All The Details About Christina Hall And Ant Anstead's Custody Battle
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead began dating in 2017 and officially announced their relationship a year later. Per People, Hall took to Instagram to share the news that she was in love again following her divorce from ex-husband Tarek El Moussa, and wrote in part, "You take me for what I am, flawed and a bit crazy, and love all of me just the way I am. You have never once made me feel bad for anything in my past. You put me in my place when I need to be put there. Hold me when I'm having a bad day. I love this life with you." The pair entered the relationship with two children each, and Hall added that their blended family was one of the things she loved the most about them.
Things between Hall and Anstead seemed to be going strong when they got married in December 2018 and announced the birth of their son Hudson the following year. But by 2020 the marriage was over, and Hall filed for divorce and joint custody in November of that year. The pair seemed to be co-parenting in relative peace until April 2022, when Anstead filed an emergency petition for full custody of Hudson (per Us Weekly). His request was denied, and the ongoing custody battle between the two exes has been messy ever since.
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead welcomed their son in 2019
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead welcomed their first and only biological child together in September 2019. Hall announced the birth of her third child on Instagram, where she wrote, "Ant and I are so excited to welcome Hudson London Anstead into the world. Our hearts are SO full of love and joy! Our healthy baby boy was born this morning- 9/6/19 – 7 lbs 7 oz 19.5 inches long" (via Today).
Hall and Anstead were each mom and dad to two older children at the time of Hudson's birth. Hall was open about the very difficult first trimester of her pregnancy. She admitted on Instagram that she dealt with "nausea, exhaustion, too many food aversions, too many carbs" in the first 12 weeks (per Today). She also thanked her ex-husband for his support, noting at the time that he was able to support her while she had to balance it all.
Hudson's parents were both on hand when he celebrated his first birthday a year later, and Anstead noted on Instagram that their youngest was born exactly in the middle of all of his siblings. He added, "You are our miracle baby, the perfect blend of your beautiful mummy 🥰 and this Brit dad 👴🏼! We love you so much! Today we celebrate you!"
Christina Hall filed for divorce a year after Hudson was born
Fans were surprised when Christina Hall and Ant Anstead announced their intention to divorce a year after their son was born. Hall shared the news in a post on her Instagram account, where she wrote in part, "Ant and I have made the difficult decision to separate. We are grateful for each other and as always, our children will remain our priority" (via E! News).
Following the announcement, Anstead made it clear in an interview with People that the separation wasn't his choice. He told the outlet, "I think everybody knows this was not my decision. It really hit me hard. If you ask anybody that knows me properly, they know that I give myself fully. I had so much love for her" (via E! News).
Hall and Anstead never revealed the reason for their separation, and the two made plans to co-parent their son. A source close to Hall also revealed to E! News that it became "very clear" that the marriage wasn't going to make it, which is why she made the decision to leave.
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead moved on to new relationships
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead each bounced back from their marriage relatively quickly. Hall met her current husband, Joshua Hall, in 2021 and the pair went public with their relationship in July of the same year. At the time, she was open about how special their relationship was to her, penning a post on Instagram that explained why she waited to share their love. As she put it, "I felt immediately crazy protective over him and wanted to keep him for myself and get to know each other before the tornado (media attention) hit." The two got married a year after they met (via Us Weekly).
Anstead similarly didn't waste time getting back out into the dating pool following his split. He and actress Renee Zellweger confirmed their relationship in June 2021 after meeting on the set of his show "Celebrity IOU Joyride" (via Us Weekly).
Ant Anstead filed for sole custody of Hudson in April 2022
It seemed that Christina Hall and Ant Anstead were co-parenting peacefully until April 2022, when Anstead filed for sole custody of their young son. As reported by Us Weekly, Anstead filed documents that claimed Hall had been notably absent from their son's life in his first two years. He also stated that Hall brought Hudson home with a bad sunburn, and included a text from Hall in which she advised, "Give him some Tylenol, I'm sure it will be better tomorrow."
Anstead's request for full custody was rejected on the same day that he submitted it. As noted by Us Weekly, a judge decided that Anstead had not supplied enough evidence against his ex-wife to justify taking custody of their son away from her.
Hall filed her own response to Anstead's allegations. She noted in part that she was surprised by what Anstead had submitted, and that she felt he was motivated by something other than what was best for their son. As she wrote, "I have read the declaration of Mr. Anstead and was shocked to see the false allegations against me and his belief that he has been failing to protect our son by sharing custodial time with me. I will not speculate as to his true motivations, but Hudson's best interest is not what is motivating his application to the court" (via Us Weekly).
Joshua Hall stepped in to defend his wife Christina
At the end of April 2022, Christina Hall opened up about the allegations that her ex-husband Ant Anstead had filed against her. While she didn't deny some of his claims, such as Anstead's note that Christina had engaged in "illegal drug use" in July 2021 when she and Joshua Hall admitted to smoking toad venom together (per Page Six), she also pointed out that Anstead had left several details out of his documentation. One of these details was the fact that Anstead left Hudson with Christina for 10 days while he traveled to the U.K., despite his insinuations that she was the one who didn't see their son for long periods of time (via Page Six).
Christina's husband Josh Hall also stepped in to defend his wife. While he didn't directly address Anstead, Josh did take to Instagram to write about his relationship with his stepchildren and his wife. As he put it on Instagram, "I am not these kids' biological father, they have those. What I will be is the best example of a quality human being, always show them how to treat their mother with respect, and support them in any way I can during their development."
Ant Anstead claimed Christina Hall is exploiting Hudson in May 2022
A month after he asked the court for full custody and was denied, Ant Anstead went after ex-wife Christina Hall again by stating that she's exploited their young son by posting photos of him online, especially when those photos are paid advertisements.
In a declaration submitted to the court, Anstead appeared to ask a judge to rule against Hall being allowed to film Hudson for a reality series. He wrote in part, "The risks for a child working on a television production set (even if that 'set' is Christina's home) are innumerable and well-documented," before adding that he was worried about the many ways that working in such a capacity could impact a young child (via Us Weekly).
Anstead added that he worried Hudson could be made fun of later in life for participating in a reality series when he has little to no say in what is and isn't shared with the world. As he put it, "One of my many fears of Hudson being forced to film reality TV is the possibility that public ridicule over seemingly benign content becomes insurmountably humiliating."