Christina Ricci had no idea when she was walking down the aisle that she was about to marry
a monster.
A man who would threaten to cut her into tiny little pieces and abuse her even while she
was pregnant.
Lockdown made her prisoner to a Maniac.
She feared for her life.
She feared for her son’s life.
She had no choice, but to tell the world exactly what James Heerdegen did to her.
Stay tuned to Rumor Juice while we take a deep dive into how Christina Ricci fought
for her life to escape her nightmare of a marriage.
Christina first met James on the set of ABC's series Pan Am in 2011.
While Ricci was an actress on the show, Heerdegen was a dolly grip operator.
Unfortunately, the series was short-lived, but their romance continued to blossom.
By the following year, it was confirmed that they were officially a couple.
It was just a few months later that there were rumors that James had proposed when Ricci
was spotted wearing an engagement ring.
The couple announced their engagement at the beginning of 2013, and later that year, they
were married.
It seemed as though Ricci and James were wasting no time to have a family because they welcomed
their new baby boy, Freddie, only a year later.
Everyone knows that marriage and motherhood are something that can change you completely,
but Ricci welcomed that change with open arms.
"Marriage shows you your flaws in how you deal with things and having a child forces
you to grow up at the speed of light.
I'm a completely different person than I was before I had my child."
The actress shared.
Ricci also explained that because she earned her fame as a child star, she felt like she
had to hold onto her immaturity for a very long time.
She admitted it made her feel like she was special, adding, "Then at a certain point,
like 35, it's not so special to be immature."
Over the next few years, the couple flew under the radar.
The actress occasionally shared pics of her son and James on Instagram, featuring cute
and loving captions.
Sadly, what was shared on social media, was nothing close to what was really happening
behind closed doors.
Halfway through 2020, Christina filed for divorce from James.
Then 6 months later, she obtained a restraining order against her "estranged husband," alleging
'Physical and Emotional Abuse.'
The news came as a complete shock since most people had thought that everything between
the couple had been going smoothly, but they could not have been more wrong.
A judge granted Ricci's request, and under the restraining order, Heerdegen has to stay
100 yards away from Ricci, and he will also have no visitation rights with their now 7-year-old
son Freddie.
Not only that, but he's also not allowed to see their family's dog.
The 40-year-old actress alleges she was physically abused by Heerdegen, while Heerdegen's attorney
said that his client "unequivocally denies all allegations of abuse made by Ms. Ricci
…." In the filing, the actress claims she was
subjected to "severe physical and emotional abuse" by her husband, with "many of these
acts of abuse" taking place in front of their son.
And even more shocking was that Christina confessed that the abuse started as soon as
she learned of her pregnancy in October 2013.
"I began to feel extremely isolated," Ricci wrote of the alleged subsequent abuse, describing
a family vacation in New Zealand where Heerdegen, "said something that made me think" he "could
kill me."
The actress explained James had said that the only way he could feel sorry for her was
as if she was "dismembered into small pieces."
She was absolutely terrified by what he had said to her, and she felt like she had no
one to turn to.
"That night I hid all the knives in the cabin where we were staying.
I feared for my life and the life of our son.
I slept in a separate bedroom with Freddie, and I locked the door."
Unfortunately, when the international pandemic came around, forcing the world to go into
lockdown, the abuse only got worse.
The actress shared that her husband had "brutally attacked" her at the end of 2019, and things
only escalated in the new year.
After Christina told James she wanted a divorce, she realized she had nowhere to go because
the lockdown had already begun.
She was now stuck in a house with a man that was physically and emotionally abusing her,
and because he knew she wanted to leave him, he only became more violent.
Ricci wrote in her declaration that once the lockdown commenced, Heerdegen allegedly "focused
solely on punishing and terrorizing me 24 hours a day," adding, "I was afraid to sleep
at night."
The actress described one incident where James, quote, "chased me through and out of the house"
while trying to take her cell phone from her when she was trying to call 911.
"He grabbed my wrists and hands, dragged me, and slammed my body into the fire pit we have
in the yard," she wrote in her declaration.
"I suffered cuts, bruising, and soreness of my hip, which still causes me pain today."
James would follow her around the house all day, screaming at her, spitting on her, throwing
coffee on her, and even throwing a chair at her - all while their son watched.
James had no problem terrorizing Christina in the presence of their son, which only made
her more frightened.
She knew what her husband was capable of doing to her, and she knew she needed to do everything
in her power to protect Freddie.
The actress finally managed to call 911 and was granted an emergency protective order
against Heerdegen at the beginning of 2021.
Ricci also shared that Heerdegen "became emotionally unhinged" after finding out she had been spending
time with a male friend, becoming "increasingly hostile and erratic," including sending the
actress "hostile text messages containing veiled threats to harm my reputation in the
media."
Christina explained in the filing that she fears for their son.
She shared that James has continued to threaten to abduct Freddie, as well as threaten to
release private video and audio recordings he has in his possession.
She demanded that he should not be allowed to return to their home and move out immediately.
Ricci also requested the court order Heerdegen to attend a 52-week batterer intervention
program and show proof of completion to the court.
On the other hand, it seems James is also planning on filing his own "domestic violence
restraining order" against the actress.
He claims that he also suffered at the hands of the actress, "fueled in part by alcohol
and substance abuse," adding that he has alleged, "written proof" of the accounts from when
Ricci would apologize to him.
He also explained that Christina had used their son "as a pawn in order to punish and
control" him.
Ricci has denied all of his claims, just as James has denied hers.
However, while James has denied all claims of abuse, It's been reported that he's requested
$50 000 in spousal and child support, along with the cost of his attorney's fees, following
their divorce.
He also requested Ricci cover the cost of forensic accountant fees which are listed
at another $50,000.
"Absent a support order, James anticipates that he will soon be completely broke and
is even now floundering in debt."
His attorney shared.
While the former couple has agreed on a custody arrangement for their son, Ricci has happily
moved on to a new husband, Mark Hampton.
The big news came just two months after the couple
announced they were expecting their first child together.
Christina and Mark announced in August of 2021 that they were expecting their first
child with a sonogram picture posted to her Instagram account, along with the caption,
'Life keeps getting better.'
"He's super excited.
He's wanted to be a brother for a very long time.
He promises to help," Christina said of her son.
The actress announced her surprise marriage at the end of 2021, sharing a photo of her
and her new beau posing before an elaborate display of baby pink roses.
But when it came to baby names, it seemed as though Christina was in for another surprise.
According to the actress, they had briefly discussed baby names while she was busy preparing
to deliver her baby via cesarean section on December 8th.
When the topic of the birth certificate came up, Ricci explained the couple had simply
landed on calling their newborn daughter Cleo, but nothing more.
"My husband was like, 'Well, we're going to give her a full name right?
And the nickname is Cleo?'
And I was like, 'Cleopatra?'
And he was like, 'Yeah, the full name's Cleopatra.'
And I was sort of like, 'Fine, whatever.
We'll talk about this later,'" she recalled.
After giving birth, however, Ricci realized she and Hampton weren't exactly on the same
page.
It turned out that Mark was so excited to put it on Instagram and other media outlets
and shared her name as 'Cleopatra Ricci Hampton.'
"… I was like, 'Oh, I guess her name's Cleopatra,' I just thought it would be Cleo," Ricci joked,
before sharing that she thought Cleopatra is a "great name."
But even with the new baby, the actress is making sure to prioritize her son, Freddie.
Whenever she has any time off, she makes sure to spend it with her son, whether it's taking
him to playdates or nursery school.
She's focusing her time on being a full-time mom to her new family.
Christina had an unimaginably difficult first marriage, but seeing her move on and find
happiness with a man that treats her well and is something truly wonderful.
She deserves to feel safe and secure with the man that she loves, and we hope that Marc
helps heal her heart from all the trauma she's had to face.
We wish only the best to Christina and her new family!
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline
at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org.
All calls are toll-free and confidential.
The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.