Kelly Rutherford Speaks Out About Ongoing Custody Battle With Daniel Giersch

Gossip Girl star, Kelly Rutherford speaks out about her ongoing custody battle with her German native ex-husband Daniel Giersch. On Good Morning America Rutherford discussed the recent court decision forcing her to lose custody of her children and send them back to their father in Monaco. The battle between the two has been going on for over six years. Rutherford only is allowed to have summers with her children and according to the California and New York courts; they have no jurisdiction in the matter. "The parents, who divorced in 2009, had a joint custody arrangement until German-born Giersch lost his U.S. visa and a California judge ruled that the two children should stay with him in Europe. This past April, a judge in the U.S. Federal Court in New York denied Rutherford's request to bring the children back to the United States," ABC News says.

After the actress didn't return them last week, Giersch accused her of kidnapping and took her to court. The real reason why Rutherford didn't want to return her children to their father in Monaco was because she felt as though their voices aren't being heard. The children are U.S. citizens and according to Rutherford's lawyer, Wendy Murphy, if there is an order from a foreign country, that citizen doesn't have to obey a foreign country if the child is an American citizen and the parent is an American citizen.  Murphy says that in that case they don't have to follow another foreign country's jurisdiction. "'Monaco didn't demand them back, New York just sent them back,' Rutherford said. 'It was a very odd, you know, odd situation. I think that Monaco has been put in this position because of the decisions that have been made here in the U.S.,'" ABC News reports.

Unfortunately, Giersch didn't make the hearing this week and his mother was already there with plane tickets for her and the children to take them back to their father. "Rutherford was forced to say goodbye immediately after the ruling but Giersch's attorney Ira Garr told Us Weekly that her farewell with the kids was far from dramatic. "There was no scene. They hugged and said goodbye to their mother, and she said she will see them soon...They easily transitioned to their grandmother, who they love very much. Everything was done very civilly," Us Weekly says. Rutherford she claims that it was probably good that the goodbye happened so quickly. There was no time they just had to pack and get on the plane. However, Rutherford is saddened at the situation and her lawyers agree that this entire matter is concerning.