Halle Berry stepped out smiling with her fiancé, Van Hunt, amid her ongoing custody dispute with Olivier Martinez. The West Hollywood lunch outing came as her ex-husband asked a judge to order her to pay $240,000 in legal fees.
Berry, 60, joined Hunt at The Bird Streets Club, wearing jeans, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed sun hat. The outing offered a glimpse of her life away from the courtroom as her custody battle with Martinez over their 13-year-old son, Maceo, continued.
Halle Berry spotted with fiancé as her ex-husband pursued legal fees
According to The Mirror, Martinez sought $240,000 in legal fees from Berry. Court documents reportedly showed that he requested $176,522.58 in outstanding fees and another $63,477.42 for future expenses. The judge had yet to decide whether Berry would have to pay. Martinez cited financial difficulties, claiming he earned an average of $776.34 per month in residual income against estimated monthly expenses of $17,555.99. He also reported holding $43,206.22 across several accounts.
The financial dispute followed serious allegations of abuse. Martinez accused Berry of choking Maceo during a September 26 disagreement involving a virtual reality headset. He described the alleged incident as part of a pattern of abuse and sought a domestic violence restraining order. His filing also reportedly included previous allegations and screenshots of their text messages.
In a September 27 message, Berry appeared to express regret, writing, “I feel terrible about what happened last night.” However, she denied abusing her son. Her attorney, Marina Beck, called the allegations “entirely meritless and deliberately misleading.”
Beck also accused Martinez of “erratic, possessive and violent behaviour.” She said Berry was deeply saddened but would continue fighting for Maceo’s best interests and providing him with love and support.
A temporary custody arrangement gave Martinez primary physical custody while proceedings continued. Berry and Martinez married in 2013, separated in 2015, and were declared legally single in 2016. However, they did not finalize their divorce until August 2023. Their custody disagreements continued in the following years. Berry began dating Hunt in 2020 and confirmed their engagement in February 2026.
