Christina Hall defends her parenting skills after ex-husband Ant Anstead's files for custody of son

Christina Hall responded forcefully on Thursday to news that her ex-husband Ant Anstead had filed for full custody of their two-year-old son.

In her statement, Hall, 38, called herself a ‘good mother’ and blasted her ex for taking their custody issues to the court, rather than having it ‘handled privately.’

The 43-year-old TV presenter had lambasted his ex in court documents in which he accused her of being an unfit mother and claimed she had been negligent when it came to both his and their son Hudon’s medical safety, according to TMZ.

‘What Ant is doing deeply saddens me,’ Hall said via her statement.

She seemed to imply that the exes had had discussions about custody and claimed that Anstead had ignored her hopes of resolving the matter behind closed doors.

‘If this was really about Hudson, as he says, this should have been handled privately with a private judge or mediation, as myself and my attorney have suggested,’ she continued.

‘I have had my share of ups and downs but I am a good mom and I love my children with all my heart and I will always protect them,’ she concluded.

In his filing, Anstead came out swinging, reportedly accusing the HGTV star of only spending a few days a month with their son, using him for social media clout and risking his medical safety.

The move marks a significant departure from their seemingly amicable split and shared goal of peaceful co-parenting, after saying in their 2020 breakup announcement that ‘our children will remain our priority’.   

The presenter did not hold back in his court filing and claimed Christina put their toddler at risk, sending him home with ‘an awful sunburn that was so bad it left him crying in pain.’

The Wheeler Dealers star goes on in the docs to explain that when he text the reality star about the burn she brushed him off responding:  ‘It didn’t feel hot. Give him some Tylenol im sure it will be better tomorrow.’

In another explosive section, Ant said that Christina failed to inform him that her family had gotten COVID and returned Hudson to his care without proper precautions. The move ended up shutting down production on Renee Zellweger, Ant’s girlfriend’s, latest film. 

‘At the time my partner was filming her new project and her covid diagnosis placed the whole production on pause,’ he wrote.

Anstead also blasts Christina for being largely absent, only seeing Hudson for ‘9 full days each month’ and using him as nothing more than a social media prop when she does have him.

The father of three is requesting that a family court judge modify their current shared custody agreement to give him full custody of Hudson with Christina getting the toddler every other weekend.

His request also included a caveat that Hall stop using Hudson in paid posts or projects unless he expressly consents.   

To underscore his opinion that Christina is unfit to share custody of their son, Ant reportedly raised concerns in the documents about the Christina on the Coast star’s use of hallucinogenic toad venom. 

Last year, Christina went public with her experience getting high off a psychedelic toad how it helped her ‘reset’ her brain before meeting new boyfriend Joshua Hall.

‘I met Josh when I wasn’t in a state of fear or fight-or-flight,’ she said in a social media post. 

Her journey included taking ‘time off social,’ and hiring a ‘spiritual coach,’ as well as smoking a psychedelic substance drawn from ‘Bufo toad,’ which she said ‘basically reset my brain and kicked out years of anxiety in 15 mins.’

‘Bufo toad,’ commonly known as Colorado river toad or the Sonoran desert toad, secretes a powerful venom which can be harvested and smoked to achieve a high.

The effects include a ‘warm sensation, euphoria, and strong visual and auditory hallucinations,’ that are said to be similar to the effects of ayahuasca, a brew used in South American spiritual practice.

Anstead’s custody moves comes shortly after 38-year-old Christina’s surprise and secret wedding to her third husband, Josh Hall.

She and Ant share one child together, Hudson, whom they welcomed less than a year after tying the knot.

Christina’s relationship with Ant began in late 2017, and they surprised their fans with a secret backyard wedding at their Newport Beach home in December 2018. 

After marrying, she changed her last name from El Moussa to Anstead and began using the new name publicly and on her television series.

At the time, a source told People that the marriage began to sour after the baby arrived.

‘After the baby, they started having conflicts,’ they said, and the HGTV star reportedly felt ‘lonely and unhappy’ while at home caring for her children.

‘Christina found it difficult to balance everything,’ they added.

The HGTV star announced the end of her second marriage on Instagram in 2020 writing: ‘Ant and I have made the difficult decision to separate. We are grateful for each other and as always, our children will remain our priority.

‘We appreciate your support and ask for privacy for us and our family as we navigate the future,’ Christina concluded.

Earlier this month Haack, who now goes by the surname Hall, shocked fans when it was revealed she and her realtor fiance Joshua Hall had already tied the knot.

An apparent real estate license obtained by TMZ seems to show that her name has already been changed professionally to Christina Meursinge Hall.

Insiders claim Joshua and Christina obtained their civil marriage within the last six months and plan to hold a small wedding soon for their loved ones.

The apparent real estate license cited by TMZ includes a list of her former names – notably excluding Anstead, her second husband’s surname.

In addition to her youngest son, Christina also shares daughter Taylor, 10, and son Braydon, five, with her ex-husband Tarek El Moussa, whom she was married to until 2018. 

The Wheeler Dealers host, meanwhile, is getting more serious in his relationship with Oscar-winning Judy actress Renee Zellweger, who turned 53-years-old on Monday.

‘Happy birthday to this beautiful lady,’ he gushed on social media, sharing a black-and-white photo of them snuggled up while smiling. ‘Ren you are PURE CLASS! I know how lucky I am.’

The beauty spoke about Anstead as she graced the April ‘Reinvention’ cover of US Harper’s Bazaar.

The blonde bombshell from Katy, Texas even shared how she first met Ant and why she thinks an angel from heaven could have sent him to her.

She was grieving the death of her publicist Nanci Ryder when she was watching Property Brothers with Brad Pitt as a guest star, the star told Harper’s Bazaar writer Mickey Rapkin.

It was an HGTV show called Celebrity IOU, in which a famous person honors someone in his or her life by having the Property Brothers renovate their home. Brad had his makeup artist’s garage revamped.

Zellweger wanted to help the two nurses who had looked after Ryder in the last years of her life: twin brothers named Jerome Cowan and Jerald Cowan.

Renee was told about Celebrity IOU: Joyride which would feature British TV personality Anstead as he rebuilt classic cars back to their top shape.

In the end the nurses were handed some very special rides: Jerome got a 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass and Jerald got a vintage Bronco.

And then the movie star from Hollywood got a prize all her own: the dashing silver fox Ant who had recently split from Flip Or Flop vet Christina Haack, with whom he shares son Hudson.

The reporter asked Zellweger if she thinks Anstead was a gift from the late Ryder.

‘Yeah, we do joke about that,’ Zellweger shared. ‘She’s always doing her best. It made me smile. It made me smile to think on this, yeah, the serendipity of it all.’