Armie Hammer Files for Joint Custody & Requests Estranged Wife Elizabeth Chambers Return to the U.S.
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Armie Hammer is filing for joint custody of his two children whom he shares with his estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers.
The Call Me By Your Name star is requesting Chambers, 38, return to the U.S. to arrange a custody schedule for their daughter Harper Grace, 5, and son Ford Douglas Armand, 3.
Chambers is currently staying in the Cayman Islands with their kids where she and Hammer quarantined at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Hammer, 34, returned to Los Angeles after the two announced their separation in July.
"As the coronavirus pandemic worsened in the United States, Elizabeth and Armie elected to stay with their children temporarily in the Cayman Islands where the pandemic appeared to be under greater control," the actor's lawyers state in legal documents according to The Blast. "Armie returned to Los Angeles this past July, with a promise from Elizabeth that she and the children would follow shortly thereafter. To date, however, Elizabeth and the children remain in the Cayman Islands and Armie has not seen the children in several months now."
A rep for Chambers could not be reached for comment. She previously filed for divorce in July, seeking primary physical custody and joint legal custody of their two children.
A source tells PEOPLE, "These are crazy times with COVID-19, shutting schools down in L.A. and Elizabeth just wants the kids to have a normal experience."
Harper and Ford have enrolled at the same school Hammer attended when he was younger. (The actor's family moved to the Cayman Islands when he was 7 where they lived for five years.)
"The kids are able to attend school, play with their friends and lead a fairly normal life in the Cayman Islands. If they were in L.A., they would be stuck in front of a computer," adds the source.
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In the filing, Hammer said, "When I asked Elizabeth when she was coming home, however, she first told me that the airports were closed. Then I was informed through her attorneys that flights were merely limited but that she and our children would be back in Los Angeles on the first flight in October."
He continued, "It is now several weeks into October and they have not returned."
While living in the British territory with their mother, the children have also been spending time with the actor's father, Michael Armand Hammer, per Chambers' Instagram Stories.
In September, the actor told British GQ his separation from Chambers, whom he married in 2010, was a "seriously seismic event."
"I don't think you'll find anyone in the world who would ever say what I’m going through is an easy thing to go through," he told the outlet. "It’s not about whether it was your idea or not, or whether you think it’s the right idea or you don’t."
Hammer said when he and Chambers discussed their separation, they kept their focus on what was best for their kids.
"Elizabeth and I are two adults making this decision and the priority is how do we do it in a way that affects our children the least? Or, at least, how do we help get them through this in a way that mitigates as much consternation or fear or damage on their part," he said at the time.
Last month, the father of two was seen having lunch with writer Jessica Ciencin Henriquez months after they both split from their respective partners.
The two were seen sitting close while chatting during the meal, with Hammer photographed leaning in to talk to Ciencin Henriquez. Hammer was later seen out walking arm-in-arm with Rumer Willis.
Earlier this month, Chambers revealed on her Instagram Story that their son "fell out of bed while he was sleeping and clipped his cheek on the bedside table."
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"After hours of crying (both of us), excessive bleeding (so much blood), Hops becoming sick because she feels the way I do about blood, here we are," she added of herself and her daughter.
"Thank you @drjasondiamond (who let me know we need stitches for my angel babe in the morning) and to my mom, dad and brother for being there. So much love for the parents who do it alone," Chambers concluded, adding a red heart emoji.
By Thursday morning, Ford seemed to be in good spirits as he played with a flashlight while sitting on his mom's lap, waiting to go into the "operating room" with a bandage on his cheek.
