A Los Angeles judge has ordered actor Ioan Gruffudd to increase the maintenance payments he provides to his former wife, Alice Evans. the decision follows a nine-day court hearing in March that also resulted in a five-year extension of a restraining order against Evans.
The 10% gross income rule and the $1,862 monthly payment
The court has mandated that Ioan Gruffudd pay Alice Evans 10 per cent of his gross income, which the report calculates as $1,862 per month.. This financial obligation is rooted in a pre-nuptial agreement the couple signed prior to their marriage, which lasted for 14 years. According to the source, this ruling comes in addition to a previously agreed-upon child support payment of $3,579.
The judge's decision was heavily influenced by the custody arrangement, noting that Alice Evans maintains care of their daughters, Ella and Elsie, "100 per cent" of the time. By upholding the pre-nuptial terms, the court has prioritized the contractual obligations of the marriage over the personal grievances aired during the proceedings.
Why a $400,000 overpayment claim shrank to $27,000
A significant point of contention during the trial involved the amount of money Ioan Gruffudd had already paid to Alice Evans. Gruffudd argued that he had overpaid his ex-wife by $400,000, a claim that would have likely offset future obligations. however, after reviewing evidence provided by forensic accountants hired by both parties, the judge determined the actual overpayment was only $27,000.
This discrepancy highlights the critical role of forensic accounting in high-net-worth celebrity divorces.. As the report indicates, the court relied on these technical audits rather than the estimates provided by the parties involved to determine the final financial balance.
How a "misdemeanour" ruling blocked Gruffudd's bid to stop payments
Ioan Gruffudd attempted to avoid paying maintenance entirely, citing "emotional abuse" and online harassment perpetrated by Alice Evans. While the judge granted a restraining order against Evans for five years, the financial ruling took a different path. The judge ruled that Gruffudd's case failed because the online harassment was classified as a "misdemeanour" offence rather than a crime.
This distinction is a pivotal legal nuance. In many jurisdictions, the threshold for voiding a financial agreement based on misconduct is exceptionally high. By categorizing the harassment as a misdemeanour, the court signaled that while the behavior warranted a restraining order, it did not reach the legal severity required to nullify the pre-nuptial agreement's payment terms.
The $168,000 Coutts account and the issue of credibility
The proceedings also uncovered a $168,000 savings account at Coutts. While the judge confirmed that these funds were indeed the personal money of Alice Evans, he issued a sharp critique of her transparency. The judge stated that Evans failed to disclose the account in a "timely" manner, a lapse that the court claimed "impaired her credibility."
Despite this hit to her credibility, the existence of the funds did not alleviate Ioan Gruffudd's obligation to pay the monthly maintenance. The court essentially decoupled the ownership of separate assets from the ongoing support obligations defined by the pre-nuptial contract.
From the set of Harrow to the courtroom: The role of Ms. Wallace
The emotional volatility of the split was detailed by Janina Verano, the attorney for Alice Evans. Verano testified that Evans' online harassment in 2021 was triggered by isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and the discovery that Ioan Gruffudd had fallen in love with Ms. Wallace, an extra on the television series Harrow.
While Verano claimed that Alice Evans has since "moved on" and deactivated her Twitter account, the court was still left to balance these personal tragedies against legal contracts. This case leaves several questions unanswered: specifically, whether the $27,000 overpayment will be credited against future monthly payments, and whether the court will impose any sanctions for the late disclosure of the Coutts account.
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