“Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Monica Garcia’s ex was arrested in 2021 for “slapping her across the face,” the U.S. Sun reports.
According to a police report obtained by the outlet, Mike Fowler, 45, was arrested on charges of domestic violence assault, domestic violence in the presence of a child, and interruption of a communication device on March 5, 2021 after Garcia called law enforcement.
While speaking to officers via her Apple watch, she claimed that “her husband had hit her and now she was hiding in a bedroom.”
In the report, it was noted that a female could be heard “yelling for him to get away from her.”
Upon speaking to officers in person, Garcia, 40, claimed she was “afraid of Michael and what he would do if she disobeyed him.”
Fowler allegedly hit her after arguing about “some of the people that she had been associating with.”
The specific people in question were not named.
He allegedly “slapped her across the face” after they had been arguing about the people with whom she associates. Meredith (Credits: Andrews/Bravo)
“The argument got worse” when they returned home, “and that’s when he slapped her across the face,” per the alleged report.
The altercation allegedly occurred in front of one of her teenage kids. She shares three girls with Fowler and a daughter, Bri, from a previous marriage.
According to the report, Fowler spent several days in a county jail and then pleaded guilty to assault in front of a judge.
He was reportedly sentenced to 12 months probation and had to pay $1,070 in fines.
Three of their four children were home, and one of the teenagers reportedly saw the abuse. (Credits: Meredith Andrews/Bravo)
Page Six did not immediately hear back from Garcia or the Salt Lake City Police Department regarding the report.
Garcia finalized her divorce from Fowler on Oct. 24, 2023 — ten years after getting married. She was awarded $2,636 a month in child support and $4,000 a month in alimony, as well as sole legal and physical custody of her four girls.
The pair tied the knot in 2009, and Garcia filed for divorce four years later.
Fowler was reportedly arrested and then sentenced to 12 months probation. (Credits: @monicanikigarcia/Instagram)
They reconciled, and the “RHOSLC” villain filed for a second time in June 2023.
While many speculated her divorce was a result of her former 18-month-long affair with her brother-in-law, the Breababy founder revealed in a Jan. 10 Instagram post that they split over Fowler’s alleged abuse.
“The reason for our divorce was because of domestic violence,” she wrote in her lengthy caption.
“My ex was arrested a couple of times for domestic violence on me in front of our girls and violations of protective orders.”
She added that she “had hoped to talk about it on the show to help better explain why things are the way they are … [and to] bring awareness to women dealing with this issue and to help them see that they are not alone.”
Garcia then addressed women involved in domestic assault situations directly.
“I hope anyone going through this issue knows that I am with you,” she wrote.
“I hope you see that you can move on from this horrible situation and begin to give your children a better life away from these circumstances.”
“That there is a life after abuse, that it wasn’t your fault, and that you have tribes of people ready to carry you through.”
