In a court filing Tuesday, “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” creator Mike Fleiss was accused by his wife, Laura Fleiss, of emotional and verbal abuse, and of attacking her earlier this month.
In court documents obtained by TheWrap, Laura Fleiss requested an emergency domestic violence restraining, accusing Mike Fleiss of threatening her and pushing her out of a truck in an incident she says took place at the couple’s Hawaii home the weekend of July 4.
Laura, who is pregnant, also said Mike demanded she have an abortion with their 4-year-old son Ben “seated in another room nearby,” and threatened to divorce her if she refused.
“This was not the first time he had threatened a divorce during our marriage,” the filing reads, “but now, he was using this threat as leverage to force me to have an abortion.”
In the filing, Laura Fleiss said the dispute escalated over the weekend until Saturday, July 6, when 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.
Later, she said “Mike forcefully shoved me off the running board” of his truck, which is “approximately 12-18 inches off the ground” and said, “You’re f—ed,” Laura said.
“Mike has made many emotionally derogatory and demeaning comments designed to demonstrate his financial coercive control over me, such as repeatedly insinuating that he would destroy me with his wealth and power,” the court filing says. “He consistently would call me ‘fat,’ telling me that I need to lose weight, and berate me as being ‘lazy’ and ‘incapable’ … The continued verbal and emotional abuse have wreaked havoc on my self-esteem.”
Mike Fleiss filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 10. Representatives for Mike Fleiss, ABC and Warner Horizon, which produces the “Bachelor” franchise, did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.