Laura Prepon fired back at her estranged husband Ben Foster‘s plea for the court to set a temporary custody schedule amid their divorce — claiming he had issues with alcohol abuse, In Touch can exclusively report.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Laura, 44, asked the court to order Ben, 44, not to drink alcohol during his parenting time and during the 12 hours prior or consider a supervisor for his parenting time.
Laura’s powerhouse lawyer Larry Hayes asked that the court set reasonable holiday time consisting of allowing the kids to spend Christmas morning at the family home with Laura, but allowing Ben to have holiday time on Christmas Day.
As In Touch first reported, last week, Ben claimed he had been unable to reach a deal with Laura over custody of their two kids.
Ben’s lawyer claimed, “[Ben] has personally attempted to reach a resolution with [Laura] in setting a parenting plan schedule that affords each with substantive parenting time, but all efforts have been unsuccessful.”
In her motion, Laura explained both parties are actors who moved from New York to Tennessee in 2022.
She said for the past four months, they have lived separately while Ben has been away filming, and she lived in their home with their kids. She said the last week of July she took the kids to New Jersey to see Ben. She said despite his overtures of claiming to want to see his kids, Ben “repeatedly chooses other activities for himself other than spending such time with his children.”
In her court filing, Laura claimed that Ben finished filming a movie in August but did not return home to see his kids “even though he had not seen them in almost four weeks.”
Her lawyer said in the filing, “Instead, despite his statements to [Laura] that he would not be going to the Venice Film Festival, [Ben] nonetheless was spotted in Italy on the red carpet posing without his wedding ring.”
Laura claimed the kids did not see their father again until September 9. She said Ben returned to Nashville on that date and asked to see the kids at the home but asked that Laura not be present. Laura said she honored the request.
However, she said Ben “parked” the kids in front of the television with their nanny “while he hurriedly went to the bedroom and packed his belongings, got in his truck and departed, leaving the children at home with the nanny.”
Her lawyer said Ben’s request to see the kids “appears to have been only a rush to enable him to file for divorce and remove his belongings without [Laura] knowing.”
“Despite [Ben’s] repeated absence and unpredictability, [Laura] has continued to provide the children with the necessary stable environment and has continued to ensure that the children maintain a regular routine,” Laura’s lawyer said in the motion.
Laura claimed Ben considers himself an “artist” that “lives on the road” and is “not a stay-at-home dad.”
She claimed he often waits until the last minute to request any time with the children.
Laura said that Ben decided to tell their kids about the divorce despite her thinking it might be too soon.
In her filing, the actress said she had concerns about the kids staying at Ben’s new place, especially since it is a high-rise apartment complex. Regarding Ben’s alleged “longstanding history of alcohol abuse,” Laura said that shortly after their daughter was born, Ben “became so inebriated” that he locked himself out of their New York apartment.
She claimed she found him asleep on the doorstep in his underwear.
In her filing, Laura also claimed that Ben seems to “always have a cup or thermos” on him.
“It was discovered through [Ben’s] leaving these thermoses or cups around the house that they contained coffee and whiskey,” the filing read.
Laura claimed in her motion that Ben often “day drinks” and experiences shaky hands in the morning.
In addition, she said that he often requests several “airplane bottles” of alcohol when he travels and often passes out in front of their kids. She said flight attendants have cut him off in the past. She said in October he showed up for a planned visit and smelled like alcohol.
Laura said Ben’s drinking became such an issues that they established boundaries regarding his drinking due their marriage.
In her filing, Laura claimed Ben agreed not to bring alcohol into their bedroom and to not turn on the stove while making late-night snacks, “as a safety precaution.”
Laura said she is the primary caretaker of the kids. She said in the past Ben has accused her of “creative sabotage” when she tried to talk to him about issues.
Laura asked that Ben not be allowed to drink before or during his time with the kids or a supervisor be there for the visitation. Ben has yet to respond.
As In Touch previously reported, Ben filed for divorce in September. He listed the date of separation as September 9.
Ben and Laura wed on May 25, 2018. The exes share two children, a daughter named Ella and a second child whose name they have not revealed.
