Simply over two years in the past, Alice Evans, the girl on the centre of Hollywood’s most vicious divorce battle, launched a GoFundMe web page.
In a put up on the web page, Alice, 56, insisted that she might not afford to purchase meals, pay her utility payments or cowl the authorized charges for her settlement battle with ex-husband and father of her two youngsters, the British actor Ioan Gruffudd.
She added she was ‘struggling as a single mom to my infants’ and advised how her financial institution accounts, financial savings and even her pension pot had been ‘drained’. She requested her followers for ‘something you possibly can spare’.
The 102 Dalmatians actress additionally stated she feared that she might be present in contempt of courtroom if she did not discover the funds to rent a lawyer to characterize her at future hearings. In whole, her determined pleas generated simply $6,974 of her $25,000 goal.
Actors Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd in 2018 with daughters Ella, now 14, and Elsie, now ten
However was Alice actually penniless when she arrange the GoFundMe web page?
She and Ioan lastly got here to an settlement on their divorce and custody preparations two months in the past. However the authorized listening to over funds, which began this month, reveals a brand new facet to the saga.
In bombshell courtroom papers submitted by Gruffudd on Tuesday evening, he claims that, on the time she was asking for cash from followers, Alice had a complete of $86,457 in out there funds throughout two accounts.
Her UK account (transformed from kilos to {dollars}), Gruffud claims, contained $78,740, whereas her American account had a steadiness of $7,717. But on November 12, 2022, she wrote on social media: ‘In order that’s it, I’m utterly broke. I’ve a 3 day w/e [weekend] forward of me, two children to feed, take care of and ZERO within the financial institution,
‘I’ve spent my life financial savings during the last two years since my ex left me. I’ve paid for every part while being a full-time mum. Now it is all gone.’
The paperwork submitted by her ex-husband this week claimed that, ‘throughout this similar time’, she had a complete of $24,766 to her title.
Alice has repeatedly claimed to be combating cash throughout her protracted dispute with Ioan, 50, her husband of 14 years, who’s now engaged to actress Bianca Wallace, 31.
The pair met once they starred as on-screen love pursuits in 101 Dalmatians (pictured)
Court docket papers allege he was bombarded with emotional messages from his ex-wife, who claimed she could not pay her hire. Ioan says that, in October 2023, Alice ‘threatened’ his relationship with their two daughters Ella, 14, and Elsie, ten, when she wrote to him: ‘It won’t be attainable to proceed any of the issues we’re doing so far as mending your relationship as a result of I do not know the place we are going to go.’
However in keeping with Ioan’s latest courtroom declaration, Alice’s monetary data present she had $17,735.55 firstly of the month and subsequently obtained an extra $13,994 fee.
A month later, the papers declare, Alice wrote to Ioan saying their daughters wouldn’t have Christmas stockings or presents the way in which they often did as a result of she had ‘run out of cash’.
One other flashpoint within the acrimonious break up has been a glitzy Rolex watch worn by Ioan’s new fiancee, which Alice claimed two months in the past was a gift from the actor. Court docket papers allege that Alice claimed that whereas Bianca wore a Rolex, she ‘could not feed their youngsters’ and needed to ‘dwell on meals stamps’.
Ioan claims the watch belongs to a good friend and a member of his circle stated: ‘It was a ridiculous factor to counsel that Ioan had purchased it for her when she had no concept in any respect whether or not that was the case.’
In the meantime, Ioan claims he had overpaid Alice by nearly $400,000 in upkeep. Consequently, buddies of Ioan, the Welsh heartthrob who starred on ITV drama Liar in 2016, say he has turn into ‘more and more irritated’ by Alice’s claims that she is destitute.
One advised the Mail: ‘It has been so irritating for Ioan to have to look at this when he was paying in the direction of her bills. It’s obvious that she went on social media to say in public that she was on her uppers.
‘It is extremely possible that a few of those that donated had much less cash of their accounts than she did. It’s fairly insulting. It’s such a tragic state of affairs and one which makes him fear for his daughters greater than he ought to need to.
‘On the very forefront of his thoughts are his women Ella and Elsie whom he loves deeply. Ioan would do something for them to not need to undergo all of this.’
Alice Evans goes grocery buying in Los Angeles with one in all her daughters this week
Whereas Ioan has remained largely silent in the course of the battle, Alice – who has American mother and father however grew up in Bristol – commonly vents her frustrations on X (previously Twitter). One good friend of the star says: ‘Ioan needs she would not do this. He needs that they might simply type this out quietly so their daughters aren’t dragged right into a public row. It’s deeply unhappy for him.’
All in all, it has been a sorry saga, and one which has gripped the showbusiness world. But like so many relationships that bitter over time, it had begun so promisingly.
Gruffudd is now engaged to Bianca Wallace. Court docket papers allege Alice claimed that whereas Bianca wore a Rolex, she ‘could not feed their youngsters’ and needed to ‘dwell on meals stamps’
Ioan and Alice met on the set of 102 Dalmatians greater than 20 years in the past, once they performed onscreen love pursuits Kevin and Chloe. They then fell in love in actual life and, on New Yr’s Day, 2006, he popped the query.
A lavish wedding ceremony in Mexico adopted after which alongside got here Ella and Elsie. The household settled in Los Angeles, the place they grew to become referred to as one in all Hollywood’s hottest {couples}.
However cracks started to appear of their marriage. Then started the confrontation, which escalated swiftly to a break up and Ioan battled for 50/50 custody of his youngsters.
The row between them, which has now been raging for greater than three years, culminated in Alice being slapped with a restraining order in February 2022 after she posted various messages about Ioan and his new girlfriend Bianca on social media and allegedly despatched him greater than 100 texts. Court docket papers claimed that Alice had branded him a ‘youngster abuser’ on-line and Ioan accused her of organising nameless social media accounts – as many as 22 on Twitter/X – which she would use to lambast him to her followers.
Alice denied abusing or harassing him however the order was prolonged to a few years, so she stays forbidden from posting about both of Ioan or his fiancee till August 2025.
Gruffudd and Ms Evans get pleasure from a night out collectively in London again in 2007
In August final 12 months, a Los Angeles choose agreed to Gruffudd’s request for his two daughters to attend remedy, and agreed that Evans ought to take them to weekly ‘reunification’ classes.
However in his Earnings and Expense declaration filed on Tuesday, Ioan says Alice repeatedly refused to carry their daughters to the classes or – if she did – disrupted them. On one event, he says, she threw herself on the ground ‘abruptly’ after which claimed to have a panic assault.
He additionally accused Alice of ‘creating dramatic scenes’, ‘calling an ambulance on herself throughout a session’ and ‘encouraging’ the kids to go away inside minutes of arriving on the session.
Ioan additionally stated Alice had accused the therapist of favouring him and argued with the therapist ‘in entrance of the kids’. He added that not one full session was accomplished because of the incidents he referred to.
Ioan wrote of their classes: ‘I consider that it was Alice’s personal fixed interference and alienation that brought on reunification remedy to be unsuccessful.’
However he confirmed that, regardless of all this, he had made the ‘troublesome’ choice to settle his declare for joint custody in June.
Taking one final swipe at her, Ioan wrote within the papers that his choice to settle was due, partly, to ‘Alice’s propensity to abuse the household legislation course of so as to keep related within the public eye on the expense of me and our kids’.
He additionally stated within the paperwork that he had solely spent 9 hours together with his youngsters this 12 months.
As one good friend of Ioan’s says: ‘It has been completely hellish for him and has recommended to him a degree of deceit from Alice. It’s terrible however, greater than something, it’s unhappy for the kids, so unhappy that they’ve had grown up amongst this horrid divorce.’
Subsequent might be a courtroom listening to between the warring actors the place I am advised a ‘vital quantity extra info and proof’ might be aired. As one supply advised me: ‘When you assume that is over, you are mistaken.’
