Nahla Aubry has submitted a declaration supporting her mother, Halle Berry, in an ongoing custody dispute with Berry’s former husband, Olivier Martinez. The filing addresses Martinez’s allegation that Berry physically abused their 12-year-old son, Maceo, during an incident on September 26—an allegation Berry has denied.

The dispute is now centered on a temporary court order that restricted Berry’s time with Maceo after Martinez sought a restraining order. Martinez is pursuing sole legal and physical custody, while Berry is asking for the family’s prior joint-custody arrangement to be restored. A hearing is scheduled for October 16, when the court is expected to revisit Martinez’s request.

Nahla, 18, described herself as shocked and upset by the allegations in her declaration. She wrote that she has never seen Berry behave violently toward anyone. Her statement does not decide the allegations, but it places the experience of an adult sibling who says she has lived with Maceo for most of his life into the court record.

What Nahla Aubry’s declaration says

Martinez alleged that Berry put her hands around Maceo’s neck and choked him. Berry disputes that account. Nahla’s declaration offers a direct defense of her mother’s general behavior, saying she has not witnessed violence by Berry.

She also said she spoke with Maceo the day after the alleged September incident and that he did not seem unusually upset during their conversation. That is Nahla’s personal observation, not an independent determination of what occurred on September 26. Still, it is relevant because custody disputes often involve competing accounts from family members, along with the court’s assessment of the evidence submitted by both sides.

The declaration further challenges Martinez’s broader portrayal of Berry’s home life. Martinez has alleged that Berry made disparaging remarks about him to Maceo, including a racially charged comment he says was made during a 2023 disagreement about child support. Nahla said her experience was different: she described Berry as warm, supportive and closely involved in her children’s lives, while also characterizing her as strict. Nahla also said Berry encouraged both children to maintain loving relationships with their fathers.

That distinction matters because the current dispute is not limited to a single alleged incident. The parties’ filings appear to raise larger questions about co-parenting, communication, schooling, therapy and the children’s relationships with each parent. Allegations of that kind can become part of the overall picture each side presents while arguing over a custody arrangement.

Temporary restrictions and the next custody hearing

A temporary restraining order or related temporary restriction is not the same thing as a final resolution of a custody dispute. In this case, the available information establishes that a judge granted Martinez’s request for temporary limits on Berry’s time with Maceo. The October 16 hearing is the next known point at which the court is expected to consider the request again.

Related coverage includes Nahla Aubry Files Declaration Supporting Halle Berry in Custody Dispute.

Martinez seeks sole legal and physical custody. In everyday terms, physical custody concerns where a child lives and the time spent in each parent’s care. Legal custody generally concerns authority over important decisions affecting the child, such as matters involving education or health. Berry, meanwhile, wants the previous joint-custody arrangement reinstated.

The distinction is significant because the parents’ divorce settlement had established joint custody. Berry and Martinez married in 2013, separated in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2023. Their settlement also required Berry to pay Martinez $8,000 per month in child support.

Those earlier terms provide the baseline for the present conflict: Martinez is seeking a substantial change from the prior arrangement, and Berry is contesting both the abuse allegation and the continued restrictions. The pending hearing, rather than public statements from either camp, will determine the immediate next procedural step.

Nahla says the order has affected her contact with Maceo

One of the more personal points in Nahla’s declaration concerns her own relationship with her younger brother. She said the current terms prevent her from contacting Maceo at all. Her statement draws attention to an often-overlooked consequence of family-court restrictions: orders designed around a dispute between parents can affect the wider household and sibling relationships as well.

That impact is especially notable given Nahla’s description of living with Maceo for most of his life. Her filing presents her as more than a distant observer; she says she has had sustained proximity to both Berry and her brother. At the same time, her declaration is advocacy submitted in support of her mother, and it should be understood within that context.

Public discussion around celebrity family cases can too easily flatten court filings into verdicts. A declaration is a sworn statement made for the court’s consideration. It can supply personal testimony and challenge another party’s narrative, but it does not by itself establish every disputed fact. The allegations against Berry remain allegations that she denies, and the available account does not indicate that the court has reached a final determination on them.

Past conflict is also part of the filing

Nahla also referenced a 2012 Thanksgiving confrontation involving Martinez and her father, Gabriel Aubry. She stated that she remembers Martinez beating up Aubry in a driveway when she was younger. Both men were injured in that altercation, and each accused the other of starting it.

Her recollection appears in service of her assertion that she has not witnessed Berry act violently. It also underscores how long-running family conflict can resurface in later custody litigation, particularly when the parties submit declarations about household dynamics and prior incidents. But the earlier confrontation involved competing accusations, and Nahla’s account is one part of the present court filings rather than a newly established finding about the 2012 event.

Berry’s team and Martinez’s team offer competing accounts

Nahla is not the only person to file material supporting Berry. Her fiancé, Van Hunt, and members of Berry’s legal team have also submitted declarations on her behalf. Berry’s attorney has accused Martinez of withholding information concerning Maceo’s education, interfering with therapy and not following therapist recommendations.

Martinez’s attorney has said that Martinez is focused on Maceo’s welfare and safety. That response is consistent with the basis of Martinez’s request for a restraining order and sole custody: his position is that the steps he is seeking are necessary for their son.

These opposing accounts make the limits of the public record especially important. The filings describe sharply different views of what is happening within the family, from the alleged September incident to issues involving schooling, therapy and communication. Neither side’s characterization should be treated as a final finding while the matter remains before the court.

Entertainment-related legal disputes can also involve complicated procedural steps before major questions are resolved. For another example of a court matter moving through a discrete evidence-gathering stage, see the order requiring Michael Ovitz to complete a deposition in Julia Ormond’s lawsuit.

What is known ahead of October 16

  • Martinez has alleged that Berry abused Maceo during a September 26 incident.
  • Berry has denied the allegation.
  • A judge granted temporary restrictions on Berry’s time with Maceo after Martinez sought a restraining order.
  • Martinez is seeking sole legal and physical custody; Berry seeks restoration of joint custody.
  • Nahla Aubry’s declaration says she has never witnessed Berry act violently and disputes Martinez’s broader characterization of Berry’s parenting.
  • The court is expected to revisit Martinez’s request at an October 16 hearing.

For now, Nahla’s filing adds a family member’s account to a highly contested custody case. It does not end the disagreement between Berry and Martinez, but it ensures that the court will have her description of Berry’s conduct, Maceo’s apparent demeanor after the alleged incident and the order’s effect on the siblings when it considers the next stage of the dispute.