Actress Alice Evans' bitter legal battle to force her ex - Fantastic Four star Ioan Gruffudd - to cough up more support money for her and their two young daughters is set for a dramatic showdown this week.
The former couple are expected to face each other in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday when Evans, 56, will ask Judge Josh Stinn to increase the $4,500 a month Gruffudd, 51, is currently paying.
In the run-up to this week's court hearing, DailyMail.com has obtained court documents filed by Evans in which she claimed poverty and was so broke that she had to borrow money from friends and set up a GoFundMe account that raised $18,000 in donations.
She said that she and her girls - Ella, 15 and Elsie, 11 - were recently evicted from their LA home because she couldn't afford to pay the $6,500 per month rent.
She contended that she had to 'burn through' her savings to pay living expenses and legal fees.
And she insisted Gruffudd - who married his now-pregnant new wife Bianca Wallace, 32, in April - can afford to pay more than the $3,000 per month child support and $1,500 spousal support he now pays.
Alice Evans, 56, and loan Gruffudd's, 51, messy divorce battle is hitting its peak as they're set to face off in court on Wednesday where she will ask the judge to increase his child support payments to keep a roof over their daughter's heads
Evans has already created a divorce fundraiser by setting up a GoFundMe, which has so far raised $18,557, as the mother of two claims they were evicted from their LA home since she couldn't afford the monthly $6,500 rent
She insists Gruffudd - now married to pregnant actress Bianca Wallace, 32 - can easily afford more than the $3K in child support and $1.5K in spousal support he currently pays
But Gruffudd is fighting his ex's cash demands and in his own court filing, poured scorn on Evans' claims, saying that she 'purposely got herself evicted…. intentionally ceasing paying rent and instead taking the children on a vacation trip to Europe.'
Her motive, he said, was to 'support her false public narrative of financial destitution in an attempt to further harm my reputation……as a fraudulent way to strong-arm me into paying more support than I can afford.'
Gruffudd also maintained that subpoenaed bank records show that, far from being broke, Evans made more than $130,000 in 2024 and is expected to earn a similar amount this year - a claim that Evans called 'false and misleading.'
In his recent court filing, Gruffudd told how he was 'mortified' to have received 'dozens of stressed messages from our minor children in which they have parroted Alice's false and manufactured claims of becoming homeless in the immediate future.'
But in her new court documents, Evans denies manipulating the children to send plaintive messages to their father.
'I absolutely did not ask the children to send messages to (Gruffudd) about our eviction and pending homelessness,' she said. 'The children are well aware of our financial distress and the eviction.'
In April, Ioan and Bianca - who went public with their relationship in October 2021 - took to their respective Instagrams to share a video of them tying the knot in a romantic ceremony, captioned: 'Mr & Mrs Gruffudd. Marriage now, wedding later'
Gruffudd is pushing back against Evans' demands, accusing her of deliberately skipping rent, taking the kids to Europe, faking financial ruin to damage his reputation and pressure him for more payouts and influencing their children to send messages to him lamenting over the possibility of being 'homeless'
In her newest court filings, Evans pushed back against her husband's claims, claiming she never coerced her 15 and 11-year-old daughters to reach out to their dad and that they simply were aware of the financial situation and eviction
The new filings also hit back against Gruffudd's accusation that she was violating a three-year restraining order by stating he was trying to violate her first amendment rights and that she never stalked him or his new wife
Evans also pooh-poohed Gruffudd's accusation in his most recent court filing that his ex is still violating a three-year domestic abuse restraining order 'by physically stalking, ongoing harassment and publicly posting denigrating things about me on social media.'
She called the restraining order Gruffudd's effort 'to muzzle me and violate my First Amendment rights.'
And, she added. 'There is absolutely no evidence of stalking…. I have no idea where he and his wife live, nor do I have any interest in stalking them. This is plainly ridiculous.'
Gruffudd sought - and was granted - the restraining order in August 2022 after telling the court how Evans had 'engaged in a smear campaign of hateful text messages, emails and social media posts…aimed at intimidating me and my fiancé Bianca Wallace while alienating our two young children from me.'
With the restraining order due to expire next month, Gruffudd is going back to court August 1 to ask Judge Stinn to extend it, and his new wife, Bianca Wallace, is expected to testify against Evans.
'At the (August 1) hearing, I will be calling witnesses and presenting evidence to show Alice's continued abuse,' declared Gruffudd - whose latest movie, Bad Boys: Ride or Die has grossed more than $400million worldwide.
Gruffudd and Evans met on the set of the movie 102 Dalmatians more than 20 years ago. They fell in love in real life and were married in Mexico in 2007.
Gruffudd filed for divorce in March 2021, shortly after Evans announced on social media that her husband of 14 years was leaving her.
They were divorced in July 2023.
