Bam Margera has reportedly lost custody of his 5-year-old son Phoenix. TMZ reports that Margera’s estranged wife Nikki has been awarded temporary sole custody of their son. Margera had been fighting for joint custody, but at this point, he can only see Phoenix via Facetime or video calls.
In February, Nikki filed legal separation paperwork, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. Per the legal filings, Boyd also requested legal and physical custody of Phoenix. However, she still wanted Margera to have visitation rights, under the condition that he either stayed in or came to the Los Angeles County region to see his son.
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As noted by Thompson, Nikki requested spousal support and asked for Margera to cover her attorney costs. “Nikki Margera felt compelled to file for legal separation from her husband, Bam Margera, due to his continuing drug and alcohol abuse, erratic behavior, and due to his failure to provide support for her and their son,” Nikki’s attorney, David Glass, said in a statement at the time.
“Nikki has put everything she has into trying to get Bam to stay sober, and to trying to preserve her family,” Glass continued. TMZ later reported that Glass alleged Margera was not sober during a visit with Phoenix, which was part of why Boyd felt is necessary to separate from him. Margera claimed to be sober, but Boyd was not convinced and decided that this was the last straw.
Things took a dark turn in June when Margera was placed on a 5150 hold and then sent to a treatment facility to get help with his substance abuse and mental health issues. In the wake of his release from police custody, however, Nikki said that he sent her angry texts. Glass claims that they have in their possession some very heated messages from the former Jackass star, which were sent just before he was admitted to the treatment center.
“Bam has started texting since his release from the 5150 hold, but the content quickly turned abusive,” Glass told TMZ, “calling Nikki awful names, saying she is the cause of all his problems, even saying she’s a ‘gold digger.’” He added that, even through their struggles, Nikki remains hopeful that Margera will be able to get healthy and sober. In response, Margera’s lawyer, Peter Thompson, told TMZ that his client was very upset to learn that Nikki had legally filed for $15,377 in child support, spousal support, as well as $50,000 in attorney’s fees.
“Bam continues to support her and Phoenix even though she won’t even allow a phone call or FaceTime with Phoenix,” Thompson said. “He just wants to see his son and continues to come up against a brick wall on that. Contact would go a long way in getting this resolved.”
