Ioan Gruffudd Accuses Ex of Threatening His Life

Fantastic Four star told a court Monday, on the first day of his trial against ex-wife , of his horror at being publicly branded in her social media posts as a 'child abuser, pedophile and drug addict.' 

'It was devastating for me as a father to have that kind of false narrative out there,' the 52-year-old star said on the first day of what's expected to be a grueling nine-day trial in which he's asking a judge to renew a restraining order against Evans, 57.

As Evans sat in court, scrolling through phone texts and whispering with her attorney, Gruffudd recounted a barrage of incidents of harassment and abuse by Evans in which, he said, she:

• Threatened to destroy him and his career by 'Amber Hearding' him (referring to Johnny Depp's bitter break up with actress Amber Heard);
• Hired a private detective to follow his new wife, Bianca Wallace;
• Threatened him with physical violence;
• Falsely claimed that he had been cheating with Wallace for three years before his marriage to Evans ended;
• Threatened to accuse Wallace of a 'false crime so that she would be deported'

 Gruffudd shook his head and grimaced as he told the court that his former wife had told him in a text message shortly after he filed for divorce that 'she was going to dedicate her life to fighting me.

'I was incredibly upset and mortified,' he said adding that in other texts, she threatened to ruin his acting career, saying , 'You won't be an actor, baby, you'll just begging for money.'

On social media postings, he said, 'She accused me of being a child molester, a pedophile and a drug addict. She said I was out of my mind on sex and drugs and millennials.

'I was terrified by what that would do to my image and my career. I felt saddened and frustrated and helpless. It threatened my relationship with my children.

'I was very upset because I had been very generous in my support for the children and for Alice.'

Gruffudd - dressed in a dark blue suit and tie - shook his head and grimaced in the witness box Monday as he told him in a text message in April 2021 - just after he'd filed for divorce - that 'she was going to dedicate her life to fighting me.

'I was incredibly upset and mortified,' he said adding that in other texts, she threatened to ruin his acting career, saying , 'You won't be an actor, baby, you'll just begging for money.'

He accused Evans - who showed little emotion as she sat in court in a navy blue and white striped blouse that appeared to be on back to front, with her blonde har tied in a bun - creating a false narrative aimed at hurting his acting prospects.

On social media postings, he said, 'She accused me of being a child molester, a pedophile and a drug addict. She said I was out of my mind on sex and drugs and millennials.

'I was terrified boy what that would dome my image and my career. I felt saddened and frustrated and helpless... it threatened my relationship with my children.

'I was very upset because I had been very generous in my support for the children and for Alice.'

Gruffudd told the court that Evans bitterness toward him after their split was so serious that 'she abandoned any idea of a settlement' and instead insisted that they sell their family home so that 'she would have the funds for litigation' (to sue him).

'She told me, 'There's no going back now.' I was devastated. I was scared. I was nervous. She was threatening my career and my future and how I was going to provide for my children.'

He said was 'terrified when Evans sent him a video that contained ' a threat of physical violence.

He told the court that Evans' vitriol was also aimed at Bianca Wallace. 'Alice revealed to me that she had a private detective on Bianca,' he told the court, adding up Evans mad up a 'false' story about Gruffudd cheating on her for three years before he filed from divorce.

Evans appeared on a TV talk show in which she told that same cheating 'false narrative' and she was crying on the show, which was all an act' Gruffudd went on. 'I know she was acting because when the show ended she texted me and said, 'How's it going? Want more?'

'I was very disturbed that she would go to these lengths to denigrate me and the way she was describing Bianca. I felt helpless.

'I was anxious that she would use my public image to create a scandal bigger than Brad and Angelina. I found that to be incredibly threatening.'

He said one in text, Evans, 'said she was going to create a false crime that Bianca perpetrated and she would be deported.'

In another, he said she told him that he 'didn't have a clue how to bring up children' and threatened to 'call the police' he showed up to see his daughters.'

On one occasion when he was dropping off his daughters after a scheduled visit with them, 'Alice began loudly berating and threatening and accusing me,' he said

'She said she was going to destroy me and she was going to Amber Heard me. Then she said to the girls, 'If daddy is ever weird or creepy with you in a physical way, please let me know.'

'Then she started screaming and yelling obscenities the top of her lungs. She was so aggressive - out of control. It was very upsetting and disturbing.'

Gruffudd and Evans split in 2021 and . Since then they've been locked in a bitter feud over money and their daughters Ella, 16, and Elsie, 12.

He accuses his 57 year-old ex, of a 'relentless five-year campaign of harassment against him and his new wife, Wallace, 33, who bore him a baby girl in November.

And he's asking the court to renew the restraining order that he and Wallace took out against Evans after they complained that she was 'stalking' them and trashing them online.

Evans appeared on a TV talk show in which she told that same cheating 'false narrative' and she was crying on the show, which was all an act' Gruffudd went on. 'I know she was acting because when the show ended she texted me and said, 'How's it going? Want more?'

'I was very disturbed that she would go to these lengths to denigrate me and the way she was describing Bianca. I felt helpless.

'I was anxious that she would use my public image to create a scandal bigger than Brad and Angelina. I found that to be incredibly threatening.'

He said one in text, Evans, 'said she was going to create a false crime that Bianca perpetrated and she would be deported.'

In another, he said she told him that he 'didn't have a clue how to bring up children' and threatened to 'call the police' he showed up to see his daughters.'

Evans denies any ongoing harassment and is asking Judge Michael Convey to deny Gruffudd's request for a new restraining order.

She claims she's broke and wants the court to order Gruffudd to increase the $1,500 a month he pays her in spousal support and the $3,000 a month he pays in child support for their two girls – who, he says, have been 'poisoned and alienated' against him by their mother.

He wants to stop paying spousal support altogether, 'based upon Alice's 'persistent domestic abuse of him and her many violations of the (previous) restraining order'.

Gruffudd also maintains that he has already 'grossly overpaid' Evans in spousal support to the tune of $400,000.

On February 17, the two were given one final chance to end their bitter, years-long war before the trial kicked off.

But the hearing ended at an impasse with neither side willing to give an inch, the Daily Mail can reveal.

The battling duo have gotten together for several court-ordered settlement conferences and while they did reach an agreement on some issues, they couldn't bury the hatchet on these two major points of contention.

During the final session, after hearing from their lawyers that they have had more 'meet-and-confer sessions' that also failed to end their disputes, Judge Convey urged Gruffudd and Evans to be 'civil' to one another and not to turn the upcoming trial into a knock-down-drag-out fight.

'You are represented by excellent attorneys – use those attorneys for the benefit of your family,' the judge told them.

'We don't need drama. We need to concentrate on the best interests of the children.'

According to filings related to the February 17 hearing, the drama has reached a boiling point due to several incidents over the years. 

Gruffudd claims that, despite a previous three-year restraining order against her, Evans has waged an 'extensive and relentless five-year campaign of domestic abuse against him and Wallace, who gave birth to the actor's newest daughter, Mila, in November.

Evans denies the accusations and opposes the restraining order, calling them 'simply not reasonable or credible.' 

She also argues that the recent comments she made on social media 'were not harassment - they were merely statements made by Alice about her life and current circumstances.'

Evans has also said she's struggling financially, claiming she and her daughters were evicted from their home for . She also alleges she has been forced to sell her designer clothes and set up a GoFundMe account to raise the money just to put food on the table as a result.