Ant Anstead was pictured leaving a courthouse amid his ugly custody battle with ex-wife Christina Hall over their three-year-old son Hudson.
The 43-year-old Wheelers and Dealers host was spotted exiting an Orange County courthouse on Tuesday, four months after he asked for full custody of their toddler.
The sighting comes after Ant accused Christina, 39, of “exploiting” her child by using her in social media ads in court documents obtained by Us Weekly. He also supports “joint” physical custody of their child, the site reports.
Custody battle: Ant Anstead was pictured exiting an Orange County courthouse on Tuesday morning amid his ugly custody battle with ex-wife Christina Hall over their three-year-old son Hudson
Ant was spotted leaving the courthouse in a smart beige jacket, black top and acid-wash jeans.
He turned his head to a man in a suit who appeared to be his attorney as they walked outside together.
While Ant appeared fairly relaxed despite the high stakes of the situation, he was once spotted with his hands clasped behind his back.
He was also seen chatting with someone on his phone. The TV presenter looked deep in thought as he lowered his gaze and pressed his phone to his ear.
Legal Representation: Anstead was seen walking alongside a suit man who appeared to be his attorney
Taking a call: At one point, the TV host immersed himself in a phone call
In the latest update on his custody battle with Christina, Ant raised concerns about Hudson’s exposure to reality TV and his ex using her child in her social media ads.
“The risks to a child working on a television production set (even if that ‘set’ is Christina’s home) are innumerable and well documented,” he said in the documents, according to Us Weekly.
“Aside from the obvious pressures of working in a television production environment, children involved in television production often have ongoing issues that affect their well-being, worldview, and self-image, leaving them vulnerable and dependent on others’ perceived approval of their selves will. Value.’
Fighting back: In the latest update on his custody battle with Christina, Ant raised concerns about Hudson’s exposure to reality TV productions and his ex using him in her social media ads
“My goal is to ensure Hudson has a happy, healthy, and natural childhood with as little stress as possible, and that should take precedence over creating commercial opportunity and content,” he added.
Ant claimed in the filing that Christina had “already exploited” Hudson by featuring him in her paid promotional content on her social media channels.
“I’m afraid she also has footage of him to be used in one of her reality TV shows without my knowledge or consent and continues to film him despite my objections,” he said. “I don’t think it’s in Hudson’s best interest to be exploited as a ‘spokesperson, ambassador,’ or ‘model’ for any product or social media campaign.”
Body Language: He was once spotted with his hands clasped behind his back
He also said he would turn down requests for his son to appear in ads because he wanted to protect his child’s ability to make that choice for himself.
While Ant and Christina were able to resolve several issues without the court’s help, the TV host is still struggling with his son’s involvement on reality TV.
He then raised Kaila Posey, the Toddlers & Tiaras star, who died by suicide earlier this year aged 16.
Happier times: Anstead was married to Christina from 2018 to 2021 and is now dating Renee Zellweger; pictured December 2019
“One of my many fears that Hudson will be forced to film reality TV is the possibility that public mockery of seemingly innocuous content will become an insurmountable humiliation,” he said. “I urge the courts to review the recent and tragic case of Kailia Posey and a defining embarrassing meme.”
In a response from Page Six, Christina, who is now married to Josh Hall, called Anstead’s allegations “really offensive and just plain untrue.”
“I never exploited our son Hudson. He has appeared in a few of my own Instagram ads, each filmed under 5 minutes. I have all the footage and they were all fun activities that he enjoyed doing like playing with toys or baking cookies,” she said in court documents.
She added, “Nothing was forced.”
Parenting: The exes welcomed their only child together, son Hudson, in 2019
Christina added that both she and Ant went to “private mediation” to resolve their issues, and “his statement makes it clear that he is only interested in slandering me publicly.”
When Ant filed for custody of Hudson in April, he accused Christina of being an unfit mother and claimed she was negligent when it came to the medical safety of him and her son Hudson.
Anstead also slammed Christina for being mostly absent, only seeing Hudson “9 full days every month,” and only using him as a social media prop when she has him.
Responding to his claims through her legal team at the time, Christina called allegations that she put Hudson at risk and was completely absent from his life “false allegations” that “shocked” her, according to People.