A trip down memory lane. Jeremy Renner rang in his daughter Ava’s 9th birthday with a touching Instagram tribute.
“As you took your FIRST breath, gripping my finger tightly (palmers reflex), I instantly understood my directive in life as a father,” the actor, 51, captioned a throwback photo with his sleeping infant on Monday, March 28. “That If I do right by you, we will be holding hands as I take my LAST breath. Happy Birthday to my number one #proudpapa.”
The California native welcomed his little one in March 2013 with then-wife Sonni Pacheco. The former couple split the following year, finalizing their divorce in 2015. The exes have since been engaged in a contentious custody battle.
The model, 30, alleged in 2019 court documents that Renner had previously threatened to kill her and himself, going on to claim a history of verbal, emotional and substance abuse.
Renner’s rep exclusively told Us Weekly at the time that Ava’s well-being was the Hawkeye star’s “primary focus,” adding, “This is a matter for the court to decide. It’s important to note the dramatizations made in Sonni’s declaration are a one-sided account made with a specific goal in mind.”
While the Canada native slammed Renner the following year as he requested to lower child support payments amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Oscar nominee subsequently accused his ex of removing more than $50,000 from Ava’s fund “for her own personal benefit.”
Pacheco denied the allegations — just as Renner denied her abuse claims in November 2021.
“I don’t respond publicly or privately to nonsense,” the American Hustle star told Men’s Health at the time. “It only empowers it. … If you respond to it, you give it gas. I don’t fuel s—t fires. I just don’t do it. I refuse to.”
While the Marvel Universe member tends to keep his family life private, he has given glimpses of his and Ava’s Fourth of July celebrations, set visits, boat rides and more over the years.
“Thank you, dad for setting the bar so high for me to become the best Father I can be … and to my sweet darlin Ava, you will ALWAYS be ‘The Best Part of Me,’” the Hurt Locker star captioned a black-and-white photo with the little one during their June 2021 Father’s Day celebration.
