The shock felt by actress Alice Evans when her husband Ioan Gruffudd left her in January 2021 was palpable.
She wrote on Twitter, now X: ‘My beloved husband/soulmate of 20 years Ioan Gruffudd has introduced that he’s to go away his household beginning subsequent week. Me and our younger daughters ladies [sic] are very confused.
‘We haven’t been given a cause besides “he not loves me”. I’m so sorry.’
Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd – right here earlier than their break up three years in the past – signed a pre-nuptial settlement earlier than they married in 2007, when he was stated to have had a web price of £2 million
Ioan Gruffudd with fiancee Bianca Wallace. ‘Thanks for making me smile once more,’ he wrote when he introduced their relationship on Instagram in October 2021, after his break up with Evans
When that tweet disappeared, she posted one other, saying that he had deleted her announcement. She wrote: ‘Hell sure when I’m being gaslit and mentally tortured then hell sure I’ll wash my linen in public.’
And boy, was she nearly as good as her phrase on that. She wrote a bombshell account of the top of the wedding and the way she felt ‘lifeless’ with grief. She wept on ITV’s Lorraine.
The drama whipped as much as a crescendo when Welsh actor Gruffudd introduced in October 2021, on Instagram, that he had a brand new girlfriend. Pictured with 31-year-old aspiring actress Bianca Wallace he wrote: ‘Thanks for making me smile once more.’
Evans, 55, says that this was the primary that she and her daughters, then aged 11 and 7, knew of the romance.
Woundingly, it appeared that Gruffudd and Wallace’s paths had crossed when she was an additional on the Australian TV sequence Harrow which was filmed in Brisbane — and Evans and Gruffudd have been nonetheless very a lot married.
In February 2022, Evans was made topic to a restraining order by her estranged husband after she posted numerous messages about him and his new girlfriend on social media and allegedly despatched him greater than 100 texts.
Some appeared to threaten him. Evans denied abusing or harassing him. The order was prolonged for 3 years so she stays forbidden from posting about both of them till August 2025. So for greater than three years now, this protracted and messy divorce has raged on. Two months in the past, a ‘stipulation’ was signed which meant the pair had reached settlement — however, because it seems, solely over custody of their two daughters.
Now Evans has filed an extra doc, which is definitely a request for cash, since she claims she has none. And what’s contained throughout the 150 pages of the Request For Order, or RFO, would possibly simply make some individuals revise their view of her.
For, whereas it’s undeniably true that her behaviour again in 2021 and 2022 was fairly flawed, not every little thing specified by the RFO matches the ‘mad dangerous Alice’ narrative that prevailed on social media on the time. In truth, various it suggests the alternative.
Take, for example, the query of custody. Gruffudd wished it break up 50/50 and claimed — as was broadly reported — that Evans was a nasty dad or mum who was damaging the kids. There was a lot backward and forward about ‘reunification remedy’ (re-establishing connections between dad or mum and little one) and custody visits.
Evans, who lives in Los Angeles, says in her bombshell court docket papers that she earns £235 a month and has drained her financial savings, leaving her struggling to afford to feed her daughters
Evans with Gruffudd and their daughters in 2018. The pair settled interim and little one help final yr, however she has now accused her ex of not paying spousal or little one help since April
It now emerges that in 2023 a Baby Custody Analysis was carried out. These evaluations take months and contain a extremely certified skilled — on this case, one nominated by Gruffudd — who will interview the kids, the therapists, the lecturers and the chums of the divorcing couple, and the couple themselves, at size.
The findings of the evaluator stay sealed. Nevertheless the very fact is, as revealed within the RFO, that following skilled intervention, Evans has 100 per cent custody and Gruffudd has signed off on it. Not solely that, however she complains that Gruffudd has seen the kids solely twice this yr, and hasn’t had any of his mandated thrice-weekly telephone calls with Ella, now 14, and Elsie, ten, leaving them ‘in limbo’ and ‘confused’ — extra of which later.
In the meantime, Evans seems to have been beneath immense monetary pressure and each she and her lawyer say that Gruffudd has paid her nothing in any respect in both little one or spousal help since April this yr. Bluntly she is broke, can’t pay her lease or utilities and is urgently asking for funds.
B ut, maybe most importantly, she can also be very sorry for the way in which she behaved in recent times.
In her assertion, included within the court docket doc, she says: ‘I perceive why the Court docket issued the DVRO (restraining order), and I want I had by no means despatched the messages or revealed the social media posts.’
She provides: ‘I used to be appearing out of emotional anguish brought on by the surprising finish of our marriage and Ioan’s somewhat fast public announcement of a brand new romantic relationship on social media, which our eldest daughter found by way of an Instagram publish.’
The top of the wedding has past any doubt broken the pictures of each actors.
It began with such promise. They have been a golden couple: he good-looking and charismatic; she referred to as ‘la belle Anglaise’ after a romance with Picasso’s grandson Olivier. They signed a pre-nup earlier than their marriage ceremony in Mexico in 2007. On the time, Gruffudd stated he had a web price of £2 million; Evans had simply $40,000 (£31,400) in varied accounts.
The pre-nup is advanced however basically the events agreed to go away the wedding with what they introduced into it. By way of spousal help, it provides Alice Evans 20 per cent of his earnings within the occasion of a break up, or ten per cent if they’ve kids, which appears fairly extraordinary. She is now difficult it.
After the marriage he pursued his profession, starring within the hit movie Unbelievable 4, whereas she raised their daughters. She had struggled to conceive and had gone by means of IVF. In her latest submitting she says that in some good years he would take house $1 million (£784,000), in others extra like $500,000 (£392,000). Life was candy.
Then got here the break up.
Now Gruffudd says his common month-to-month revenue has been $21,000 (£16,400); Evans says she earns round $300 (£235) in royalties. Her legal professionals say that he additionally acquired ‘roughly $390,000 (£306,000) from the gross sales proceeds’ of their Californian house in December 2023.
He additionally continues to work in movies, together with Unhealthy Boys: Experience Or Die which was launched final month. Within the submitting Evans writes: ‘Because it stands, I’ve little or no cash coming in every month. I earn roughly $300 (£235) per thirty days. I’ve drained all of my private financial savings paying my prior attorneys on this case and paying for my bills.
‘I’ve some private property, comparable to classic designer gadgets, held in storage, that I may probably promote, however they’re at risk of being bought at public sale as a result of I can’t pay the month-to-month storage charge (Ioan stopped paying post-separation although our daughters’ childhood mementoes are saved there.)’
She provides: ‘Because it stands, I’m behind on lease and utility funds, and associates have began dropping off groceries and meals so the kids and I can eat. I will likely be making use of for meals stamps and welfare.
Evans alleges Gruffudd purchased ‘an costly engagement ring’ for his fiancee Bianca Wallace
She additionally claims that each Gruffudd and Wallace have each not too long ago ‘purchased new Rolex watches’ (Wallace is seen modelling what seems to be a inexperienced Rolex in Could this yr)
‘Whereas I’m struggling to place meals on the desk for our kids, Ioan is jet-setting around the globe. Ioan couldn’t seem at his seen deposition [to give evidence in court] for custody points as a result of he travelled to the UK.
‘Since April 2024, in response to his Instagram web page and Press releases, he has been within the UK, Cardiff, Sardinia, Rome, Spain and Seattle. Based mostly upon tales within the media, Ioan bought an costly engagement ring for his fiancee they usually not too long ago purchased new Rolex watches.’
Legal professionals additionally recommend that his monetary information present he gave $77,000 (£60,300) to Bianca in December 2023.
On the finish of 2023, interim spousal and little one help was settled. The agreed cost was $3,000 (£2,350) a month in interim little one help and $7,000 (£5,480) a month in spousal help.
Evans, who lives in Los Angeles, says that Gruffudd solely paid the spousal help from December 2023 to April 2024 and has paid nothing since. She says that little one help additionally ceased in April.
It was initially understood that the monetary points would go to trial by April this yr, however that has now been postpone till August. She is asking the court docket to pay her attorneys and alleges that Gruffudd has been paying two totally different regulation companies and a forensic accountant.
‘Alice is making use of for public help as a result of she is unable to help herself and the kids,’ her lawyer states within the newest authorized submitting. ‘It seems that the monetary trial will likely be a number of months away and Alice won’t be able to outlive with out the receipt of guideline spousal help.
‘Ioan has the power to pay spousal help primarily based upon his better means to earn revenue and his ongoing lavish life-style. For these causes, Alice requests guideline little one and spousal help.’
Her lawyer Janina Verano additionally says that since Could 2023, Gruffudd has not seen the kids exterior of reunification remedy, nor has he ‘exercised his court docket order proper’ to have a phone name with them 3 times every week. Reunification remedy resulted in February this yr.
‘Ioan has not telephoned the kids or returned their textual content messages since Could of 2023,’ Evans says. She provides: ‘The youngsters have been left in limbo and are fully confused about when, or if, they may see Ioan.’
By an order filed by her lawyer, Evans says she doesn’t conform to the sealing or preserving personal of their authorized stipulation or custody settlement in its entirety, which is what Gruffudd has requested — accusing him of being ‘disingenuous’ in his request to seal the authorized proceedings so as to ‘shield the kids’.
Gruffudd and Wallace met on the set of the Australian TV present Harrow, wherein she featured as an additional (seen collectively on set)
What is obvious is that there are three individuals buying and selling hostilities on this divorce battle.
Evans complains that Gruffudd’s girlfriend Bianca made a ‘fully false’ and extremely defamatory assault on her on Instagram in April this yr.
Within the publish, the Australian stated she had been contacted by 1000’s of people that stated that Evans had abused or threatened them and declaring that she was going to ‘get up’ to ‘bullies’.
This competition, in response to Evans’s legal professionals, implies that Bianca was in breach of a custody stipulation, which forbids both of them from being destructive in regards to the others in entrance of the kids.
E vans’S legal professionals emailed Gruffudd’s authorized workforce to ask for his girlfriend’s Instagram publish to be eliminated, however acquired no response.
Within the papers, Evans provides that Ella was very upset when a college pal informed her in regards to the publish and ‘cried out she by no means desires to see Ioan once more’.
The Mail approached Gruffudd’s workforce for remark however had no response. Buddies of the actor insist that he has paid ‘greater than what the court docket dominated’ they usually say that Alice Evans’s pleas of poverty are ‘simply nonsense’.
One informed the Mail: ‘If something, Ioan has overpaid Alice what the court docket dominated.
‘He desires to make sure one of the best for his kids and would by no means not make certain they have been sorted totally as they need to be.
‘The divorce half is over, however it feels very very like Alice is utilizing the ladies in opposition to Ioan.
‘He has tried to get them assist and to make sure that they’re sorted correctly. He has pushed for them to have remedy. These ladies are what matter essentially the most to Ioan and it’s actually devastating for him to see this occurring.’
Would possibly this final, determined throw of the cube by Evans persuade Ioan to settle along with her financially, 42 months after he walked out?
All should, certainly, lengthy for an finish to the drama, however Gruffudd’s associates say they concern the fall-out will ‘by no means go away’ and can proceed to plague the fractured household for the foreseeable future.
