Hollywood is weird. One minute you’re a stealthy Marvel superhero and the next you’re sitting in your fourth deposition of the week, exhausted, dehydrated, and wondering where it all went wrong. That was basically Jeremy Renner’s life back in 2015. Most people know him as Hawkeye, but if you followed the tabloids, his marriage to Sonni Pacheco was a different kind of action movie—one filled with court filings, heavy accusations, and a custody battle that felt like it would never end.
Honestly, the timeline is kind of a whirlwind. They met on the set of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol around 2011. She was a Canadian model; he was the rising star. By March 2013, they had a daughter, Ava Berlin. Then, they got married in secret in January 2014. By December of that same year? It was over. Ten months. That’s all the "I do" lasted before the paperwork started flying.
But here’s the thing: while the internet remembers the "explosive" headlines, the actual story of Jeremy Renner and Sonni Pacheco has shifted in ways most people didn't expect.
The Divorce That Fueled a Thousand Clickbait Stories
When Sonni Pacheco filed for divorce, she didn't just ask for a split. She cited "irreconcilable differences," which is the standard Hollywood phrasing, but then things got specific. She alleged that Renner had "stolen" her passport, birth certificate, and Social Security card. Renner’s side countered, basically saying it was a smear campaign.
It was messy. Really messy.
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The court eventually landed on a settlement in late 2015. Here is the gist of what that looked like:
- Child Support: Renner was ordered to pay roughly $13,000 a month.
- The "Excess" Clause: If he earned more than $2.3 million in a year, he had to fork over an additional 5% of that excess as child support.
- Spousal Support: Zip. Zilch. Pacheco had signed a prenuptial agreement in 2013, and the court upheld it.
- Property: Jeremy kept his house, his Tesla, and his beloved Triumph motorcycle collection.
For a few years, things seemed quiet. Then 2019 happened.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 2019 Allegations
If you Google their names today, you’ll see some pretty dark stuff. During a renewed custody battle in 2019, Pacheco made some harrowing claims. She alleged that Renner had threatened to kill her and himself, and that he had once fired a gun into the ceiling while their daughter was asleep.
Renner has always stayed firm: it didn't happen.
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In a 2024 interview with The Guardian, he finally addressed those specific years, calling the allegations "clickbait." He talked about how it "dehumanizes people" when the public consumes these stories without knowing the truth. He basically chalked it up to "lawyers talking" and "lawyers arguing."
It’s easy to pick a side when you read a headline. But the reality is that family court is often a theater of the absurd where the worst possible versions of people are put on display. Renner's team at the time even suggested Pacheco was seeking a "payout" and had misused money from their daughter's trust fund—alleging she took about $50,000 to cover her own legal fees and property taxes. Pacheco admitted to some transfers but claimed she was just trying to "keep afloat" after spending her savings on the custody fight.
Where Are They Now? The 2026 Reality
Life has a way of shifting your perspective. For Jeremy Renner, that shift came in the form of a seven-ton snowplow. After his near-fatal accident on New Year's Day 2023, the "Marvel tough guy" image cracked open to reveal someone much more vulnerable.
And strangely enough, it seems to have healed the rift with Sonni.
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Believe it or not, Renner recently shared that he and Pacheco actually get along very well now. They co-parent Ava, who is now 12 years old. In fact, Sonni has moved on entirely—she welcomed another daughter, Wylder Rayne, in 2023 with retired NHL player Nathan Thompson. Renner even mentioned that she sends him "beautiful pictures" of her new baby.
"It’s lovely," he said. "We’re in each other’s lives."
That is a far cry from the days of "stolen passports" and "monitored visits." It turns out that a decade of distance—and maybe a brush with death—can turn even the most toxic Hollywood divorce into a functional, boring (in a good way) co-parenting arrangement.
Key Takeaways for High-Conflict Co-Parenting
If there is anything to learn from the saga of Jeremy Renner and Sonni Pacheco, it’s that the "ugly" phase doesn't have to be the final phase.
- Prioritize the "Number One": Renner has repeatedly called Ava his "only thing" and his "number one." When both parents actually focus on the kid instead of the grudge, the temperature drops.
- Boundaries Matter: Renner still covers Ava’s face with emojis on social media. "I got to protect my girl," he says. Keeping the child out of the "fame" aspect of the divorce helps maintain their normalcy.
- The "Clickbait" Trap: Don't believe every court filing you read. In high-stakes celebrity divorces, filings are often used as leverage. The fact that they are now "great" proves that what happens in a courtroom isn't always the permanent truth of a relationship.
If you’re going through something similar, the lesson here is simple: it’s a marathon. The person you’re fighting in court today might be the person sending you "beautiful pictures" of their new life five years from now. You just have to get through the depositions first.
To stay updated on how they are managing their new family dynamic, you can follow Jeremy's occasional (and face-hidden) updates on his Instagram or look for his memoir, My Next Breath, where he talks more about the "fortitude" of his daughter.