Singer Sia’s estranged husband, Dan Bernad, has filed for sole custody of their 19-month-old son, Somersault Wonder Bernad—nicknamed “Summi”—born in March 2024.
On Monday, October 27, Bernad submitted court documents alleging that the 49-year-old singer is “an unfit and unreliable parent struggling with substance abuse and addiction.”
In her response filed the following day, Sia stated she has been sober for over six months, participating in a structured recovery program that includes weekly testing and a sober companion. She added, “My recovery has been a cornerstone of my life and one of the primary reasons I chose to separate from Dan, whose ongoing nightlife and recreational drug use is incompatible with a healthy environment for our child.”
In his filing, Bernad claimed that Sia did not play a primary caregiving role for their son, asserting that she delegated almost all child-rearing responsibilities to a revolving team of nannies while controlling the process from a distance. He alleged that Summi has been surrounded by numerous staff, collaborators, and friends, limiting his own access to the child.
Bernad stated, “This dynamic in Sia's house put Summi at the center of a one-sided, highly managed environment. To my knowledge, this has not changed since I moved out. In fact, Sia’s nannies have handled every custodial exchange since the start of the divorce.”
Sia countered, arguing that her son has always been in her primary care, noting that Bernad has never had custody of Summi for more than two hours at a time. She highlighted concerns stemming from a past LAPD and Department of Child and Family Services investigation involving alleged child pornography, emphasizing that, despite the case being closed, she is uneasy about unsupervised time between Bernad and her son.
She further argued that, given Bernad’s limited prior experience with Summi and the child’s young age, a gradual increase in supervised visitation with an experienced childcare provider would be in the child’s best interest.
Bernad denied any involvement in the alleged contraband, claiming Sia had planted evidence to restrict his access to Summi. He stated he never visited the storage unit where Sia’s assistant discovered the hard drive allegedly containing inappropriate material.
In addition to sole custody, Bernad is requesting that Sia:
Submit to regular drug testing
Enroll in co-parenting classes for six months
Allow monitored visitation three times per week, two hours per session
Bernad also claims he is currently unemployed and financially dependent on Sia, requesting $77,245 per month in child support and that she cover all uninsured medical expenses, tuition, extracurricular activities, and childcare costs. He stated that since April 2025, Sia ceased funding their joint venture, Modem Medicine, including his salary.
Sia, who adopted two 18-year-old boys in 2019, contends that Bernad’s requests are financially motivated, noting she has already paid him $300,000 since their split. She added, “Every request by Dan for additional custodial time has been directly tied to financial gain rather than a genuine effort to foster a meaningful parental relationship with Summi.”
Earlier in October, Bernad also filed for $250,856 per month in spousal support, plus $300,000 for legal fees and $200,000 for forensic accounting fees.
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