Some celebrity divorces can definitely be brutal, especially when there are kids involved. With so many of the legal proceedings becoming public, we've seen some seriously messy battles play out on the world stage — both inside and outside of the courtroom itself.
Most recently, we've seen a lot of public back-and-forth between former spouses Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack and their current partners (Heather Rae Young and Josh Hall, respectively) where their kids are involved. One spat even took place at one of the kid's soccer games. Yikes!
But they're hardly the only ones to get into it publicly over matters related to custody. After all, any situation involving hurt feelings, children, and legalities that go with a divorce is destined to be at least a little messy. But in all of these situations, we just hope that it played out in the best interest of the kids, who are obviously the most important people involved.
Read on for the ugliest celebrity custody battles.
Kelly Clarkson & Brandon Blackstock
Though Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock's 2020 divorce was plenty contentious to begin with, it only got worse when it came to how custody of their two kids, Remington and River Rose, would shake out. While they were still figuring out the final details of the arrangement in court, their co-parenting relationship broke down to the point that a judge awarded Kelly primary custody of them in December 2020 because of "issues of trust" between the singer and Brandon.
Ultimately, when their divorce was finalized in March 2022, Kelly was ordered to pay $45,000 a month in child support, even though Brandon would only have the kids one weekend a month.
Christina Haack & Tarek El Moussa
Though Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa went their separate ways in 2017, the drama hasn't stopped between the former Flip or Flop couple since then. Most recently, Christina, Tarek, and their spouses Josh Hall and Heather Rae Young were seen fighting at a soccer game — and their argument was captured by paparazzi for the Daily Mail. Soon after, their son, Brayden, ended up in the hospital for an emergency appendectomy, which put the situation in perspective for them.
"Stressful 24 hours but a good reminder how important team work/co-parenting is," Christina later wrote in a post on Instagram. "We are all under pressure, but when it really matters we were all there for Brayden doing our part."
Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
The divorce drama between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt has been going on for years at this point, and it doesn't seem like it's going to end anytime soon. In 2021, Brad tried to appeal the court's decision over custody of his children with Angelina but was denied. At the time, Angelina said her hope was that the family could "move forward cooperatively."
Jon & Kate Gosselin
Jon and Kate Gosselin might not have a reality show together anymore, but there's more than enough drama to give all the housewives a run for their money. And with the amount of back-and-forth craziness surrounding the former Jon and Kate Plus 8 couple's custody battle — even years after their 2009 split — it's probably not a bad idea for them to stay off TV. Amid accusations that Kate had "brainwashed" their children against him, Jon ended up with primary custody of two of the kids, Hannah and Collin.
Britney Spears & Kevin Federline
It's hard to believe Britney Spears once lost custody of her children, but it is a part of her past. The pop star filed for divorce from Kevin Federline in 2006 (it was finalized a year later) that led to a controversial custody dispute — including a four-hour standoff with police after Britney refused to give her two sons to her ex. Now that Jayden and Sean are teenagers, she's believed to see them "periodically," though who knows if that will change now that she's been freed from her conservatorship?
Janet Jackson & Wissam Al Mana
Janet Jackson's split from Wissam Al Mana wasn't an easy one — it even included Janet calling the cops on Wissam over fears for the well-being of their then 1-year-old son Eissa. The singer apparently received a troubling phone call from her nanny who was "terrified" with Wissam's behavior, prompting Janet to call the police.
Rob Kardashian & Blac Chyna
Where do we start with these two? Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna were involved in a pretty contentious custody battle for their daughter, Dream, right from the start, and over the years, it's remained public.
Most recently, Chyna attempted to call Rob out for being a deadbeat dad, but Rob had his comeback ready — according to him, he doesn't pay her child support because he has primary custody of Dream from Tuesdays to Saturdays, and handles all of her major expenses.
Kim Kardashian & Kanye West
Amid Kim Kardashian's public divorce from Kanye West, he hasn't been one to hide his feelings about their custody battle over their four kids, North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm. During an interview with Hollywood Unlocked in January 2022, Kanye accused Kim of making it harder for him to see his kids.
"There's two things I said, tell her — security not gonna be in between me and my kids, and also tell her, don't have my daughter wearing lipstick on TikTok," he said at the time.
Mel B & Stephen Belafonte
Messy doesn't even begin to describe Mel B and Stephen Belafonte's custody situation. The former Spice Girl fought for sole custody of their daughter Madison — winning a temporary restraining order amid claims Stephen physically abused her — after discovering domestic violence allegations against Stephen regarding his other child's mother. Stephen, who was married to Mel for 10 years, fired back, accusing her of drug and alcohol abuse.
Mama June & Sugar Bear
Things got pretty ugly when Mama June and Sugar Bear of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo fame decided to split in 2014 after 10 years together. At first, there was a fair amount of drama over child support, with Sugar Bear's new wife even weighing in, but the most recent update was an unexpected one. After June battled substance abuse and even an arrest, in 2022 she lost custody of daughter Alana, who is now a teenager. Alana currently lives with her older sister, Lauryn.
Bethenny Frankel & Jason Hoppy
Anyone who has watched The Real Housewives of New York City (or the 2010 spin-off show Bethenny Ever After) knows that Bethenny Frankel and her ex Jason Hoppy have had one of the saltiest, most contentious custody battles. Aside from their divorce taking eight years to finalize, Jason and Bethenny remained at odds over their now 12-year-old daughter, Bryn. Cops arrested Jason in 2017 for "aggravated harassment in the first degree," because of an incident with Bethenny outside their daughter's school. In December 2021, Bethenny was awarded full custody of Bryn.
Jesse Williams & Aryn Drake-Lee
Paging Dr. Avery. All jokes aside, Jesse Williams' custody battle with his ex-wife is no joking matter. First, Aryn Drake-Lee filed court documents against Jesse, alleging she needed an increase in her $50,000 a month child support for their two kids, daughter Sadie and son Maceo, because she pays "100% of the kids' bills right now." Aryn also made some serious accusations against Jesse in the past, claiming he threatened a neighbor, flaunts random women around their kids, and has deep anger issues. The final decision was handed down in February 2022: Their custody arrangement would remain the same, and they were advised to return to court if they need to duke it out further.
Halle Berry & Gabriel Aubry
Halle Berry and ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry haven't had the best relationship when it comes to co-parenting their daughter, Nahla. In addition to Halle paying $16,000 a month in child support to Gabriel — and her alleged attempt to slash the child support payment by 75% — these two have had years of back-and-forth drama, including a 2012 incident between Gabriel and Olivier Martinez, Halle's ex-fiancé, that resulted in Nahla's dad suffering from a broken rib and head injuries. Yikes!
Jennifer Hudson & David Otunga
Jennifer Hudson's split from David Otunga might have come as a shock, but what was even more surprising is that the Grammy-winning singer received a temporary restraining order (which she later dropped) against her former fiancé of nearly a decade. Many became concerned about the well-being of both Jennifer and her son, David Otunga Jr. In 2019, Jennifer and David finally came to an agreement, though due to the gag order they signed, the details have never been revealed to the public.
Ciara & Future
As adorable as Ciara and hubby Russell Wilson's family is, life isn't always smiles and laughs for this R&B songstress. Ciara and her ex-fiancé Future — who reportedly cheated on her while she was pregnant with their son, Future Jr. — have somewhat of a dramatic relationship when it comes to custody-related issues. After Ciara called out her ex for skipping visitation with their son, in January 2017, they were able to agree on joint custody.
Kelly Rutherford & Daniel Giersch
Actress Kelly Rutherford and Daniel Giersch were married for six years and share two children who found themselves at the center of an international fight. Both Kelly and Daniel fought for sole custody, with a California judge ruling that the children had to live with their dad overseas as "Daniel (who lives in France) has facilitated the relationship of the children with Kelly … and Kelly simply has not done so," TMZ reported. Kelly reportedly defied court orders for her kids to go into her ex's custody — fighting to keep them in the US — that only resulted in Daniel getting full custody of Hermés and Helena, and Kelly was "only permitted to 'exercise her visiting and accommodation rights exclusively in France and Monaco.'"
Charlie Sheen & Denise Richards
After their initial custody battle when actors Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards divorced in 2006, things recently got ugly all over again. In 2021, a court ruled that Charlie would no longer have to pay child support, and a source told People at the time that Denise was "blindsided" by the decision.
