Former UFC star Chuck Liddell is accusing his ex-wife, Heidi Liddell, of abducting their daughter, just over one year after the couple finalized their divorce.
Chuck, 56, filed an emergency custody order requesting that their daughter, Guinevere, 14, be returned to him and placed in his custody full time, according to court documents obtained by Us.
The MMA legend accused Heidi, 46, of abducting Guinevere on Friday, August 14, “with no intent to return her,” five days before her scheduled first day of school. Heidi allegedly brought Guinevere to her residence in Orange County, outside of the district where she currently attends school.
Chuck alleges that Heidi realized she would not be able to get court permission to move Guinevere and their son, Charlie, 13, before the fall semester started, so she resorted to disobeying several court orders regarding custody of their kids. That included “not using the co-parenting communication app, using the children as messengers, failing to bring Guinevere to extracurricular activities, and not following the court-ordered custody schedule,” according to the documents.
Chuck wrote that he fears that Guinevere will “suffer irreparable harm by missing her first week of school,” including causing her to be kicked off the volleyball team. That, in turn, has allegedly caused Charlie “immense undue stress and turmoil” due to how close the siblings are.
Chuck is also asking for Heidi to only be allowed monitored visits with the kids to prevent her from trying to “manipulate” them or take them again.
Heidi, for her part, denied ever kidnapping Guinevere, insisting that her daughter “begged” her to take her away from Chuck.
“For the past 5 years after our divorce, Chuck has been obsessed with staying in my life and trying to control me,” she told TMZ, adding that their kids “don’t feel safe speaking up to him at this point.”
“My door has always been open for my kids to see Chuck and I never abducted anyone,” Heidi said.
She filed a response to Chuck’s court order saying she does not consent to his request for custody. Heidi also did not consent to attorney fees or costs.
“I am a full-time mother and do not have extra income,” she wrote in her response. “I have been financially bullied in court. This is partially why I had to fire my attorney. I cannot afford all the fees.”
She also wrote that Chuck has caused Guinevere to suffer “severe anxiety and mental distress,” that she is “crying out for help” and that she does not, in fact, want to play volleyball.
“She refuses to return to his house because she doesn’t feel safe with him,” Heidi wrote.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday, August 24.
