Updated

Former “Gossip Girl” actress Kelly Rutherford said she’s keeping her kids in America, and defying an overseas court order to return them to their dad in Monaco.

Rutherford, 46, was supposed to have son Hermes, 8, and daughter Helena, 6, on a plane Thursday to Monacowhere they live with their German businessman dadDaniel Giersch.

“No state in this country currently requires me to send the children away,” Rutherford said in statement. “Hence I have decided that I cannot lawfully send my children away from the United States to live in a foreign country.”

Back in June, a court in Monaco ruled that the kids should spend several weeks of summer vacation in the United States with their mom before coming back to Monaco.

When the order was made, Rutherford said, “I am pleased with the outcome and that the children will be coming to the US for a part of their summer vacation.”

But when it came time to returning the kids, Rutherford said she has no legal obligation to do so.

“I hope this decision will end this painful litigation and that my children will be allowed to live in peace in their own country,” Rutherford said.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post's Page Six.