Halle Berry suffered verbal abuse

Halle Berry launched her custody battle against ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry after he was "verbally threatening" to her, his former business partner has claimed.

The Oscar-winning actress - who split from the 35-year-old model last April after almost five years together - is seeking full custody of their two-year-old daughter Nahla and Gabriel's former friend and business partner Stephane Bibeau has claimed he upset Halle with his behaviour after their break-up.

Stephane told People: "Once they broke up he became verbally threatening to Halle. He is a vindictive guy."

However, friends of Gabriel - who filed court papers last month seeking formal recognition as Nahla's father and joint custody of the tot - say their unequal relationship was one of the main causes of their split and Gabriel simply wants what's best for his daughter.

A pal said: "From the beginning, Halle kind of had the upper hand because she was essentially supporting all of them for the most part. Gabriel never liked how that felt. Their split was tough because they're both so involved in raising Nahla, and neither ever wanted to give that up."

Although Gabriel rubbished Halle's allegations that she was worried for Nahla's wellbeing while in her father's care, sources close to the actress say she is determined he won't be allowed access to their child without proper supervision.

The source said: "The only reason Gabriel is seeing Nahla right now is because the court hasn't made a decision yet. If it were up to Halle, he wouldn't be seeing her at all without some sort of supervision."