Bachelorette alum DeAnna Pappas was accused of punching, slapping and grabbing ex-husband Stephen Stagliano’s neck during the altercation that led to her arrest last month, In Touch can exclusively report.
DeAnna, 43, filed an emotional declaration, obtained by In Touch, as part of her court battle with Stephen, 41, denying the claims.
DeAnna filed for divorce in January 2023. The two eventually settled the case in 2024. Per their deal, they agreed to share joint custody of their two kids.
DeAnna and Stephen also agreed not to drink excessively around the children.
As In Touch first reported, Stephen drove to DeAnna’s home in Los Angeles to pick up their daughter on February 27. DeAnna claimed that Stephen tried to get close to her to smell if she had been drinking.
DeAnna, who said she had not been drinking, claimed Stephen physically stopped her garage from closing and continued to pester her.
She said she went inside but went back outside after she heard noise in her garage. She said she found Stephen in the garage.
She claimed, “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.”
Stephen accused DeAnna of domestic violence, according to court documents.
The police placed DeAnna under arrest and booked under on a misdemeanor charge. She was released hours later on a $20,000 bond.
DeAnna said she took a voluntary alcohol and drug test after her release which she claimed came back negative for both.
Stephen’s mom accused DeAnna of smelling like alcohol when she came to pick up one of the kids at DeAnna’s home recently.
In response, DeAnna filed the new declaration, in her divorce, which detailed a little of what went down on the night of her arrest.
She added, “In response to [Stephen’s] outlandish claim that I punched, slapped and grabbed his neck, that is unequivocally untrue.”
DeAnna said their daughter took a video of the encounter in the garage. DeAnna said, “That video can and will be provided to the court and will show [Stephen] is blatantly misleading the court. I have never punched or slapped anyone, nor did I do any such thing to [Stephen].”
She concluded, “My attorneys have provided this video to Detective [redacted], who is handling the investigation that is most likely not going forward.”
She accused Stephen of coaching their daughter to report back to him things she sees at DeAnna’s home.
She also, “I am not an alcoholic.”
DeAnna has yet to officially be charged over the incident.
Days after her jail release, DeAnna filed for a restraining order against Stephen claiming he was the aggressor.
She explained the drama started because “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.”
The things escalated quickly which led to Stephen calling the police to the home.
In her petition for a restraining order, DeAnna pleaded for him to be ordered to stay 100 yards away from her and her home. She also included screenshots of the alleged video her daughter shot of the incident between her and Stephen. Stephen has yet to respond to the allegations in court.
The court has not granted any temporary orders. A hearing has been scheduled for later this month.
