Actress Kelly Rutherford is refusing to return her children to her ex-husband, German businessman Daniel Giersch, in a bitter custody battle that has raged since the couple split in 2010.
Rutherford, of "Gossip Girl," had been awarded temporary custody of their children – Hermes, 8, and Helena, 6 – back in May and has since refused to fly the children back to their father in Monaco,
reported Us Weekly.
"These past three years waiting for my children to come home have been very difficult," Rutherford, 46, said in a statement. "My children were forced to leave the United States in 2012 when they were only 2 and 5 years old.
"In May, a judge in California gave me sole custody and brought them home," Rutherford continued. "I am immensely grateful and overjoyed to have them back. Since May, however, the court proceedings have been confusing. My ex-husband recently filed for sole custody in Monaco after causing my children to be declared 'habitual residents' there, even though he agreed with California in 2012 that the children's time in France and Monaco would be temporary, and that the children would retain exclusive citizenship and residency in the United States."
Rutherford charged that sending the children to Monaco would violate the agreement her ex-husband had agreed to.
Giersch issued a statement in May through his attorney, Fahi Takesh Hallin, about the custody battle, responding to his ex-wife's
"We The People" petition asking the U.S. government to get involved in the couple's dispute,
reported "Entertainment Tonight."
"Daniel's goal is to continue to protect these children and shield them from any media exposure, which is against court order," Hallin's statement read "We are taking Kelly's statements to the media very seriously."
"Her statement that anyone who brings the parties' children back to the United States in violation of the custody orders would be considered an American hero, is not only false as this would be an illegal and criminal act, but it creates a very real and present risk for the children's safety," read the statement.
Rutherford, whose television career dates back to 1988, played Lily van der Woodsen on "Gossip Girl" from 2007 to 2012 and portrayed Cynthia Phillips in "Being Mary Jane" from 2014 to 2015.