Jason Patric Was Called a Sperm Donor by Ex and Went through Custody Battle for Their Son

Danielle Schreiber once called ex Jason Patric a mere sperm donor during their controversial years-long custody battle. Take a look at all that went down between the former lovers.

“The Lost Boys” actor Jason Patric was caught in a bitter custody battle with his former girlfriend, Danielle Schreiber, whom he donated his sperm to years ago.

From their on-and-off relationship to the tumultuous lawsuits to the final court ruling, here is a glimpse into the actor’s controversial legal war.

PATRIC AND SCHREIBER’S RELATIONSHIP

Patric and Schreiber dated periodically for years, during which they reportedly tried to have a baby. But all efforts proved abortive.

The pair eventually broke up in 2008, but Schrieber continued her quest to conceive. Seeing that she no longer had a partner, she opted to use a sperm donor.

Once Patric got wind of her plans, he sent Schrieber a long handwritten letter detailing why he would be the perfect donor for her.

In the note, the actor shared that he had doubts about his ability to be a good father but wrote that he knew Schreiber was meant to be a mom.

After reading the letter, Schreiber accepted Patric’s request to be her sperm donor and soon underwent the insemination procedure.

Patric reportedly asked her to keep his identity unknown, and in return, Schreiber agreed never to ask him for money. She later gave birth to a boy named Gus in December 2009.

But while Schreiber had no problem holding up to her end of the bargain, Patric had a bit of a problem with this, and soon, things got ugly between them. A few months after welcoming her son, Schreiber and Patric rekindled their romance and got back together.

This meant that Patric was recognized as Gus’s legal parent, but expectedly, Schreiber was not pleased with the court’s ruling.

Consequently, the actor started spending a lot of time with Gus. Unknowingly to Patric, Gus had found a way to his heart, and when the actor eventually broke up with Schreiber again, he came to a realization—he had gotten attached to the little boy.

TUMULTUOUS CUSTODY BATTLE

In 2012, Patric filed for partial custody, marking the beginning of a legal battle that would turn out to be messy and excruciatingly long.

Patric claimed to have been alienated from seeing Gus and requested to be granted legal visitation rights to see the little one.

But at the time, there was a law in California stating that a man that willfully provided artificial insemination for a woman has no legal paternity rights over the child.

To this effect, a judge temporarily granted Schreiber temporary primary legal and physical custody while awarding Patric with visitation rights.

But while Schrieber had no problem allowing Patric to spend time with Gus, she objected to the court’s ruling that granted him visitation rights.

Schreiber maintained the stance on the basis that Patric should not have been granted any legal or physical rights over the little boy. She asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, noting that he was only a sperm donor, but the court eventually denied her request.

COURT RULINGS

However, after hearing cases from both sides, the court ruled in Schreiber’s favor, with the judge stating that the law had to be followed.

Refusing to accept the ruling, Patric appealed the judge’s ruling. Shortly after, a Californian senator also proposed a bill giving sperm donors legal rights. This gave the actor more grounds.

But Schreiber reiterated her claim about Patric only being a sperm donor and insisted that her rights as a parent should be preserved without having to share them with the actor.

In 2014, Schreiber accused Patric of physical and emotional abuse when they were dating. She also alleged that Patric had been verbally abusive to her.

After a three-day trial where Schreiber and Patric shared their testimonies, the court granted a one-year Domestic Violence Restraining Order against the actor.

However, the appeal court reversed the court’s initial ruling, stating that the law only refuses a man’s right to establish paternity based on his biological connection to the child.

This meant that Patric was recognized as Gus’s legal parent, but expectedly, Schreiber was not pleased with the court’s ruling.

The case was then transferred to a family court, where the judge once again ruled Patric as the child’s legal parent. The actor was then awarded joint custody and was asked to pay backdated child support.

Presently, the relationship Patric has with Gus remains unclear, but he and Schreiber are out of court. Hopefully, the former lovers will see eye to eye someday—at least for their son’s sake.