Sia has opened up about the $40,000 per month child support payment she has been ordered to give her estranged husband, Daniel Bernad.
The 50-year-old singer spoke out Thursday on X about her latest court agreement with her ex, who is the father of her third child. Sia has agreed to pay $42,500 per month in child support for her and Bernad’s son, Somersault Wonder, according to court documents viewed by People.
“I see my settlement has been picked up by the press,” she wrote. “I’m a sober working mom trying to buy peace. I have primary custody of our son and since I am the only parent earning income, I still have to pay California’s incredibly high child support.
“This has been a horrific year but it taught me how to navigate incredibly difficult situations, prioritize my family and not absorb other people’s negativity,” she continued, before concluding her statement with a quote from Alexander Pope's 1771 poem An Essay on Criticism. “‘To err is human, to forgive is divine.’”
The “Chandelier” singer’s payments to her ex began April 1 and will continue until Somersault turns 18, per court documents. If the former couple’s child is attending high school full-time, the payments will continue until he graduates or turns 19.
However, the support payments could end earlier depending on certain conditions such as death, marriage, emancipation or a further court order.
Aside from monthly payments, Sia is maintaining her child’s health insurance and paying for his private school tuition, agreed-upon extracurricular activities and uninsured healthcare costs. She also has to maintain a five-million-dollar life insurance policy that names Somersault as beneficiary or establish a trust to provide that financial support if she dies before he turns 18.
Sia and Bernad are sharing joint legal custody of Somersault, with physical custody following a set schedule, according to the court documents. Bernad has specific weekday and weekend custody, along with some holidays, school breaks and vacations.
The former couple tied the knot in 2022 and welcomed Somersault in 2024. Sia also adopted two 18-year-old boys in 2019.
In October 2025, months after Sia filed for divorce, Bernad filed a petition asking for $250,856 per month in spousal support from his ex, plus $300,000 for legal fees and $200,000 for forensic accounting fees.
According to court documents viewed by People at the time, Bernad claimed that he and Sia lived a “luxurious and upper-class lifestyle” and had more than $400,000 in monthly expenses, which included private jets, high-end dining and full-time staff members.
“Orders are necessary at this time because I am financially dependent on Sia, the breadwinner in our marriage,” Bernad, a former radiation oncologist, said in the documents. “I have no income and Sia has ceased all funding for Modern Medicine. Sia has the ability to pay me spousal support to maintain our financial status quo.”
