Ioan Gruffudd didn’t hold back from putting on a very loved up display with his pregnant wife Bianca Wallace at the world premiere of The Fantastic Four: First Steps in Los Angeles on Monday.
The happy couple locked lips in front of photographers, while the Welsh actor, 51, tenderly cradled his new wife’s growing baby bump.
However the picture gave a striking resemblance to the same premiere 20 years ago, when Ioan packed on the PDA with his now ex wife Alice Evans.
Back in 2005 the pair were snapped enjoying a passionate smooch for the world to see, coincidentally also at the original Fantastic Four premiere.
The couple couldn’t keep their hands off each other in the unearthed snap taken just two years before the pair tied the knot.
Ioan and Alice, now 56, met on the set of the movie 102 Dalmatians more than 20 years ago. They fell in love in real life and were married in Mexico in 2007.
Ioan Gruffudd and Bianca Wallace’s passionate premiere smooch (L) looks EXACTLY like his loved up display with now ex wife Alice Evans in throwback snap from 20 years ago (R)
The couple couldn’t keep their hands off each other in the unearthed snap taken just two years before the pair tied the knot
Ioan filed for divorce from Alice in March 2021, shortly after the actress announced on social media that her husband of 14 years was leaving her. They officially divorced in July 2023.
And now the former couple are expected to face each other in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday when Alice will ask Judge Josh Stinn to increase the $4,500 a month Ioan is currently paying.
In the run-up to this week’s court hearing, DailyMail.com obtained court documents filed by Alice in which she claimed poverty and was so broke that she had to borrow money from friends and set up a GoFundMe account that raised $18,000 in donations.
She said that she and her girls – Ella, 15 and Elsie, 11 – were recently evicted from their LA home because she couldn’t afford to pay the $6,500 per month rent.
She contended that she had to ‘burn through’ her savings to pay living expenses and legal fees.
And she insisted Ioan – who married his now-pregnant new wife Bianca Wallace, 32, in April – can afford to pay more than the $3,000 per month child support and $1,500 spousal support he now pays.
But Ioan is fighting his ex’s cash demands and in his own court filing, poured scorn on Alice’s claims, saying that she ‘purposely got herself evicted…. intentionally ceasing paying rent and instead taking the children on a vacation trip to Europe.’
Her motive, he said, was to ‘support her false public narrative of financial destitution in an attempt to further harm my reputation……as a fraudulent way to strong-arm me into paying more support than I can afford.’
The Welsh actor, 51, looked every inch the proud father-to-be as he tenderly cradled his new wife’s growing baby bump while posing on the blue carpet
Alice and Ioan are expected to face each other in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday when Alice will ask Judge Josh Stinn to increase the $4,500 a month Ioan is currently paying
In her newest court filings, Alice pushed back against her husband’s claims, claiming she never coerced her 15 and 11-year-old daughters to reach out to their dad and that they simply were aware of the financial situation and eviction
Ioan also maintained that subpoenaed bank records show that, far from being broke, Alice made more than $130,000 in 2024 and is expected to earn a similar amount this year – a claim that Alice called ‘false and misleading.’
In his recent court filing, Ioan told how he was ‘mortified’ to have received ‘dozens of stressed messages from our minor children in which they have parroted Alice’s false and manufactured claims of becoming homeless in the immediate future.’
But in her new court documents, Alice denies manipulating the children to send plaintive messages to their father.
‘I absolutely did not ask the children to send messages to (Ioan) about our eviction and pending homelessness,’ she said. ‘The children are well aware of our financial distress and the eviction.’
Alice also pooh-poohed Ioan’s accusation in his most recent court filing that his ex is still violating a three-year domestic abuse restraining order ‘by physically stalking, ongoing harassment and publicly posting denigrating things about me on social media.’
She called the restraining order Ioan’s effort ‘to muzzle me and violate my First Amendment rights.’
Ioan filed for divorce from Alice in March 2021, shortly after the actress announced on social media that her husband of 14 years was leaving her (pictured in 2015)
And, she added. ‘There is absolutely no evidence of stalking…. I have no idea where he and his wife live, nor do I have any interest in stalking them. This is plainly ridiculous.’
Ioan sought – and was granted – the restraining order in August 2022 after telling the court how Alice had ‘engaged in a smear campaign of hateful text messages, emails and social media posts…aimed at intimidating me and my fiancé Bianca Wallace while alienating our two young children from me.’
With the restraining order due to expire next month, Ioan is going back to court August 1 to ask Judge Stinn to extend it, and his new wife, Bianca Wallace, is expected to testify against Alice.
‘At the (August 1) hearing, I will be calling witnesses and presenting evidence to show Alice’s continued abuse,’ declared Ioan – whose latest movie, Bad Boys: Ride or Die has grossed more than $400million worldwide.
