — while Evans claimed Gruffudd hadn’t seen or called his kids in nearly three months, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com.
Last Thursday, a Los Angeles judge tried to protect their daughters — Ella, 13, and Elsie, nine — from the fallout from their parents’ ugly fights by banning the press from holding a custody hearing and keeping the proceedings secret.
But that hasn’t stopped the feuding former couple – who are both seeking custody of the girls – from firing vicious shots at each other in written court documents that are public and unsealed.
Welsh Fantastic Four star Ioan Gruffudd said in court documents his ex Alice Evans continues to cause ‘serious emotional damage’ to their two daughters, Ella and Elsie
Evans claims Gruffudd hasn’t seen or called his daughters Ella, 13, and Elsie, 9, in nearly three months
Gruffudd, 49 – who previously claimed Evans, 55, had kept him away from his daughters for nearly a year – said in new legal documents that since their split in January 2021, “Alice has continued to inflict severe emotional damage on Ella and Elsie by her statements and by disrupting my relationship with them.
“Alice has been berating and undermining me all their lives in front of the girls.
“Since January 2021, Alice has also encouraged and instructed them not to see or communicate with me and she has sent thousands of threatening and abusive messages to me and about me.”
Gruffudd had had enough of what he called the barrage of harassing text messages, emails and social media posts from Evans and successfully got a three-year restraining order against her last August to protect himself and his girlfriend Bianca Wallace – who 31 years of age is 24. years younger than Evans.
But, he added in the new court documents, “Alice has repeatedly violated the (restraining order) and continues to do so to this day.”
Gruffudd – who blamed his ex as the “person behind” his daughter Ella filing a restraining order against him (which was denied) – also slammed Evans about the therapy the kids have received.
“While there is an order for the girls to go to therapy, Alice has repeatedly refused to take the girls or prevented me from taking the girls to therapy,” he said.
“Since the divorce, the girls have missed more therapy sessions than they attended and have had multiple therapists.
“I believe Alice’s actions constitute child abuse and I am deeply concerned for our children.”
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LA Supreme Court Justice Josh Freeman Stinn has granted Gruffudd’s request for a hearing on Thursday, Aug. 17, where the actor has asked for an expert to be appointed as soon as possible to assess custody of the child.
Evans denies abusing or harming her daughters.
She strongly opposes a child custody review, saying in her new court documents: “I have read petitioner’s (Gruffudd) statement and disagree with the allegations that I have caused our children’s ‘serious emotional damage’. inflict or inflict’.
“No one has ever contacted me or reported me for such behavior. Not a professional, nor teacher, nor school administrator, nor counselor, nor therapist.
‘The applicant has not seen, complied with or called the children for 11 weeks. I do not understand how “the petitioner believes” that there is no recent information and that there is such urgency that a review of the custody of the child should be initiated.’
Evans said she also met with the girls’ court-appointed attorney and that her upbringing was in no way said to me as inadequate or, as the petitioner suggests, destructive to the well-being of our children.
“I do not agree that the children and we ourselves should be subject to a lengthy and costly evaluation of the custody of the children if it is based on speculation and conjecture of the petitioner’s suspicions.
“Petitioner says he believes the children are suffering severe emotional damage, but shows no evidence of any symptoms our girls are experiencing to substantiate those allegations.”
Evans claimed that children suffering from severe emotional damage show signs of their emotional state by being withdrawn, afraid, self-harming, depressed or anxious.
“Our children … are not in any way showing these objective signs of trauma or severe emotional damage,” she said.
Gruffudd has been dating Bianca Wallace since his divorce from Evans in 2021. He is asking for more time with his daughters, claiming that his ex has not seen him for most of the past year.
The feuding exes were legally separated in July – two years after the actor filed for divorce after 14 years of marriage
Gruffudd met Evans when they starred together in the 2000 Disney film 101 Dalmatians. The issues of spousal support and child support, as well as custody of the children, have yet to be resolved
Evans described her relationship with her daughters as “deeply loving and supportive.”
“I don’t talk to them about the case,” she added. “I am subject to and under the order of this court to stay away from and have no contact with the petitioner and I have respected that to the letter.
“The petitioner has his visiting schedule and has the ability to call the children freely, but has not done so for whatever reason.
“Given his silence and lack of effort to build a relationship with the children, I do not believe the petitioner has shown the need or urgency to appoint a child custody evaluator.”
Gruffudd – who met Evans when they starred together in the 2000 Disney film 101 Dalmatians – filed for divorce in March 2021, shortly after the blonde actress claimed on social media that her husband of 14 years abandoned her and their two daughters . .
Their divorce was finalized last month. But the issues of spousal support and child support – as well as child custody – have yet to be resolved.