A bitter legal dispute between actor Ioan Gruffudd and his ex-wife, actress Alice Evans, will be decided at a nearly two-week trial after a Los Angeles judge scheduled the matter for February 23 to March 6, 2026.
The hearing, set to last nine days, will address competing claims that include a request by Evans for increased spousal support and Gruffudd's bid to extend and ultimately terminate a three-year domestic abuse restraining order and end his spousal support obligation. Gruffudd also seeks to stop what he describes as ongoing harassment of him and his new wife, Bianca Wallace.
The couple appeared before Judge Michael Convey on Monday. Gruffudd, 51, attended in person and opposed increasing the $1,500 per month spousal support he currently pays. He and his lawyer, Joseph Langlois, told the court they will ask to terminate support based on what they describe as Evans' continued violations of the restraining order. Gruffudd's counsel also gave notice that they intend to call Wallace, who is pregnant and was not present in court, to testify about alleged harassment.
Evans, 57, appeared by video and seeks a judge's order that Gruffudd pay more than the $1,500 in spousal support. She has also sought higher child support, saying she and their two daughters, Ella, 16, and Elsie, 12, face financial distress. Gruffudd currently pays $3,000 a month in child support, according to court filings.
In filings reviewed by media outlets, Evans said she had to borrow money from friends, launched a GoFundMe that raised roughly $18,000 and was evicted from a Los Angeles residence with monthly rent she said was $6,500. She said she had "burned through" savings to pay living expenses and legal fees and characterized her financial situation as dire.
Gruffudd disputes those claims, saying in court documents that Evans "purposely got herself evicted" and took the children on a vacation to Europe while portraying herself as destitute to pressure him for more support. He said subpoenaed bank records show she is not as financially strained as she has alleged and alleged that she earned more than $130,000 in 2024 and is expected to earn a similar amount in the current year. Evans has called the income claims "false and misleading."
Gruffudd was granted a three-year domestic abuse restraining order against Evans in August 2022 after testifying that she had waged a campaign of "hateful text messages, emails and social media posts" that he said aimed to intimidate him and alienate their children. He asked the court on Monday to extend the restraining order, which the judge agreed to extend through March 6, 2026, the last day of the upcoming trial.
Evans has denied stalking or physically harassing Gruffudd and said the restraining order amounts to an attempt by him to "muzzle" her and infringe on her free-speech rights. She also denied instructing the children to send messages to their father about eviction or homelessness, saying the children were aware of the family's financial difficulties.
The pair met on the set of 102 Dalmatians more than two decades ago and married in Mexico in 2007. Gruffudd filed for divorce in March 2021 after Evans announced on social media that he was leaving. Their divorce was finalized in July 2023. Gruffudd married Wallace in April; his recent film credits include a role in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which has grossed more than $400 million worldwide.
Judge Convey has scheduled the trial to resolve the restraining order extension, spousal and child support disputes and related issues raised by the parties. Both sides signaled their intent to call witnesses and introduce financial records and other evidence during the upcoming proceedings.