The tension between Adrienne Maloof, one of the stars of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” and her now estranged husband Paul Nassif, appears to have reached an all-time high. Maloof, who filed for divorce from Nassif on Aug. 28 after 10 years of marriage, has now taken out a restraining order against her husband, claiming that he physically abused their sons.

Maloof, 51, was granted temporary custody of the couple’s three sons on Thursday, after telling a judge that Nassif had choked one of their sons last week because he was kicking his brother. According to the Daily Mail, Nassif is currently being investigated by the L.A. Department of Children & Family Services because of the allegations.

According to Radar Online, the couple’s marriage counselor, Dr. Charles Sophy, who has appeared on the reality TV show, submitted a declaration to the court corroborating Maloof’s claims. Sophy said that he interviewed each of the children after the alleged incident, and claimed they seemed “fearful,” and were “reluctant to share the details of what happened.”

“On Sunday, September 16, 2012, Adrienne called and told me about an incident involving Paul and the children that occurred on Thursday, September 13, 2012. Specifically, Adrienne told me that Paul and the children were in the car when Paul became angry in response to Collin kicking Christian's seat, and that he tried to hit the kids while they were all in the car,” said Sophy, in the sworn statement.

“I further learned that prior to my meeting with the children on Tuesday, a referral was made to the Department of Children and Family Services,” added Sophy. “I feel that DCFS is capable of determining the safety and risk issues to be mitigated and ensuring the children's safety and health.”

Nassif, in turn, responded to the claims, calling them “utterly false,” and added that the divorce proceedings had become “a bit of a circus.”

"I'm going to stay utterly focused on [my children's] well-being and the knowledge they need equal time with both of their parents both of whom love them very much. I'm sure all will be fine and when all the emotion of the moment dies down, Adrienne and I will be terrific co-parents,” Nassif told TMZ.

His divorce attorney, Lisa Meyer, echoed her client’s statement, calling Adrienne’s petition “gamesmanship at its worst.”

“This smacks of underhandedness. Adrienne wasn’t even present when this allegedly occurred,” said Meyer in a statement to TMZ. “It is a sad day when parents have to stoop to the level of making false allegations against another parent.”

Maloof’s co-star on “The Real Housewives,” Lisa Vanderpump expressed shock at the news, telling TMZ that Nassif “always looked like an amazing father to me.”

Shortly after their divorce announcement Nassif issued a statement to US Magazine saying, “Adrienne and I have tried very hard to make our marriage work, but this is the best course for both of us. This is a difficult time for our family and my prime focus is to ensure our boys are well and happy.”

The couple’s French chateau-styled mansion in Beverly Park was recently put on the market, and is listed at $26 million.

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