Kelly Rutherford, former Gossip Girl star, has filed for bankruptcy, TMZ reports. The actress's lengthy custody dispute with ex-husband Daniel Giersch seems to be the main cause of her financial trouble, as legal documents show that she spent almost $1.5 million on legal fees as the divorce/custody battle played out in court.
The star also owes $350,000 in income taxes for 2012, and has an American Express bill of $25,251. According to the she site, her debt totals $2,021,832, with her current monthly income being $1,279.33.
In the petition that she filed last month, the 44-year-old actress says that she's already borrowed thousands of dollars from friends and family.
Indeed, the custody battle over she and Giersch's children, 5-year-old Hermes and 3-year-old Helena, has been difficult for the star — financially and emotionally.
(In August 2012, a judge ruled that the children should live with German businessman Giersch in Monaco, France, where he moved after being barred from the U.S. due to a revoked visa. Rutherford, the judge reasoned, has a flexible schedule and can travel to and from Monaco to visit.)
"I'm just looking forward to them coming home at some point soon," she told Us Weekly in May. "They're U.S. citizens who were sent to a foreign country that neither their father nor I have any connection to. I think the whole thing is bizarre."
Rutherford, who divorced Giersch in 2009 after two years of marriage, has taken an interest in family law since the incident.
"You shouldn't be able to go to court and be litigated against in that way over your children," she told Us last month of why she wants to get involved. "There needs to be some reform, that's all. They just need to change a few laws and get things straight again and on the right track."
