Halle Berry's Life Is a Sexy, Upscale Episode of Maury Right Now: How Did That Happen?

Last week, actress Halle Berry observed Thanksgiving with the traditional Violent Fight—Almost to the Death—Between Frenchmen on her lawn, where her fiancé beat the shit out of the father of her child. Since then, accusations have been flying like bloodied fists:

Halle Berry's daughter isn't safe around her ex; Halle Berry's ex tried to kill her fiancé; Halle Berry's fiancé threatened to kill her ex; Halle Berry's daughter isn't safe around her fiancé.

Questions linger: Why is everyone fighting? What are so many of them French? Did Halle Berry name her daughter after Disney characters?

Let Gawker break it down for you:

Berry Many Frenchmen: Who's Who?

  • 1. Halle Berry: Mother of Nahla. Oscar/Emmy/Golden Globe/Best in Show-winning actress. She has existed as Halle Berry since 1966. She is from Ohio.
  • 2. Gabriel Aubry: Father of Nahla. French-Canadian model who met Berry on the set of a Versace photoshoot. He dated Halle Berry from 2005-2010. He is from Montreal.
  • 3. Olivier Martinez: French film actor. He is Halle Berry's fiancé. The two met on the set of a film that might as well be a home movie since no one saw it, called Dark Tide. He has dated Halle Berry since 2010. He is from Paris.
  • 4. Nahla Ariela Aubry: Daughter of Halle and Gabriel. "Nahla" means "honeybee" in Arabic and Ariela means "lion for God" in Hebrew. Nala and Ariel are also the names of popular Disney characters, a fact which will not go unnoticed by Nahla's classmates. She was born in Los Angeles in 2008.
  • What Beautiful People! Why Are They Fighting?

    They're fighting because Halle Berry wants to move her daughter to France.

    A few months after he and Halle Berry split in 2010, Gabriel Aubry filed papers seeking formal recognition as Nahla's father, as well as joint legal and physical custody of their daughter. Ahead of the custody hearing, Berry released a statement expressing "serious concerns for her daughter's well-being while in the care of [Aubry] for any extended period of time." The couple now share custody.

    In 2012, Berry sought court permission to move with Nahla to France (her new fiancé's home country), where, she says, anti-paparazzi laws would provide a safer upbringing for her daughter. Nahla's father Aubry, who lives in L.A., opposed the move. On November 9, a judge denied Halle's request.

    What Happened Over Thanksgiving?

    It would appear that Martinez beat Aubry to a bloody pulp on Halle Berry's front lawn (after threatening him in French), just like the pilgrims did.

    According to a declaration filed by Aubry's lawyer (described by People and TMZ), tensions mounted the day before Thanksgiving, when Aubry took his daughter to a school play. Martinez showed up with Halle, making this school play more star-studded than most movie premieres, and approached Aubry. Aubry says Martinez whispered in his ear, in French:


    The next morning, Aubry took Nahla to Halle Berry's house for Thanksgiving. Normally, a nanny acts as a go-between for Nahla handoffs, but this time Olivier came out the front door. Aubry says Martinez told him, "we need to talk," then jumped him as Aubry was walking to his car. Aubry says Martinez knocked him over, punched and kicked him, and grabbed his head and slammed it on the concrete driveway, yelling that Gabriel had cost Halle $3 million in legal fees.

    Aubry also claims that Martinez threatened to kill him:

    "From now on you're going to do drop offs on the street. I'm not just some f––ing actor, you don't know me...We called the cops [and] you're going to tell them that you're the one who attacked me, or I'm going to kill you."

    After police arrived, an emergency protective order was issued against Aubry (who was also arrested), forcing him to stay 100 yards away from Halle, Olivier, and Nahla. TMZ reports that Aubry did not mention any threats when he spoke to police after the altercation.

    Aubry's face was beaten pretty raw after the accident. Martinez (a former competitive boxer) reportedly hurt his hand a lil bit.

    I am Gabriel Aubry. Who Has to Stay Away From Me?

    Bienvenue à Gawker, Gabriel. At the moment, pretty much everyone has to stay away from you, and you have to stay away from everyone. The protective order filed against you on Thanksgiving (barring you from approaching Halle, Nahla, and Olivier Martinez) expires today. TMZ reports that Halle Berry's lawyers intend to ask the judges to extend that order, but that your lawyer will ask to have it lifted. On Monday, you obtained a restraining order against Olivier, so he has to stay away from you as much as you have to stay away from him. Double stay-aways.

    [People // TMZ // Images via Getty and George R. Royce]