The custody battle between Sonni Pacheco and Jeremy Renner turned ugly. The ‘Avengers’ star ex-wife claimed in legal papers that he allegedly threatened to kill her, so here’s what you need to know.
Sonni Pacheco, the 28-year-old ex-wife of Jeremy Renner, 48, is bathing the Hurt Locker star for custody of their 6-year-old daughter, Ava Berlin. TMZ reportedly obtained legal documents in which she accused Jeremy of many alarming actions, including allegedly threatening to end her life. She also claims that Jeremy put a gun in his mouth, threatening suicide, before pulling it out to fire it up into the ceiling. Their daughter was supposedly asleep in her bedroom during this alleged gun incident.
Jeremy has denied all these allegations. The well-being of his daughter Ava has always been and continues to be the primary focus for Jeremy,” a rep for the Avengers: Endgame star told TMZ. “This is a matter for the court to decide. It’s important to note the dramatizations made in Sonni’s declaration are a one-sided account made with a specific goal in mind.” HollywoodLife has reached out to Jeremy’s rep and is working to obtain the documents needed to verify these allegations. While this story unfolds, here’s what you need to know about Jeremy’s ex-wife:
1. She married Jeremy in 2014 … Sonni and Jeremy reportedly met on the set of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 2011. Two years later, they welcomed their daughter, Ava Berlin Renner, in March 2013. At the start of 2014, she said, “I do” to Jeremy. However, he wouldn’t acknowledge that he was married until a September 2014 interview with Capitol File. I have tried to protect my family’s privacy, my wife’s privacy. I don’t need her to get hammered with my life. Privacy issues are important because I want her to go about her day without being bothered.”
2. …but it didn’t last. They were married in January, but it had fallen apart by December. Before 2014 was over, Sonni filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences.” In the divorce documents, Sonni reportedly claimed that their prenup was fraudulent. The couple finalized the separation by the end of 2015, with Jeremy reportedly agreeing to pay $13k a month in child support.
3. She supposedly broke it off with Jeremy before the birth of their daughter. The couple called it quits before Ava’s birth. After they became parents, they gave it a second shot. She Sonni reportedly moved in with Jeremy, and this seemingly helped to rekindle their love. But, after watching their marriage fall apart, it appears they got it right the first time.
4. She previously pursued modeling and acting. The Vancouver, Canada native has two acting credits on IMDB: playing a character named “Sonni” in 2012’s The Wingman; and “Splendid Wet T-Shirt Girl” in American Pie Presents: The Book of Love. In addition to this short-lived acting career, Sonni worked as a model. She landed a gig as a model/spokesperson for Monster Energy Drinks in early 2013, according to Heavy.com.
5. Now, she focuses mainly on art. Since leaving the film set and catwalk behind, Sonni has found love inside the sculpting studio. Her Instagram is full of shots of her sculptures, with many featuring the nude female form. “By combining the human form with the skulls of animals, each piece is a representation of [Sonni’s] vision of strength, distress, torment, seductiveness, and servitude,” reads her profile on the Saatchi Art Website (h/t Heavy.com.) “Each piece is sculpted with clay- a therapeutic medium she’s worked with since pregnant with her daughter- giving her a malleable sense of storytelling that has helped shape her identity and the underlying identities of her pieces.
“Pacheco truly succeeds in creating and capturing a uniquely powerful portrayal of a seemingly powerless time of her life, entrusting her audiences with her most vulnerable self,” according to her profile. “When not sculpting, Pacheco is a mother to her beautiful daughter Ava, who has made her journey nothing short of pure love.”