Steve Burton Alleges Ex-Wife Manipulated Him—Inside the Custody Battle Texts

Soap drama, meet real life. 'General Hospital' alum Steve Burton is back in court with ex-wife Sheree Gustin over their 11-year-old daughter Brooklyn's summer schedule, and the receipts are flying. He says she is ignoring their custody deal. She says he's the one who moved away and is now mad that their kid wants to do summer activities at home in California. Classic post-divorce stalemate, with an interstate twist.

What Burton is asking the court to do

In newly filed documents obtained by Us Weekly (TMZ was first to flag their text back-and-forth), Burton, 55, asks a judge to enforce the parenting plan that was finalized in December 2023 and tweaked this past January. He claims Gustin has repeatedly blown off terms that give him regular summer custodial time plus two separate weeks of vacation each year with Brooklyn. He also wants the court to order Gustin to cover nearly $5,000 in his attorney fees.

'This is manipulation. You signed an order... Activities do not trump time with family. '

That line is from a March 14, 2026 text Burton says he sent to Gustin after learning Brooklyn had been enrolled in a junior lifeguard program that runs through most of the summer.

What sparked the latest fight

According to Burton, Gustin signed off on the custody deal, then enrolled Brooklyn in a junior lifeguard program that clashes with his weeks. In the filing, he calls it deliberate obstruction. He also says Gustin told him she will not allow their two-week vacation time to be used for travel outside California, which would directly block his plan to take Brooklyn to Tennessee.

Gustin, per texts included in the filing, pushed back: she says Brooklyn wanted to do junior guards, Burton knew it, and he is the one who decided to relocate. The court papers note Burton outlined plans to move to Tennessee in a September 2025 email, pointing to California's cost of living. Gustin's position, boiled down: Brooklyn's life is in California, she should not have to skip activities to accommodate Tennessee trips, and Burton is welcome to come to LA and be part of it.

One odd wrinkle: Burton describes the junior lifeguard program as six weeks long, but the dates he attached appear to stretch to seven weeks from mid-June through July. Either way, it effectively swallows the core of summer, including the window he says he set aside for travel.

Where this leaves them

Burton says the order lets him bank summer time and two vacation weeks; Gustin says kid-first activities should come first, and if Burton chose to move, he has to work around that. The judge now has to sort out whether the parenting plan gets enforced as written or massaged around Brooklyn's schedule.

• Marriage: Burton and Gustin were married from 1999 to 2023; they share Makena (22), Jack (20), and Brooklyn (11).
• Custody order: Finalized December 2023; amended January 2026.
• Burton's move: In a September 2025 email, he discussed relocating to Tennessee due to California's high cost of living.
• Summer clash: Burton alleges Gustin enrolled Brooklyn in junior lifeguards for mid-June through July (described as six weeks; his attached dates look like seven).
• Travel dispute: Burton says Gustin 'flatly' refused to allow the two-week vacation outside California; he planned a Tennessee trip.
• Texts: Their March 14, 2026 exchange is in the court file; TMZ first reported on the texts, and Us Weekly obtained the documents.
• Attorney fees: Burton is asking the court to make Gustin pay nearly $5,000 toward his lawyer.

Bottom line: it's a summer calendar fight with high emotions and a lot of paperwork. If the court enforces the order as-is, Brooklyn's program may get trimmed. If not, Burton's Tennessee plans may have to. Stay tuned.