(Newser) – Bill O'Reilly's child custody battle with his ex-wife has gotten so ugly that he secretly hired the therapist designated as a neutral "arbitrator" in their disputes, Gawker reports. First, some backstory: The Fox News commentator separated from Maureen McPhilmy in 2011, and allegedly tried to start an internal affairs probe into her then-boyfriend, a police detective. Now O'Reilly's been caught paying six figures to Lynne Kulakowski, turning the custodial arbitrator into his children's nanny. In other juicy tidbits:

McPhilmy's Long Island parish has reprimanded her for divorcing O'Reilly and marrying her detective boyfriend. The church warned that she can't tell her kids that God approves of her second marriage. Gawker notes that O'Reilly gave over $65,000 to New York Catholic schools and parishes in 2011 and carries influence with the archdiocese.

O'Reilly is trying to annul his 15-year marriage to McPhilmy. Gawker snidely presumes that this would validate his 2004 escapade with a former producer who filed sexual harassment charges against him.

An appellate court has ordered an independent attorney to represent O'Reilly and McPhilmy's children, a sign that things are getting "particularly poisonous," notes Gawker.

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