Ant Anstead and Christina Hall Custody Battle Boils Down to 1 Issue: ‘Exploitation’ of Their Son
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead have been battling for custody of their son Hudson for months, and the legal drama continues as the former couple can’t agree on one key issue. Here’s the latest update on the HGTV star and the English TV presenter’s custody case.
Ant Anstead and Christina Hall have been in a custody battle for months
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead have been fighting for custody of their son Hudson since April. The two stars got married in December 2018, just months after the Flip or Flop star finalized her divorce from Tarek El Moussa.
The couple had one son, Hudson, who was born in September 2019. Hall and the English TV presenter separated one year later in September 2020, and their divorce was finalized in June 2021. They agreed to share custody of their son. Anstead went on to date actor Renée Zellweger, while Hall got married for a third time to real estate agent and former police officer Josh Hall.
On Apr. 28, TMZ reported that Anstead accused Hall of endangering their three-year-old son and putting him at medical risk. He filed for emergency custody and claimed that he already took care of Hudson the majority of the time anyway, despite his shared custody agreement with Hall. The Wheeler Dealers star also requested a court order preventing his ex-wife from posting photos of Hudson for “any commercial endeavor” without his permission.
The Christina on the Coast star filed court documents refuting Anstead’s allegations, and the order for emergency custody was denied. The former couple was required to attend mediation and had court dates in June and September.
Ant Anstead and Christina Hall’s custody battle boils down to 1 major issue
According to recent court documents obtained by In Touch, Christina Hall and Ant Anstead’s custody battle has been mostly resolved, with one outstanding issue: the “exploitation” of their son on the HGTV star’s reality shows and social media.
Anstead filed a supplemental declaration on Sept. 26. He wrote that while many of their problems were resolved “without the need for court intervention,” there is “just one unresolved issue between us; whether or not it is in Hudson’s best interests to have his name, image, and likeliness exploited in commercials and he be compelled to appear on Christina’s ‘reality TV’ shows.”
Anstead claimed that Hall has already “exploited” their child in paid promotions on social media, writing, “I hope the funds Christina has received in past paid posts in which Hudson appears will be diverted into Hudson’s savings account.” He also expressed concern over “the stresses of film set chaos and the unnatural pressure to perform” for Hall’s reality shows.
The English TV presenter compared his son to Kailia Posey
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Ant Anstead compared his and Christina Hall’s son to Toddlers and Tiaras star Kailia Posey. Posey, who was turned into the popular “grinning girl” meme, died of suicide in May at age 16.
“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,” Anstead wrote. “I urge the courts to review the recent and tragic case of Kailia Posey and a defining embarrassing meme.”
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