A Los Angeles judge has handed Halle Berry and her ex-husband Olivier Martinez a split decision in their fight over their 13-year-old son, Maceo: Martinez keeps primary physical custody of the boy, but the temporary restraining order he won against Berry at the start of October has been dissolved.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelley L. Kaufman ruled on Thursday that Martinez will keep primary physical custody for now. Berry's lawyers had asked the court to restore the 50/50 physical custody the former couple previously shared, and the judge rejected that request. Martinez had already been holding temporary primary custody since early October, when it was granted alongside the temporary restraining order. Under Thursday's ruling, Berry cannot have overnight visits with Maceo at this time, although the judge refused Martinez's request to restrict her holiday visits, and Berry was ordered to attend counseling sessions aimed at repairing her relationship with her son. Her side says she still shares joint legal custody of Maceo and keeps the tie-breaking say when the two parents cannot agree on a decision about him.
On the restraining order, the win went to Berry. Martinez had asked the court for a domestic violence restraining order protecting himself and Maceo; instead, Judge Kaufman dissolved the temporary order that had restricted Berry since October 1. The ruling is not a finding that Berry abused her son, and she has denied the allegations from the start — her attorney previously called them "entirely meritless and deliberately misleading."
Both camps claimed victory outside the courtroom. Martinez's attorney, Patrick Baghdaserians, called the custody outcome a "huge victory" for his client. Berry's attorney, Marina Beck, said of the restraining order: "We are extremely pleased that the Court has dissolved the TRO," adding that Berry is determined to focus on the well-being and best interests of her family. Berry and her lawyer declined to speak as they left court.
The latest round of the dispute began with Martinez's claim that Berry choked Maceo during an argument at her home on September 26 that started over a video game. Berry says she and her son were roughhousing and the moment became heated, but denies putting her hands around his neck or choking him, says he had no marks on him when he left her home, and has accused Martinez of coaching the boy against her. Maceo testified in a closed session on October 19, and both parents testified the following day. In court filings, Berry's daughter Nahla said she never saw her mother "hit, slap, choke, grab, or physically abuse Maceo in any way."
Berry and Martinez married in July 2013 and separated in 2015; their divorce was not finalized until August 2023, when they settled on joint legal and physical custody. The peace did not hold — by 2024 they were back in court over co-parenting disputes, with Berry at one point seeking sole custody. Thursday's arrangement is not the last word: the judge will reconsider the custody issues in November.
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