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Celebrity divorces are almost always messy, but no high-profile divorce is more tumultuous than one involving a child support agreement.
Recently in the limelight has been Kevin Costner, who was mandated in July 2023 to pay his soon-to-be ex-wife a monthly six-figure sum until their divorce proceedings in November 2023. The staggering amount could be reduced come the trial, or it could be made permanent — or even increased — depending on what the judge believes is fit for their circumstance.
Kevin Costner's divorce is getting messier with Christine Baumgartner's child support demands. https://t.co/mTRjPioiI7
— SheKnows (@SheKnows) June 21, 2023
While the Yellowstone actor joins the likes of Alex Rodriguez and Kanye West in shelling out well over $100,000 in child support payments each month, there are several celebrity parents who pay the average American’s annual income in monthly installments per their child support agreements. It’s hard to believe these kids born into fame could need tens of thousands of dollars to survive each month, but alas, apparently they do.
From Kelly Clarkson and Brendan Fraser to Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen, scroll on to learn about the most lucrative celebrity child support agreements known to the public.
Ime Udoka and his ex Nia Long reached a custody agreement regarding their son Kez in Jan. 2024, two years after their original split. The NBA coach will have to pay the actress $32 thousand a month in child support, and he is also responsible for any travel costs — including the cost of a nanny — for Kez to visit him during basketball season.
The former couple share joint custody, but Long has sole physical custody and Udoka will have “reasonable visitation” because of his work schedule.
“If the parties are unable to agree upon Udoka’s visitation with Kez, they shall consult and work together with Kez’s treating therapist to encourage the visits with Udoka, and the therapist will inform the parties of what is best for Kez.”
Al Pacino welcomed a son in June 2023 at age 83 with his then-girlfriend Noor Alfallah. There have been mixed reports over whether the two are still together, but their custody agreement was settled in Nov. 2023.
Per TMZ, Alfallah will get primary physical custody and Pacino will get visitation. For child support, Pacino will pay $110,000 upfront, $30,000 per month, put $15,000 per year in an education fund, and is responsible for any medical expenses that insurance won’t cover. He’s also paying $13,000 per month for a night nurse.
Actress Halle Berry pays Olivier Martinez $8,000 a month to support their son Maceo, according to a report by PEOPLE. She also agreed to pay him “4.3% of any income she receives above $2,000,000” and cover the costs of Maceo’s private school tuition, uniforms,supplies, and extracurricular activities.
Per a 2009 report by Today, Russell Simmons was court-ordered to pay Kimora Lee Simmons $40,000 per month in child support for their two daughters until the girls reached 19 and a half years old.
While Jesse Williams was mandated to pay his ex-wife, Aryn Drake-Lee, monthly child support payments of $40,000 for their two kids, People reported that the courts reduced the actor’s payments to just $6,413 following his exit from Grey’s Anatomy in 2021.
It’s not too often you see a mother have to shell out child support to her ex-partner, but unfortunately for Kelly Clarkson, it’s exactly what the court is requiring her to do following her divorce from Brandon Blackstock. According to The Blast, the beloved singer was ordered to pay Blackstock nearly $46,000 per month in child support for her two kids, in addition to a one-time settlement payment of $1,326,161 million and ongoing monthly spousal support payments of $115,000 until January 2024.
According to a 1991 report by The New York Times, Donald Trump’s divorce settlement required him to pay his ex-wife Ivana $650,000 annually in child support for their three kids — which is just over $54,000 each month.
In June 2023, Hunter Biden reached a new settlement with the mother of a child he insisted was not his until DNA tests proved otherwise. The new [supposedly reduced] sum is unknown. In 2020, he was paying $20,000 per month in child support.
As part of the new agreement, the son of President Joe Biden is also ordered to give the child an unspecified number of his paintings that they can keep or sell. Within the next five years, Hunter and the mother, Lunden Roberts, will discuss terms for providing a college education fund for the child. Roberts withdrew her motion for the child to have Biden’s last name.
In 2005, Sean Combs (also known as P. Diddy) was paying a staggering $55,000 per month in child support payments. According to Today, the rapper was ordered to pay his ex-girlfriend, Misa Hylton-Brim, $35,000 per month in 2004. When he appealed for a lower payment in 2005, Hylton-Brim was awarded an additional $21,000 per month, which was later reduced by a judge to an additional $19,000 monthly.
At the time, Combs was also paying $20,000 per month in child support to Kim Porter, whom he later reconciled with before her tragic passing in 2018.
After his divorce from Afton Smith in 2009, Brendan Fraser became liable to pay her $900,000 per year in alimony and child support for their three sons — which works out to be $75,000 per month. This is in addition to the $50,000 he was ordered to pay Smith in spousal support for 10 years following their divorce, according to Cosmopolitan. That responsibility ended in 2019.
According to E! News, Charlie Sheen was ordered to pay Denise Richards $20,000 per month in child support for their two daughters — Lola and Sami — as well as $55,000 per month to Brooke Mueller for their twin sons, Bob and Max.
In 2018, he filed for a reduction, saying he was unable to find sufficient work to pay the originally agreed-upon sum. As of 2021, the courts decided Sheen no longer needed to provide Richards with child support. Additionally, Us Weekly reported in 2022 that the actor and Mueller had privately come to an agreement about support for their sons.
He also shares a daughter, Cassandra, ex Paula Profit. Their agreement is unknown.
Upon his divorce from Cynthia Scurtis in 2008, Alex Rodriquez was ordered to pay her a staggering $115,000 per month in child support for their two daughters. According to TMZ, the agreement was supposed to be revised after the baseball star retired from the MLB, but he’s still making the same payments since he hung up his cleats in 2016.
While their divorce settlement is ongoing, Kevin Costner was ordered to fulfill temporary monthly child support payments to his soon-to-be ex-wife Christine Baumgartner until their trial date in November 2023. For their three children, the Yellowstone actor is required to pay $129,755 every month. According to People, the payments could be retroactive if the judge makes the monthly amount permanent during the divorce hearing later this year.
Per court documents obtained by TMZ, Kanye West was ordered to pay Kim Kardashian a whopping $200,000 per month in child support for their four children. Additionally, the controversial rapper is responsible for 50% of the kids’ medical, educational, and security expenses.
After The Sun speculated on how much Nick Cannon pays in child support for his kids in 2022, the dad of 12 revealed that he doesn’t formally pay child support. Instead, he has private agreements with the mothers of his children.
While the publication postulated that Cannon pays around $3 million annually in support for his kids, The Masked Singer host told The Neighborhood Talk, “I definitely spend a lot more than that on my children annually. I don’t plan to ever have to participate in the governmental system of child [support].” That means Cannon forks out at least $250,000 per month in costs directly supporting his kids.
In 2023, he insisted that “what [his children] need, they get.”
“My money is they money,” he said. “They can have whatever they want. My [bank] account is their account.”
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