Since early 2017, the world has seen Alex Rodriguez with a smile on his face amid his increasingly serious romance with Jennifer Lopez.
But behind the scenes, TMZ reports, the retired baseball player-turned-"Shark Tank" star is locked in a war with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis — whom he divorced a decade ago — over spousal support for her and child support for their two daughters, Natasha, 13, and Ella, 10.
A-Rod, 43, wants his support payments drastically reduced since his income has gone down significantly since he retired from the Yankees in 2016, TMZ reports.
Sources connected to A-Rod told TMZ that he's been paying Cynthia, 45, $115,000 a month tax-free in combined spousal and child support since their divorce.
That agreement, TMZ writes, "was always meant to be adjusted when A-Rod retired from the Yankees." Those A-Rod sources told TMZ that J.Lo's boyfriend's income has dropped by 90 percent from $30 million a year to about $3 million a year.
"Our sources say Alex is especially vexed because he claims Cynthia is now a rich woman with millions in the bank, three homes and multiple cars," TMZ writes, adding that A-Rod is peeved because he's working but Cynthia — who has a master's degree in psychology — has chosen not to work. "He also says she has a new child and a fiancé and he feels he's now bankrolling all of them," TMZ added.
Alex and Cynthia seemingly share custody — their beautiful daughters are always seen spending time with their dad and J.Lo and her kids, according to the stars' social media feeds — and Alex is happy to keep paying a pretty penny. He just wants to pay less.
According to its A-Rod sources, TMZ explains, the retired athlete believes his kids' expenses are between $7,000 and $12,000 a month "yet he's willing to pay $20K a month plus expenses for the kids, including tuition."
Cynthia is willing to negotiate, TMZ reports, but she wants far more — nearly $50K a month.
According to TMZ, which has not heard back from Cynthia's camp, the battle has been going on for several months now with ho resolution in sight.