Former Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas was arrested after an altercation with her ex-husband, Stephen Stagliano.
Per court documents obtained by Us Weekly and first reported by In Touch, Lynn Stagliano, who is seemingly Stephen’s mother, filed a declaration in the divorce claiming that she went to Pappas’ house on February 26 to help get the exes’ 9-year-old son, Austin, to school. (Stephen and Pappas are also parents to daughter Addison, 11.)
“When I arrived, I very clearly smelled alcohol on DeAnna’s breath,” Lynn claimed, alleging that she put Austin in the car and left. “This was not the first time I picked up Austin. My husband picks him up more.”
Later that night, Stephen arrived at Pappas’ home to pick up Addison. The former ABC star claimed she walked 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,” Pappas alleged.
She continued, “I heard noise behind me. I turned around to see Stephen following me into my garage. 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.”
Pappas went inside and locked her door, but walked back out after she heard noises from her garage. Pappas alleged that Stephen was stealing items out of the garage. She also claimed that Addison recorded the incident on her phone.
“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 while I waited for the police to arrive,” she said, claiming that he called law enforcement.
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According to Pappas, the police told her that Stephen accused her of being drunk, and was pressing charges against her for domestic violence.
“Stephen had told the Sheriff that I was the aggressor who assaulted him, which was false,” she alleged. “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.”
Pappas was arrested on a misdemeanor charge on February 27 and released the same day on $20,000 bond. Pappas claimed she voluntarily submitted to drug testing after being bailed out of jail, and tested negative for both.
Pappas vehemently denied allegations that she had a drinking problem in her legal response.
“The basis of [Stephen’s] is based on his fabrication that I am an alcoholic,” she claimed. “This is wholly false and fabricated as way for [Stephen] to gain leverage in his attempt to alienate the children from me.”
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Pappas accused Stephen of having a pattern of “coaching our daughter to look for alcohol in the home,” claiming that he coached their daughter to “literally sniff out alcohol and to alienate her from me by making her believe that I am an alcoholic.”
“I am not an alcoholic,” Pappas reiterated.
Pappas filed a restraining order against Stephen on March 7, ordering him to be 100 yards away from her. A hearing date has been set for later this month, per In Touch.
Us Weekly reached out to Stephen’s lawyer and Pappas for comment.
When the exes finalized their divorce in June 2024, In Touch reported that Pappas and Stephen agreed not to consume alcohol around their children. The deal read, “neither party shall drink alcohol in excess of the legal limit during their custody periods, or have a child and/or children in their custody and control when being intoxicated.”
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Pappas and Stephen also agreed not to consume narcotics within 12 hours before or during time with their children. Per the deal, Pappas would be paid $1,000 per month in child support and an additional $1,500 a month in spousal support.
Bachelor Nation met Pappas when she appeared on Brad Womack’s season 11 of The Bachelor in 2007. She went on to star on season 4 of The Bachelorette in 2018, where she accepted a proposal from Jesse Csincsak. The pair went their separate ways less than a year later.
Pappas went on to meet Stephen through his brother, Michael, who was on season 5 of The Bachelorette. Pappas and Stephen tied the knot in October 2011. The pair announced in January 2023 that they split.
“It is with immense sadness, Stephen & I have decided to end our relationship as a couple. We have been working hard for a long time — both as a married couple & as individuals & have come to the conclusion to remain separate,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “We remain loving parents to our beautiful children, Addison & Austin, & will continue to raise them together with love & faith.”