Ant Anstead is concerned that his ex-wife Christina Haack would ‘exploit’ their son, Hudson, during their ongoing custody battle.
In a court statement obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, he alleged that Haack is using their 2-year-old son for personal gain, adding that “the risks to a child working on a television production set (even if that ‘set’ is Christina’s house) are countless and well documented.”
He continued: “Apart from the obvious pressures of working in a TV production environment, children involved in television production often have lingering problems that affect their well-being, worldview and self-image, leaving them less and dependent on the perceived approval of others for their self-esteem.”
Anstead, 43, stated that his goal is to ensure that Hudson “has a joyful, healthy and natural childhood, with as little stress as possible, and this should be prioritized over creating commercial opportunities and content.”
The ‘Master Mechanic’ star cited the suicide of former ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ star Kailia Posey as an example of those ‘lingering effects’.
“One of my many fears that Hudson will be forced to film reality TV is the possibility that public ridicule over apparently benign content will become insurmountably demeaning,” he claimed. “I urge the courts to review the recent and tragic case of Kailia Posey and a defining embarrassing meme.”
Haack has since refuted Anstead’s claims, saying the “Wheeler Dealers” host’s claim is “really offensive and just plain untrue”.
In court documents obtained by Vidak For Congress, she claimed: “I never exploited our son Hudson. He appeared in a few of my own Instagram ads that each took less than 5 minutes to film. I have all the footage and the were all fun activities that he liked to do, such as playing with toys or baking cookies.”
She went on to claim that “nothing was forced”.
Haack, 39, claimed the couple had already gone to “private mediation” to try and resolve the cases, and that “his statement makes it clear that he is only interested in smearing me in public.”
While taking Hudson away from Haack is apparently the “last” thing Anstead wants, he claimed in April that the mother of three had only seen their son “nine full days a month” in the past 20 months.
He also accused the “Flip or Flop” star of using their son as a “puppet” to get more branded deals on social media – which she also denied, saying his claims left her “deeply saddened”.
Anstead and Hall welcomed Hudson in September 2019, but split a year later. They finalized their divorce in June 2021 and Haack has since moved on and married Joshua Hall.
She has two children – Taylor, 12, and son Brayden, 7 – with ex-husband Tarek El Moussa.
Anstead has also found love again and is now dating actress Renée Zellweger.
Representatives from Anstead had no comment at this time.