James Heerdegen Didn’t Allow Son to Join My Trip

Christina Ricci claimed that her ex-husband, James Heerdegen, blocked her plans to bring their son, Freddie, along on a recent work trip to New York City.

Ricci, 43, alleged that Heerdegen, 45, initially agreed that she could bring their son, 8, on the getaway but eventually changed his mind, according to court documents obtained by Page Six on Saturday, June 24.

“Jimmy’s refusal to agree causes me concern because he clearly was being vindictive and retaliatory when he initially refused my request to travel for the additional dates,” the Yellowjackets star alleged in her filing earlier this month. “As recently as Monday, June 19, 2023, Jimmy was agreeable to allowing Freddie to travel with me, but apparently he still wants to wait until our hearing to discuss it.”

Ricci filed the motion to request an emergency court hearing regarding their custody arrangement.

The Addams Family actress and Heerdegen tied the knot in 2013. After six years of marriage, Ricci filed an emergency protective order amid domestic violence allegations. Us Weekly exclusively confirmed in July 2020 that the motion had been granted and the twosome were unable to have any contact. Heerdegen was not arrested nor did he address the allegations at the time. Ricci filed for divorce that July, which was ultimately finalized in December 2022.

Amid their legal battle, Ricci also petitioned the court for full custody of Freddie. Us confirmed in April 2021 that Ricci had been granted sole legal custody of their son with Heerdegen given visitation rights. The Emmy Award nominee also agreed to pay for her former spouse’s travel and accommodation costs to visit Freddie in Vancouver, where she was living at the time.

“There are certain things that I have collected — certain bags. I had quite a Chanel handbag collection for a while, but I sold a lot of things,” Ricci told the Sunday Times Style in November 2022. “Well, certain traumas in life go along with financial traumas, extended court situations, custody situations [and] fighting restraining orders.”

She added: “Denial is very strong. Of course, you don’t want to accept that the worst possible thing is happening and that you put yourself in that situation. So it took me a really long time to realize that.”

Ricci later moved on with hairstylist Mark Hampton, whom she wed in October 2021. The couple welcomed their daughter, Cleopatra, two months later.

“We were gonna call her Cleo and then right before they were preparing me for the C-section, they started talking about how we had to fill out birth certificate stuff, [and] my husband was like, ‘We’ve got to give her a full name, right? And then the nickname is Cleo,’” she recalled during an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in January 2022. “I was sort of like, ‘Whatever, we can talk about this later.’ Then he got so excited that he put it on Instagram. … Well, I guess her name is Cleopatra. I just thought it would be Cleo, but he figured it out while I was in recovery. Cleopatra’s good. I mean, it’s a queen’s name.”