Nasty Celebrity Custody Battles: Usher vs. Tameka Foster

Tameka Foster has filed motion for a retrial after losing kids to ex, Usher.

ByABC News
September 17, 2012, 2:29 PM

Sept. 18, 2012— -- intro: More than 30 years after the film "Kramer vs. Kramer" put a child custody battle in the public eye, the presumption that the woman always wins is no longer the case.

Latest example: Tameka Foster, who lost custody of her two sons with her ex-husband, the R&B singer Usher.

Speaking out for the first time since he was awarded primary physical custody of 4-year-old Usher Raymond V and 3-year-old Naviyd last month, Usher told Oprah Winfrey about his ex.

"I really felt like we were friends," he said. "She made us enemies in a way that I could never understand."

Usher, 33, told Winfrey Sunday that his relationship with Foster soured soon after their 2007 marriage, and admitted that he played a part. "Towards the end of our marriage, I found myself lost, and I just wanted out," said Usher.

Asked if he cheated on Foster, he responded, "No. I was faithful at heart, but not faithful all the way. Even having a conversation with another woman, period, about matters of your relationship or emotions is, in my opinion, not being faithful."

Foster's rep did not respond to ABCNews.com's requests for comment. Her attorney, Lisa West, told ABCNews.com that her motion for a new trial in the case is still pending.

After the Atlanta judge's Aug. 24 custody ruling, the 41-year-old stylist tweeted, "Money can buy many things... But in the end. Truth & goodness will prevail. I must continue to believe this. Stand firm."

It's been a difficult time for Foster. In July, her 11-year-old son and Usher's former stepson, Kyle Glover, was killed after being hit by a jet ski.

Usher told Winfrey that he asked Foster to put their custody battle on hold after the funeral. "I asked that we not go back to court. It was a personal request that I made to the judge, it was a personal request that I made to Tameka that in this time of grievance that she take that moment to deal and let's deal with this later," he said.

Instead the pair ended up in court a month later, with Foster lashing out on Twitter after the ruling. "A woman's loyalty is tested when her man has nothing... A mans loyalty is tested when he has everything!" she wrote.

Foster can take solace in the other star moms who have lost custody of their children. Click through to read about four others.

quicklist: 1title: Kelly Rutherfordtext: "Gossip Girl" star Kelly Rutherford broke down in tears last week on "The View" while talking about her custody battle with ex-husband Daniel Giersch, who lives in France and was given custody of their two children, ages 3 and 5, late last month.

"It's just been crazy," she said, wiping away tears. "My little girl said, 'I want to come home mama, I want to come back to New York.' My son, who's kind of been brainwashed, says where he is is so much better."

Rutherford, 43, and Giersch, a German citizen, married in 2006. She left him in 2009, while pregnant with their second child, and they divorced in 2010. On Aug. 28, he was awarded custody in what ABC News legal consultant Dan Abrams called "one of the worst custody decisions. Ever."

Rutherford is now consulting with the famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz to get the children, who are American citizens, back in the country. media: 17227579

quicklist: 2title: Siohvaughn Wadetext: In March 2011, a Chicago court awarded Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat sole "care, custody and control" of his two sons, after a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife Siohvaughn Wade, who accused him in court of mental and physical abuse.

After the ruling, Dwayne Wade told The Associated Press, "My life changed in a huge way. Mentally, I've been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it's bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids' lives sometimes. You fight until you can't fight any more. That's all I was trying to be, a father in his kids' lives."

Wade wrote about his custody fight in his book, "A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball."

Meanwhile, Siobhvaughn has been struggling with the judge's decision. In June, she was charged with attempted child abduction after failing to turn over the kids following a visitation, according to the AP. ABC's Chicago affiliate WLS-TV reported in July that she is now required to visit the children at their father's home in Florida.media: 17255594

quicklist: 3title: Britney Spearstext: In October 2007, a judge ordered Britney Spears to surrender physical custody of her two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, citing the pop star's drug and alcohol use.

The judge granted Spears' ex and the boys' father, Kevin Federline, custody of the kids, while granting her supervised visitation. After fighting to regain custody, Spears agreed in July 2008 to give Federline sole legal and physical custody while settling for continued visitation rights to the boys.

Though the former couple now appear to have more of a joint custody arrangement, there's been no change in the actual legal status. media: 17255630

quicklist: 3title: Katherine Jacksontext: After Michael Jackson's untimely death in 2009, his mother, Katherine Jackson, was named guardian of his three children, Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket.

But in July, the 82-year-old matriarch was "devastated" when a judge temporarily removed her as guardian and named instead her grandson TJ Jackson, son of Michael's brother Tito Jackson.

The move was prompted by Katherine's long absence amid a bitter family dispute over Michael Jackson's estate. While Katherine stayed in Tucson, Arizona, she reportedly had no contact with her grandchildren for a week. She later claimed she was taking a break and had voluntarily cut off communication. After returning, Katherine filed a motion to reinstate her guardianship and appoint TJ as co-guardian. The judge approved the request.media: 17255525