Many of the communications date back to 2021, shortly after Gruffudd ended his and Evans’ 14-year marriage.A hearing on the application is scheduled to take place before Judge Michael J. Convey in Los Angeles Superior Court next Thursday.
The material in question was presented to the court during the divorce trial in March – although only a portion was examined during public proceedings. Burkhart is arguing the documents should be made available for copying and wider dissemination because of strong public interest in the case.
A source familiar with the proceedings told us: “Andrea believes there is significant public interest in understanding the evidence that formed part of the court record. Her position is that much of the material was never fully aired in open court despite being central to the dispute.”
Burkhart’s involvement has attracted particular attention because her application is being supported by Gruffudd.
In legal filings, the actor argues the public has a right to know about what he describes as Evans’ abusive behavior and contends wider access to the material could help repair damage to his reputation.
According to court documents, Gruffudd’s lawyers said he has “no objections” to the exhibits being released to Burkhart.
They also repeated his claim his privacy interests had already been compromised by Evans’ social media activity, which they described as persistent and damaging.
A source close to Gruffudd said: “Ioan’s view is that much of the information has already been discussed publicly and that allowing access to the underlying documents would provide greater context to events that have affected his reputation for years.”
Evans’ legal team is opposing the request, arguing disclosure of the material could cause distress to the former couple’s daughters, Ella, 16, and Elsie, 12. They have also highlighted some of the evidence contains private medical information relating to the children.