UPDATE: Two weeks after the news of a restraining order and claims of domestic abuse came out in divorce court docs, Mike Fleiss and his wife Laura have reached a new agreement, TMZ reports.
The Bachelor creator and his wife of five years, who is 11 weeks pregnant with their second child, have reportedly agreed to joint custody of their 4-year-old son. The court's decision comes in tandem with Laura reportedly dropping the restraining order against him. The former beauty pageant queen shared details earlier this month of an alleged July 4 attack in a testimony against the ABC producer.
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In the meantime, Warner Bros. has said they are looking into the allegations against their showrunner, while Chris Harrison chose to stay mum on the topic when asked about it on a podcast. Refinery29 has reached out to both parties reps for comment.
Update below.
Bachelor producers say they are looking into the allegations against Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss.
Yesterday, The Blast reported that Fleiss' wife, Laura, filed an emergency domestic violence restraining order against Mike, who she claims became violent with her July 4th weekend in response to her being pregnant. The claims against Mike follow news that the two are filing for divorce. In response to the allegations, a spokesperson at Warner Bros. tells Refinery29, "We are aware of these serious allegations, and are looking into them.”
Original story follows.
Shortly after the news that Mike Fleiss and wife Laura Fleiss are filing for divorce, The Blast has obtained documents in which Laura accuses the Bachelor franchise creator of domestic violence. In an emergency domestic violence restraining order filed on Tuesday, Laura details an alleged July 4 incident when Fleiss physically attacked her during an argument about her pregnancy with their second child — three days before the couple officially filed for divorce for "irreconcilable differences."
"While we were at our house in Kauai, Mike demanded that I get an abortion," the document reads. "Our son Ben was in the house, seated in another room nearby. Mike told me, 'If you have an abortion, then we can just go back to the way we were.'"
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Security footage captured the incident in question, allowing Laura's attorneys Samantha Spector and Lisa Meyer (who did not immediately respond to Refinery29's request for comment) to provide photos of both the alleged attack and Laura's injuries, according to The Blast.
"While Mike has frequently been verbally abusive towards me during our marriage, in recent weeks, he has become enraged, due to the fact I am pregnant with our second child," Laura's statement reads. "Mike told me many times that he did not want us to have a second child. He also repeatedly told me throughout our marriage, and prior to our marriage, that he knew he would 'have to have' one child with me because I was 26-years-old when we got married, did not yet have any children, and he knew I wanted to have a family. Mike, however, being 55-years old, did not want to have more than one child together."
In the divorce, Mike Fleiss is allegedly requesting joint legal and physical custody of their 4-year-old son, Benjamin.
ABC, Disney, and Warner Bros did not immediately respond to Refinery29's request for comment.
This is a developing story.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please visit the Ending Violence Association of Canada to find a local hotline. In the event of an emergency, call 911.