In a new court filing, “Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss denied that he attacked his wife, Laura Fleiss. Instead, he said that she attacked him and that he has security footage to prove it.
“I have not hurt, attacked, or attempted to physically harm Laura or our child, Benjamin Fleiss ‘Ben,’ in any way,” Mike stated in the filing that was dated July 15. “There was an incident on July 6, 2019, at my home in Hawaii. Laura was the aggressor during the incident and physically attacked me. I tried to get away from her as she was chasing me and hitting me. I have security footage from our home that shows the incident, which the Court can review.”
Mike said that he contacted the security company for their Kauai, Hawaii house on July 7 to get the camera footage and they told him that Laura had already attempted to get it first. “I believe she was trying to have it deleted,” he continued. “I was able to obtain the security footage from the Hawaii house to show the incident once I ran out of the house and Laura followed me, continuing to attack me.”
The Kauai Police Department said earlier on Wednesday that it is currently investigating the incident, which Laura said took place over Fourth of July weekend. Warner Horizon, which produces Fleiss’ hugely successful dating competition shows, said Tuesday it was investigating the matter. They did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment now that Fleiss has denied the accusation.
Mike also asked the court to deny Laura’s request for a restraining order, which a Los Angeles County judge granted on Tuesday. The temporary restraining order says that he has to stay 100 yards away from her. As part of her petition, Laura further described her accusations, as well as a pattern of verbal and emotional abuse, and submitted photos and security camera images showing physical violence.
Laura, who is pregnant, said that Mike confronted her at the couple’s Kauai home, demanding that she have an abortion and threatened her with physical violence. She said Mike took her phone from her and threatened to shove her down the stairs when she tried to get it back. “He grabbed my body, forcibly pinned me up against the wall and held me there,” she said. She further accused him of pushing her off the footrail of a truck “12-18 inches off of the ground” and threatened to throw her down the stairs.
In his filing, Mike described the incident differently. He wrote that he had concerns about Laura having an affair and tried to take her phone out of her hand, after which “she immediately attacked me and so I ran out of the bedroom, down the stairs‚ and out of the house to my car.” He continued that she then chased after him to his car and “was pounding on me with her fists, jumping on my back and attacking me” in an attempt to get her phone back.
He continued: “As I ran down the narrow staircase of the house, she was pounding on me so hard that the side of my head was slammed against the wall. Once I stepped outside the house, she continued to follow me, screaming and attacking me. I had my arms up to protect myself.” He added that she climbed into the driver’s side of his truck and continued to attack him.
Mike said that three days later, on July 9, Laura contacted him to say she called the police and filed a report. “I have not seen the report and the police never contacted me.” He filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 10.
In his response filing, Mike requested that Laura be ordered to return their son Ben to Los Angeles, and is asking for sole custody.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this story.