Inside Laura Prepon and Ben Foster’s Messy Divorce
It’s a shame when a Hollywood love story takes a nosedive, especially if it could rival that of what we see on the silver screen. The once-happy couple, Laura Prepon, best known for her roles in Orange Is the New Black and That 70’s Show, and Ben Foster, who’s starred in 30 Days of Night and Kill Your Darlings, has officially called it quits. But like any celebrity breakup that’s worth its weight in headlines, theirs has turned into a tale of love, tears, and of course, expensive legal battles.
Laura Prepon and Ben Foster’s Messy Divorce
Six months after their separation, with Foster initially citing “irreconcilable differences” as the cause, the Hell or High Water actor amended his divorce petition, adding “inappropriate marital conduct” to his reasoning. Prepon fired back, accusing her ex-husband of the same, plus “habitual drunkenness.” In Foster’s amended petition, he alleged Prepon’s behavior as “cruel and inhuman treatment” that “renders further cohabitation [with Prepon] unsafe and improper,” per In Touch Weekly.
According to Prepon’s response, as reported by People, she demanded “strict proof” to back up Foster’s claim of her inappropriate marital conduct. Foster requested joint custody of their two children—a daughter named Ella and a son, whose name they’ve kept private. However, in her own petition, The Hero actress “denies that both parties are fit and proper parents to be awarded the joint care, custody, and control of the parties’ minor children and demands strict proof thereof.” She also requested to be “designated the primary residential parent” of their kids, arguing that it’s in the “children’s best interests.”
Foster’s lawyer told the New York Post in an interview that “Laura Prepon’s filing is the definition of falsehood and a disturbing fiction. Her actions will continue to harm the children who have always been Ben’s first priority.”
The ex-couple first became romantically linked in 2016, though they had known each other since their teenage years, with Danny Masterson—Prepon’s That ’70s Show co-star—serving as a mutual friend. They tied the knot in 2018. Their daughter was born in August 2017, and they welcomed their son in February 2020.
The couple’s separation date is listed as September 9, 2024.
