LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The teenage daughter of actors Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans has been unsuccessful in her attempt to obtain a restraining order against her father's partner. A judge at the Los Angeles Superior Court rejected her application on Friday, June 23, after she submitted paperwork for civil harassment protection from Bianca Wallace, as per Daily Mail.
Ella, 13, had previously requested a restraining order against her father, the actor in the ITV dramas 'Liar' and 'The Fantastic Four', but the court chose to consider her request as part of a larger custody dispute on July 13. Wallace, 29, who has multiple sclerosis and attended the hearing alongside Gruffudd and Ella, is believed to be "relieved" at Judge Josh Freeman Stinn's ruling.
How old is Ella Evans?
Evans and Gruffudd exchanged vows in 2007. Ella and Elsie, the couple's two daughters, were born in 2009 and 2013, respectively. The couple announced their separation in January 2021 after their marriage had come to an end. Gruffudd then made his new relationship public in October the same year. "Ella’s very, very strong," he said of his then two-year-old daughter on an April 2012 episode of 'The Rachael Ray Show'. "She’s like her mother, so I’ve got my work cut out for me at home. She’s insistent on not going in her bed right now," he added.
Judge Freeman Stinn also assigned a minor's counsel, a lawyer chosen by the court to defend the best concerns of the child, for Ella and her nine-year-old sister Elsie. The teenager was obviously agitated as she went with her arms crossed and her head bowed, wearing a tan hoodie over her head and sunglasses, as per Page Six. At one point, Elsie was seen comforting her older sister while she wiped away her tears. The nine-year-old hugged Ella after putting her hand on her shoulder. The 54-year-old British actress was also seen sitting on the building's side and stooping down to speak to her oldest daughter.
Couple call Ella Evans 'manipulative'
The decision was delivered over a month after Ella requested a restraining order be issued against Gruffudd and Wallace. According to court documents acquired by the Daily Mail, the teenager claimed that Wallace, 30, "slammed a door on her head" after an altercation broke out at Gruffud's home. In the document, Ella asserted that she had never seen Wallace before the alleged altercation, which she claimed occurred on May 26. According to the site, Ella had "told him in the past" that she didn't want to meet Wallace and was upset to see her father's new lover there when she paid him an "overnight visit." The couple allegedly called the young girl "manipulative," "abusive" and "narcissistic" after she said she was "so upset" with Gruffudd that she "threw milk on his bed, poured mustard on the floor, and threw raw oatmeal on him."
A larger custody dispute
According to The Daily Mail, the petition also showed images of bruises on Ella's hand and arm, that she claimed were a result of the altercation. Before their father could catch up to them, Ella and her younger sister were said to have fled downstairs and into the street. The girls were allegedly driven to Evans' house by a family acquaintance after that.
Evans noticed her daughter's bruises the following day, at which point they decided to call the police and report what had happened. Ella reportedly asked for a five-year restraining order against Wallace, stating that she "is afraid" for her "personal safety."
According to the Daily Mail, the hearing for the Gruffudd case was rescheduled from June 22 to July 13 as part of a larger custody dispute. He already has a restraining order against his former wife, which forbids her from naming him on social media for three years. Both parties are fighting for the children's custody.
