More than half a year after Sia filed to divorce Daniel Benard, things have taken a dark turn.
Initially, this was a breakup. The no-fault divorce filing seemed simple.
Now Bernad is accusing the singer of relapsing into addiction.
Sia has told the court that her estranged husband was recently investigated for some form of “illicit” images of children on his computer.
Sia is locked in an ugly divorce from Daniel Bernad
Back in March, Sia filed to divorce husband Daniel Bernad after only two years of marriage.
In the court documents, she listed the reason for the breakup as “irreconcilable differences.”
(That is standard fare for no-fault divorce)
Sia requested full custody of their child, Summi, whom the couple welcomed in 2024.
The singer did, at the time, indicate being open to visitation for Bernad.
Sia and Dan Bernad married in 2022.
They did not make it to their third wedding anniversary.
Earlier this autumn, the two were locked into a disagreement over finances.
Bernad has asked the judge to pay him over $250,000 per month in spousal support. (He was a doctor — an oncologist — when they met, but says that she “ceased funding” to their shared company and thus allegedly left him without income)
He also wants nearly $80k in monthly child-support. However, things are looking much more serious than your standard high-income-bracket financial conflicts.
An alleged CSAM investigation is now part of the custody dispute
According to a report by TMZ, Sia’s divorce from Daniel Bernad has taken a nasty turn.
Bernad is asking for sole custody of their toddler, on the grounds that Sia’s past addiction — it is our understanding that she has been sober for 15 years — makes her a “danger.”
He wants to subject his estranged wife to random, regular drug testing. And he is asking the court to limit her to two-hour visitation, three times per week — with a professional monitor.
However, Sia has informed the court that Bernad is currently restricted to monitored visits with their child.
The reason, she told the judge, is because of a child sex-abuse material (CSAM) investigation.
According to Sia, 1-year-old Summi has remained in her custody since their separation.
In August 2025, the couple allegedly agreed that Bernad would have very restricted visits — with a professional monitor.
The reason was an investigation by the LAPD and DCFS over what she referred to as “illicit child pornography” on his computer hard drive.
Bernad has denied any involvement regarding the investigation, even accusing Sia of having “planted evidence” to reduce his visitation.
In her filing, Sia acknowledged that the investigation was somehow inconclusive and is now closed. But she told the court that she remains wary, and would like for a caretaker like Bernad’s mother or a nanny to be present for future daddy-daughter visitations.
This is a lot to digest
Obviously, none of us can claim to have secret insider knowledge about Sia’s divorce from Daniel Bernad.
Did Sia relapse into addiction? As anyone who is sober can attest, it can happen to people. But that doesn’t mean that it happened to Sia, or that it would make her a danger to her own child.
We’re unsure how a CSAM investigation could be inconclusive, given that it would hinge entirely upon presumably accessible evidence.
Planting CSAM on someone’s device is an involved process that could likely be traced to, at the very least, a specific timeframe. That is what Bernad accused Sia of doing — which is a very serious allegation.
We can acknowledge that some CSAM investigations turn up nothing because they are based upon false reports. In recent years, teens and young adults have bullied each other online by submitting false reports, often based upon drawings (which, unlike CSAM, involve no victims). But that doesn’t mean that this is what happened here.
One has to imagine that the court will want to review the LAPD and DCFS’ findings, or lack thereof, along with any relevant medical data. The judge, like the rest of us, might not know what to think until there’s more information.