This story has been told so many times—the ugly celebrity divorce. In Hollywood’s Golden Age, celebrity divorces were secrets and scandals. Now, they are a form of entertainment on TMZ’s newsfeed. The latest tragic split is an ongoing drama of infidelity, domestic violence, and mudslinging between English American actor Alice Evans and Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd.
Every divorce has nuanced differences; experience is an essential tool. High-asset divorces need tact to fix complicated messes, and the Westlake Village high-asset divorce attorneys at the Law Offices of Ronald K. Stitch have proven we can manage a mess.
Messy Divorce Turns to Mudslinging
A tangled knot—two celebrities, Ioan Gruffudd (48) and Alice Evans (53), met in 2000 on the set of Disney’s 102 Dalmatians. They married in 2007 and separated in 2021. He asked for a divorce a month later.
In February 2022, after Evans applied for physical custody of their two young daughters, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the marriage’s dissolution and requesting Gruffudd pay spousal support and her attorney fees. She also wanted to terminate the court’s ability to award Gruffudd spousal support.
Evans asked Gruffudd to be granted visitation rights for their children and thought the court should determine who should get the family home in Los Angeles and other community properties.
The estranged Gruffudd answered Evans by submitting a 113-page application for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, requesting Evans have no contact with him and his girlfriend—actor Bianca Wallace—ordering Evans to stay 100 yards away from them.
Gruffudd claims Evans told him multiple times, “She would do to me what Amber Heard did to Johnny Depp.” He added that she “threatened to tell people I had abused her and our daughters…to tell people I am a drug addict and put me in prison…to write a fake diary that reflected an abused victim…to have the diary published…to destroy my mother…and destroy me and my career.”
Evans says she has “not hit, struck, attacked, threatened, assaulted, harassed, followed, stalked, molested, destroyed the personal property of, kept under surveillance, impersonated, blocked the movement of, annoyed by phone or electronic means by repeated contact, or disturbed the peace.”
A year ago, these two worked in a “collaborative process,” asking for joint custody of their children. They planned to resolve spousal support with a “written agreement.”
A peaceful dissolution of a 13-year marriage or a 20-year relationship seems impossible. Now, another Hollywood drama will barrel through another season.
When should I contact a lawyer?
Dissolving a marriage in California can be emotionally and financially draining. In high-asset divorces, the complexity increases. Negotiations become challenging as discussions revolve around:
- Alimony
- Child support
- Evaluating various revenue streams and debt
- Division of multiple assets like homes, property, and businesses
When times get tough, you need someone you can trust. Conducting thorough investigations, pouring over financial record disclosures, managing depositions, and overseeing all negotiations are painstaking and necessary processes.
The Westlake high-asset attorneys at the Law Offices of Ronald K. Stitch will guide you on this journey. Call (818) 707-0202 for a free consultation.
