They really seemed to belong together. But what started like a perfect romance has turned into a real nightmare. There was no Hollywood ending for Mel Gibson and his Russian girlfriend.
The Academy Award-winner and the mother of his eighth child, musician Oksana Grigorieva, have finally come to an agreement in the long-running custody dispute over their baby daughter.
Los Angeles Superior Court has announced that an agreement has been reached after days of negotiation. Its financial terms, however, will be heard next Wednesday, according to AP. The highly-contentious issue of custody of the couple’s daughter Lucia, born in November 2009, is to be handled in closed session.
The Braveheart star, previously arrested for drunken driving and notorious for his anti-Semitic and sexist remarks, has become a regular in court. Earlier this year the 55-year-old actor-director was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery involving a fight with his Russian lover. Grigorieva alleged that Gibson had hit her in the head, breaking her teeth, at the actor’s Malibu home in January 2010.
Gibson counter-claimed that Grigorieva tried to extort more money from him beyond a reported $20 million settlement that resulted from their breakup.
More “oil” was added to the scandalous fire-case after a series of recordings of racist and sexist character by Gibson were leaked to a celebrity website. Gibson later said that he regarded the leak of his private phone calls recorded by Grigorieva as a “personal betrayal.”
Although Gibson avoided jail, the Passion of the Christ director was sentenced to three years on probation and 16 hours of community service – with a philanthropic organization Mending Kids – as well as required to undergo a year of domestic violence counseling.
Gibson’s image of a seriously depressed man came to a boil after the release of The Beaver, a tragicomedy directed by Jodie Foster. Gibson’s portrayal of a once well-off businessman who has a major nervous breakdown and can only communicate through a puppet, has failed to catch on with audiences.