"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Adrienne Maloof was awarded temporary custody of her and Dr. Paul Nassif's three sons on Wednesday following an alleged choking incident involving one of the young boys.
(PHOTO/Adrienne Maloof) Twitter: @AdrienneMaloofPaul Nassif and Adrienne Maloof (center) with former "Real Housewives of New York" stars Jill Zarin (L) and her husband Bobby (R)The 51-year-old Bravo TV reality star is now the primary caregiver for Gavin, Colin and Christian following a judge's ruling. Maloof accused Nassif, a 50-year-old plastic surgeon, of recently collecting their three sons from school and choking one of them after a fight broke out between two of the boys.
Later that same day Nassif allegedly punished another one of their sons for misbehaving during bath time. He allegedly "threw him in the corner," Maloof claims.
A representative for Nassif, who was blindsided by the judge's ruling, confirmed that his estranged wife was awarded temporary custody. Nassif denied the incidents through his attorney.
"This smacks of underhandedness. Adrienne wasn't even present when this allegedly occurred. It is a sad day when parents have to stoop to the level of making false allegations against another parent," Nassif's attorney Lisa Meyer said in a statement to TMZ.com, also calling Maloof's allegations "gamesmanship at its worst."
It is unclear why exactly Nassif filed for separation on July 30, although the couple is often seen bickering on the hit Bravo series. Reports of an open marriage have recently begun swirling, none of which have been verified by the pair.
"Things have not been good between them for a while. [Paul] says they haven't had sex for ages," a friend of Nassif's allegedly told Star Magazine, adding that "they just try to have very little to do with each other."
Maloof, who was born into the prominent and wealthy Maloof family, is co-owner of the various business holdings of Maloof Companies, including the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and the Sacramento Kings basketball team.
Although the estranged couple allegedly has a prenuptial agreement, Maloof allegedly expects that Nassif will go after her fortune during their divorce battle.
"[Adrienne] thinks Paul will try and go after her money but their prenup is ironclad. She said Paul will not get any of the Maloof family fortune," the source said.
"She isn't afraid to battle it out in court with Paul for her family and kids. They are the most important thing to her and she's not going to give up or give in to him," the insider added.
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