The Oscar nominee has been embroiled in a legal wrangle with his estranged wife Michelle Ghent since she filed for divorce in February, 2011 – days after the couple celebrated its first wedding anniversary.
She was granted a protective order against Howard in December (11) after claiming he hurt her during their short marriage, and on Tuesday (21Feb12) a judge ordered the actor to pay her $50,000 (£31,250) in temporary support.
But Howard is refusing to let the nasty split taint his search for love and he was spotted in “high spirits” at a pre-Oscars party in Hollywood on Tuesday evening with Taylor on his arm, according to the New York Daily News.
And the couple never left each other’s side – a source tells the newspaper, “When she went somewhere, so did he.”
Taylor featured in a 2009 episode of hit TV series Entourage and she had an uncredited role in Jim Carrey’s The Truman Show.
