Less than one week after Kelly Rutherford won sole custody of her children after a protracted legal battle with her ex-husband, a judge has placed an unexpected halt on the order that would've allowed the actress to bring her son and daughter back to the United States.
Eight-year-old Hermes and five-year-old Helena have been living in Monaco with their German-born father, Daniel Giersch, since 2012.
Rutherford has gone bankrupt fighting for the right to bring her kids home to live with her in LA, but as Giersch is legally prohibited from entering the US and would be unable to visit them, the court decided that the only fair resolution would be to have the kids stay with their father in Europe.
Rutherford started an online petition that eventually reached over 100,000 signatures. She asked for help from her A-list friends like Kim Kardashian, who begged President Obama to get involved.
After years of pulling out all the stops, the Gossip Girl star finally won the right to bring her kids home last Sunday.
Now, lawyers for Giersch are claiming that it's the country of Monaco, not the city of Los Angeles, that has jurisdiction over the kids, and an LA judge had no right to award custody to Rutherford.
As for now Rutherford's right to return to the US with her kids is merely on hold, and no final decision has been reached. Regardless, it's a sad setback and sign of more trouble ahead for a woman who has already been battling for years.