The Bachelorette alum DeAnna Pappas was arrested after an altercation with her ex-husband Stephen Stagliano.
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DeAnna and Stephen have been trying to amicably co-parent their children -- Austin, 9, and Addison, 11 -- ever since.
Lynn Stagliano, who appears to be Stephen's mother, filed a declaration in DeAnna and Stephen's divorce claiming that DeAnna was drinking at her house on the morning of February 26 when she was getting Austin ready for school, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly.
"When I arrived, I very clearly smelled alcohol on DeAnna's breath," Lynn claimed, adding that she picked up her grandson and left the house.
"This was not the first time I picked up Austin. My husband picks him up more."
Later that night, Stephen picked Addison up at DeAnna's house, and DeAnna recalled walking their daughter to his car.
"Stephen told me I needed to walk closer to him because he wanted to smell my breath to make sure that I was not drunk. I had not consumed any alcohol. I ignored Stephen's comment, and I walked back into the garage," DeAnna alleged.
"I heard noise behind me. I turned around to see Stephen following me into my garage," she continued.
"Addison had been left alone sitting in his car with the engine running. I tried to shut my garage door. Stephen pushed my garage door upward so that it would not close. I shouted at Stephen to get out of my garage. Stephen refused to leave."
DeAnna alleged that she went inside, locked her door, heard noises from the garage, and then walked back out to check on things.
DeAnna claimed Stephen was stealing items out of the garage and Addison had recorded the incident on her phone.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"Stephen took his hands, grabbing me, and then forcefully shoved me. He pushed my back again. In fear that he would hurt me, I immediately went back inside the house and locked the door," DeAnna alleged.
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DeAnna said she subsequently called the police and waited inside for the authorities to arrive.
According to DeAnna, the police told her that Stephen accused her of being drunk and wanted to press charges against her for domestic violence.
"Stephen had told the Sheriff that I was the aggressor who assaulted him, which was false," DeAnna claimed.
"At no time was I requested to test for alcohol despite Stephen's allegations. In fact, the officer that arrested me exhibited no concern that I was at all intoxicated."
DeAnna was arrested on a misdemeanor charge on February 27, but she was released the same day on $20,000 bond.
DeAnna claimed that once she was bailed out of jail, she voluntarily underwent drug testing and tested negative.
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"This is wholly false and fabricated as a way for [Stephen] to gain leverage in his attempt to alienate the children from me," DeAnna alleged.
DeAnna, in turn, accused Stephen of "coaching" their daughter to "literally sniff out alcohol" in her home.
"[He wants] to alienate her from me by making her believe that I am an alcoholic," DeAnna claimed. "I am not an alcoholic."
DeAnna then filed a restraining order against Stephen on March 7.
Stephen had been ordered to stay 100 yards away from his estranged wife, and a hearing date has been set for later this month.
In Touch Weekly reported that per the terms of DeAnna and Stephen's divorce last summer, they had agreed not to consume narcotics or drink alcohol around their children in excess of the legal limit.
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Stephen had also agreed to pay DeAnna $1,000 per month in child support and an additional $1500 per month in spousal support.
DeAnna revealed in July 2023 that she had visited a "trauma center" and underwent intensive therapy when her marriage to Stephen was falling apart, which really helped her to move forward with a healthy mental state.
DeAnna and Stephen announced their engagement in August 2010. They got married in October 2011 and welcomed Addison in February 2014 followed by Austin in March 2016.
DeAnna told Courtney Robertson on her "After Reality" podcast in Summer 2023 that she couldn't envision herself "ever getting married again" and she wasn't in a rush to jump back into the dating pool.
"I'm going to be in control of my life and demand what I want and how I want to be treated, because I am worthy of that... I am worthy of being loved fully and wholly for who I am," DeAnna stated.
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DeAnna and Stephen were introduced by Stephen's twin brother Michael Stagliano, who appeared on The Bachelorette's fifth season starring Jillian Harris, and Michael's then-girlfriend Holly Durst, who competed on The Bachelor: London Calling starring Matt Grant and a season of Bachelor Pad. (Holly married The Bachelorette alum Blake Julian in 2012).
DeAnna found fame when she appeared on Brad Womack's season of The Bachelor in 2007. The show's eleventh season concluded with Brad rejecting both of his Final 2 women, DeAnna and Jenni Croft.
DeAnna then handed out roses herself on The Bachelorette's fourth season.
DeAnna's The Bachelorette season in 2008 ended with her getting engaged to Jesse Csincsak, but they broke up less than one year later.
"I'm actually really thankful [Brad changed his mind], you know, I got to go on and be The Bachelorette after that -- all the friends, all the opportunities that I've had, and then ultimately meeting Stephen and my kids," DeAnna said on Us Weekly's "Here for the Right Reasons" podcast in 2020.
"It all clearly was in the plan for me," she added.
But on Courtney's podcast, DeAnna described her time on The Bachelorette as "traumatic," and she vented about how she felt brainwashed and manipulated while filming the show.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
