Fantastic Four star Ioan Gruffudd told a Los Angeles court Monday, on the first day of his trial against ex-wife Alice Evans, 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.’

Ioan Gruffudd, 52, addressed the court Mondayat day one of his explosive nine-day trial against his ex-wife Alice Evans, 57, to claim her ‘vicious’ social media attacks that branded him a ‘child abuser, pedophile and drug addict’ impacted his relationship with his two daughters 

In court, Gruffudd described a series of harassment and abuse incidents by Evans, including attempts to destroy him and his career by ‘Amber Hearding’ him – referencing Johnny Depp’s bitter breakup and trial with Amber Heard 

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.

Gruffudd plans to call his new wife Bianca Wallace, 33 – who he married in April of last year – as a witness at trial

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 went through a messy divorce that was finalized in 2023. 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.

Gruffudd and Evans reconvened on February 17 for a last-ditch bid to reach a truce, but talks ended in a stalemate. The two are seen arriving at an LA court in 2024 

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.

Gruffudd is aiming to end spousal support and extend a restraining order to stop Evans from ‘stalking’ him and trashing him and his new wife, Bianca Wallace, 33, online; the couple welcomed their daughter Mila on November 2 

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 falling behind on rent. 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. 

Gruffudd and Evans, who share daughters Ella, 16, and Elsie, 13, finalized their divorce in 2023 and have since been locked in a bitter dispute over restraining orders, custody and money 

But Gruffudd has disputed that account, claiming Evans ‘purposely got herself evicted…to support her false public narrative of financial destitution in an attempt to further harm my reputation…as a fraudulent way to strong-arm me into paying more support than I can afford.’ 

He insists that Evans made more than $130,000 in 2024 and adds, ‘Alice is capable of working full time and earning a good living utilizing her many talents in a variety of jobs.’

Gruffudd reports earning about $575,000 annually, but she counters that he was making closer to $588,000 a year before their split. 

She has also accused him of rarely, if ever, seeing their daughters, but Gruffudd claims she’s to blame. 

‘Alice’s intentional and extensive social media campaign to damage his earning capacity as an actor and over her jealousy of his wife Bianca Gruffudd have poisoned and alienated the girls’ once-healthy relationship with their father,’ he argues. 

The two met on the set of 102 Dalmatians in 1999 and married in 2007 

Gruffudd is demanding Evans pay the $43,000 it cost him in legal fees to petition the court to renew the restraining order against her. 

She has opposed the request, calling the amount ‘unbelievable,’ and claiming she ‘does not have the ability’ to pay any more.  

Evans and Gruffudd met on the set of the movie 102 Dalmatians more than 20 years ago. They fell in love in real life and married in Mexico in 2007.

Ioan filed for divorce in March 2021, after Alice announced on social media that her husband of 14 years was leaving her. They were officially divorced in July 2023.