Kelly Rutherford has made many attempts to appeal and even overturn the 2012 court ruling that relocated her children to Europe, going so far as to controversially refuse them passage back to Monaco after a summer visit to the U.S. in 2015. The inflammatory move, aimed at keeping Helena and Hermes in the States, eventually led to a Monaco court awarding full custody to Daniel Giersch in December 2015.

After facing everything from jurisdictional issues to financial bankruptcy, Rutherford seems to have accepted the decision as the end of the long-running custody battle. Since then, the actor has continued to travel to Europe and keep in long-distance contact with Hermes and Helena. "They're just growing so fast," the actor told People in 2019. "They're just becoming their own people like, you know, all of us. It's beautiful to see, and I love that they share it with me. They're really open with me. We're just really bonding, which is nice."

The international implications and dramatic spectacle of Kelly Rutherford's custody battle have garnered much media attention over the years. Even though the "Gossip Girl" alum didn't get the final decision that she wanted, we're glad that both she and her children are seemingly making the most of their ocean-separating situation.