Judge Rules in Rumer Willis' Favor, Orders Ex to Evaluation

When custody battles land in court, the stakes are personal, the allegations get serious, and the outcomes reshape everyone’s lives. That’s exactly what played out on Tuesday, June 9, when a judge handed actress and entrepreneur Rumer Willis, 37, primary physical custody of her 3-year-old daughter Louetta while ordering her ex, Derek Richard Thomas, to undergo a custody evaluation before expanding his parenting time.

Here’s what led to this point: Willis and Thomas dated for two years and welcomed Lou in April 2023, but the relationship unraveled by April 2024. When Willis relocated their daughter to Idaho that same year, Thomas filed for parental rights in July 2025, touching off a contentious legal fight that escalated quickly. Willis claimed the relationship ended due to what she called domestic violence in the form of coercive control and argumentative behavior. She alleged his emotional abuse and drug use made her uncomfortable granting overnight visits without professional evaluation. Thomas flatly denied these allegations, telling his lawyer Michael J. Kretzmer that Willis’account was substantially inaccurate and full of false claims.

The judge’s ruling reflects a measured approach: Willis keeps primary custody and Thomas gets every other weekend starting June 20, with those visits initially monitored by one of Willis’nannies. The transition to unmonitored overnight stays begins August 22, assuming the evaluation goes forward. Both parents are also mandated to attend coparenting counseling and communicate through a coparenting app—practical guardrails designed to keep the focus on their daughter’s wellbeing.

The custody evaluation itself became a linchpin. In California family law, these evaluations assess each parent’s fitness, the child’s needs, and the family dynamics. It’s a chance for a neutral professional to examine claims head-on, which likely influenced Thomas to agree to the process. Meanwhile, tensions outside the courtroom have remained heated. Earlier this month, Thomas filed documents claiming Willis exploited Lou in a commercial that contained adult sexual humor—an objection Willis apparently didn’t acknowledge—adding another layer of friction to an already fractured dynamic.

What stands out here isn’t just the custody decision itself, but the reality underneath it: two people who once built a life together are now navigating that unraveling through lawyers, court orders, and monitored visits. For Lou, the outcome is a structured framework designed to protect her while both parents sort out their differences. Whether the evaluation process and mandated counseling actually heal the rift or simply create a more cordial holding pattern remains to be seen.

The bigger takeaway? Courts don’t hand custody rulings to one parent over another lightly, and when a judge orders an evaluation, it signals genuine concern about what’s been alleged and what the child needs to feel safe.