While the breakup of Celebrity IOU: Joyride co-host Ant Anstead and Flip or Flop star Christina Hall was clearly a difficult one for both parties, it seemed for a time that they were fine sharing the realities of co-parenting duties for their young son, Hudson London. That changed this spring, when the concerned father petitioned the court for full custody in a move that shocked fans and his former spouse. While his bid was denied by a judge, the case has been ongoing, and now he’s shared new “fears” for his child while being cared for by his mother.
Why Does Ant Anstead Fear How Christina Hall Is Raising Their Son?
When the Wheeler Dealers host (who’s now moved on romantically with Oscar winner Renée Zellweger) originally filed for full custody toward the end of April, he made surprising claims about his ex-wife being an absentee parent, who was also somewhat neglectful of their son’s safety when he did spend time with her. He also alleged that she used the boy in a number of commercial projects like paid social media posts without his consent, and it’s that issue that has now come back up in new court filings, which were obtained by InTouch Weekly.
As part of his filing, Anstead noted that he thought his son’s mother had “already exploited” him for “numerous paid promotions,” and had additional footage that she could use without alerting his father beforehand. He added:
It is my goal to ensure that Hudson is allowed a childhood that is joyful, healthy and natural, with as few stresses as possible, and this should be prioritized above creating commercial opportunity and content…[It is] unfair to push Hudson [to do what] he does not understand and has not asked for while he is still unable to communicate his needs at this very young age. One of my many fears of Hudson being forced to film reality TV is the possibility that public ridicule over seemingly benign content becomes insurmountably humiliating. I urge the courts to review the recent and tragic case of Kailia Posey and a defining embarrassing meme.
While Anstead also said that he and Hall (who changed her name after marrying Joshua Hall earlier this year) have managed to work out all other problems surrounding their son’s care without needing a judge to step in, this is the “one unresolved issue” that remains. From the fears expressed in his documents, it seems pretty apparent that he does not feel it’s in his child’s best interest to be seen in paid posts or on the many HGTV shows hosted by his mom. And, especially with him referencing the tragic death of Toddlers and Tiaras star Posey, it's easy to see where his head seems to be at.
What Did Christina Hall Say About Ant Anstead’s Claims?
Through her representative, the Christina on the Coast star (whose new husband spoke out after the custody battle began) responded to her ex-husband’s filing, and denied ever exploiting their child. She also alleged that he “never had a problem” with their son “being on camera” until after their fall 2020 split, and that it’s actually him who wants to use their son for paid posts. The statement says, in part:
[Hudson] appeared in a few of my own Instagram ads that each took less than five minutes to film...These were organic moments in Hudson’s eyes. Nothing was forced, and they were filmed with a cell phone, not a production team…[Ant] repeatedly asked his ex-wife to allow his older kids to film with us...It was Ant’s ex-wife who did not want their children to be filmed...Ant has been told repeatedly that I do not have a problem with Hudson not filming…It is Ant who insists that he be able to use Hudson in social media posts to promote the post and expand its ‘organic’ reach.
While it’s good that both parents have come to agreements on the other issues they had about their child’s upbringing, it does appear that it will take some time yet to iron out when and how the boy will continue to be featured on their social media and television shows.
