Michelle Branch Arrested for Slapping Cheating Husband
Ugh. This story.
Let’s get the usual caveats out there — domestic violence is never okay. We don’t drive people to hit us. Get out, get out, get OUT before you succumb to the urge to pummel a cheater. Remember the Mr. CL adage: If It Feels Good, Don’t Do It.
Now then, country singer Michelle Branch was arrested for slapping her cheater husband Patrick Carney.
Apparently (allegedly) he was out getting his dick wet while she was home with a 6-month old infant. Law & Crime reports.
In a since-deleted tweet sent at around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 11, Branch said that Carney had cheated on her.
“Just found out my husband cheated on me with his manager Haley McDonald from Full Stop Management while I was home with our 6 month old daughter,” Branch apparently said in the tweet.
Branch and Carney have been married for three years and share a 4-year-old son in addition to the above-mentioned 6-month-old baby.
Yes, fucking around on the mother of your preschool children isn’t considered abuse. Because that’s the upside down world we live in. I hope Branch has a really top-notch lawyer, because she’s got to work out custody and divorce with this creep.
Consider this a public service announcement about why you don’t confront cheaters. The very best thing you can do is get the hell away from them and go no contact. How much you want to bet this guy will press charges and weaponize this in their divorce?
And how much do you want to bet the narrative will be ho-hum he cheated on her, what’s worse is how she reacted to it.
I know many of us would be in jail but for the grace of God. Whether it’s going nuclear on an affair partner or the cheater. The pick me dance can turn deadly — and cheaters will goad chumps. Kibbles! Drama! Kibbles! They provoke for their own ego trip, and they provoke strategically — because you losing your shit benefits THEM.
That’s why, even though it is grossly unfair, chumps, you have to be above it all.
They are NOT worth it.
Speaking of scraping the shit off your shoe — Patrick Carney. A bucktoothed drummer married to a Grammy-award winning singer. Really, dude? You look like the unholy union between a basset hound and a tub of paste.
How does THIS guy think he’s going to do better? We’ve got the Shakira, Beyonce, Christie Brinkley, Halle Berry problem again. It doesn’t matter how beautiful or talented you are, you can never be a buffet of pussy.
When CN first started sending me this story, I didn’t know who Michelle Branch was. And then I saw she used to be part of the Wreckers, who penned one of my favorite songs ever: “Different Truck, Same Loser.”
Diferent truck, same loser
Different face, same shooter
A beater or a boozer
A cheater or a user
If there’s one in fifty miles he’ll end up on her couch
Same road, no future, different truck same loser
I hope this one is off Michelle Branch’s couch forever. God speed on the divorce.
I don’t know if this is a ride I can take with you. I read that she was the OW in his previous marriage so I feel like she deserves what she gets.
Wow. This is a similar situation that happened to a cheating couple I know…cheater left his wife/family for OW. Years later he cheated on Owife, she went ballistic, cheater had her arrested (DV) and thrown out of the new home they had just moved into months prior. Owife was dumped and divorced for another woman but gained little sympathy for her FB posts bashing cheater. CL’s warning “and cheaters will goad chumps” is something to take very seriously.
I’d have little sympathy for OWife. If he’ll cheat with you, he’ll cheat ON you. I imagine she witnessed the dumping and divorcing of the first wife, too, and didn’t think that was so terrible. She was a volunteer, not a chump.
This also makes me wonder if proxy-cheaters are more likely to be aggressive when, like the old adage warns, the cheater they cheated with then inevitably cheats on them or really in reaction to anything that thwarts them. They might be more prone to child abuse as well but those studies haven’t been done. It’s like both parties in affairs are taking a risk with each other since existing studies (and basic common sense) have it that witting co-cheaters tend to be every bit as dark and aggressive as direct cheaters.
In any case, other than affairs, where would it be more obvious that the knowing participants are both risky, dicey creeps? Like I’ve said before maybe I’m biased because I’m so sick of the old-timey victimology assumption that innocent, blindsided victims of relationship abuse were necessarily “Looking for Ms/Mr Goodbar.” My view is that this can only be automatically applied to abusers themselves. For one abuse is always a case of reenactment of childhood trauma with the abuser either putting others in their former place as victims or putting themselves into risky situations. That’s not an exoneration because the same is true of serial killers. In any event, it’s not common knowledge but domestic abusers tend to make more high risk choices than average and are statistically more likely to die by any number of causes, including suicide. I don’t think this “courting disaster” concept can be automatically assumed of victims who were lured into relationships by abusers who pretended at first to be great people.
Entertainers and celebrities of every ilk make poor role models.
I honestly cringe everytime one becomes the subject of discussion here. They are not real. Their image is everything, especially the image of themselves inside their head. They are vain and arbitrary like Greek gods quarreling on Mount Olympus. We mortals seem only to be worse for the contact.
Entertainers & celebrities
are real & really outrageous
(at least enough of them).
If viewed as Cautionary Tales, then they’re useful to us
for analysis & discussion.
If idolized, then they’re much too influential.
we are all like that to some extent. the difference is normal people maintain some level-headedness. My ex is a fitness instructor and she can turn it on during her classes and while she is mixing with people in her class. You don’t know the real her until you spend the next 21 hours with her. That is when the real person comes out. So, fall in love with the instructor and wind up with a POS who is not even close to being stable or reliable. It’s a whiplash
I get it, but that’s where the narrative lives out in public. If you want to change a narrative, then you have to talk about stuff outside the CN choir loft. Also, I get to snark. 😉
Perhaps your role is of the chorus in a play about the Greek gods. They were pretty snarky…
If true absolutely no sympathy. However, I do agree any type of physical violence barring true self defense is just a no win for the innocent party.
Seriously? He was married to someone else, then this one, now he’s cheating again?? What is the appeal of this loser and how is he getting all these women?
Michelle is his THIRD wife! Dude is 42. What was he her first clue that he might not be very good at marriage!
He could have played victim exceptionally well. It’s kind of the Dan Quayle phenomenon. When you can see absolutely no reason why someone ascended to some lofty rank or achieved some particular feat, you have to imagine they have hidden skill sets. In Quayle’s case it might have been fuckery or just discretionary silence.
I don’t know if Branch had anything to do with this cheater’s previous divorce. If not, falling for a creep might relate to battering dynamics.
I would guess from Branch’s truck song about cheating and abuse and just the high numbers of sex pests in the music and entertainment industry that she might have had some negative or traumatic experiences in the past. And women who were battered/abused in one relationship have a 50% risk of being battered/abused again in a subsequent relationship. I would imagine the risk exists for anyone– including an innocent guy– who’s experienced previous trauma for which genuine social support tends to be scant or withheld but I haven’t seen studies extrapolating the effect.
In any case, in the victim-blamey traditional therapeutic view, the above stat used to be taken as “proof” that battered women “draw” abuse to themselves on their own dysfunctional tractor beams and are naturally “attracted” to abusers– i.e., “takes two to tango,” blah blah blah. This interpretation still exists in lame pop-psych arenas and is a great example of Catch 22 because the attitude itself arguably greatly contributes to compounded risk for victims. As an advocate for abuse survivors, I learned how A) battering victims are no more prone to having had dysfunctional backgrounds than anyone else; and B) both the typical predatory tactics of abusers as well as widespread bystander victim-blaming can fully explain the repeat victimization statistic on their own. For example, abusers commonly play rescuer/protector as an initial come-on which might be why rescuing/helping professions tend to harbor especially high rates of batterers. And once someone has been victimized in a relationship, they tend to be subjected to a lot of blaming and shaming by bystanders and incompetent or culpable members of helping professions. This sets up the perfect protection racket scenario where a predator can then distinguish themselves and “shine” in comparison to the average jackass bystander by simply not blaming and shaming, pretending sympathy and playing rescuer. Plus, since over 50% of women will be abused by partners at least once in their lifetimes, predators are playing with pretty good odds that any random target is probably recovering from something related to intimate trauma and probably isn’t getting enough social support.
The sheer prevalence of abuse coupled with victim blaming ideology help to give predators an edge, even chinless losers. You could even argue that the bigger the loser, the harder they’re going to work to feign rescuer traits.
I really like Lundy Bancroft’s book ‘Why Does He Do That?’ which gives a lot of information about battered women. (And yes, I know that men get battered too and are cheated on too. But it’s a great book.)32
After looking at his photo his appeal is definitely lost on me.
Yeah, but look at a photo of the “Dog” who cheated on Shania Twain.
“What is the appeal of this loser and how is he getting all these women?”
Good question. Maybe he has money? He is indeed creepy.
Where did you read that? Link? I read a bunch of stories, but not that one. Same advice applies however — do NOT take the bait after discovery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Branch — time line doesn’t show cheating, fwiw.
It looks like he divorced his second wife in 2016, and he met Michelle Branch in 2015.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that he cheated on wife #2 with Michelle, though.
There have been studies showing that, for average partnered Joe and Jane Schmos, merely being flirted with by viable others can instantly lower their commitment to partners in measurable ways. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-psychology-relationships/202207/flirt-your-own-risk Maybe Branch had or expressed zero interest in the guy when he was married. But there’s always the Tom Brady/Giselle Bundchen dynamic.
It appears Bundchen sent an availability signal via a Boston radio program while Brady was busy impregnating girlfriend Michelle Moynihan. The narcy things Bundchen said later about how Moynihan’s pregnancy was “so hard” on her (Bunchen) kind of add to the creep-fest impression of the whole saga. Reportedly prior to meeting each other in person, Bundchen was shown a picture of Brady and instead of telling the radio host, “No comment,” she said Brady was “cute” and “not too shabby” but, since he had a girlfriend, he might as well be gay. Carrot and stick all while virtue signalling– very clever: “I’d do him but since there’s an obstacle, I’ll threateningly wave around the ‘gay’ label.” Brady appears to have caught the hint, promptly dumped his pregnant girlfriend and presented himself newly single to Bundchen. Then both professed later that they were mad for each other before even meeting.
Even if the story could be back-filled as “coincidental,” outcome sometimes proves intent. I have an analogy from when I was five that comes to mind when I hear mate poachers shrug off responsibility for breaking up families or any abuser shrugs off the harm they do. As a little kid, I absolutely hated having to ride full sized horses with an adult. Not only did I want my own horse, I wanted to gallop, not trot. So once while riding with an instructor in a group, I– oopsie– let my feet kind of bounce with the rhythm of the trot secretly hoping that the horse might break into a run. The instructor snapped at me not to do that but it was too late. The horse started to gallop which triggered the other horses in the group to stampede. My instructor managed to get control of the horse we were on but one in the group couldn’t be stopped and raced back to the stable. The adult rider of the runaway horse was knocked off when she hit her head on the arched gate to the corral. She got a concussion but could easily have died.
It seemed to happen in slow motion and I’ll never forget how I felt watching that disaster. At five I couldn’t have foreseen the chain of events and didn’t intend for someone to get injured. No one yelled at me over the incident, but it didn’t matter. I still knew I’d caused it and had nightmares for years about being responsible for terrible things happening. Those still stand as the worst nightmares I’ve ever had. The event didn’t completely kill my daredevil tendencies as a kid but I was conscious from then on of putting anyone other than myself at risk. It was like the experience put a risk-factoring chip in my head where I could scan situations and envision every foreseeable negative outcome. It came in handy as a parent. And I was also keenly aware of how just a tiny little thought in your head that’s given the tiniest expression can manifest a chain of events for which you are responsible from the moment you know there’s even a risk.
I didn’t hide from responsibility at five. I didn’t confabulate and forget my secret little thoughts and actions or rationalize that, well, the stampede could have been set off by a garden snake and that inexperienced rider shouldn’t have gotten on a horse, therefore there was nothing to be learned from it. So there’s absolutely no excuse for an adult to put thoughts out into the world that can lead to predictable outcomes for others and then pretend not to be responsible. That’s not to say poachees aren’t the main douches in poaching scenarios but you don’t let your feet bounce on partnered people. If they’re prone to fucking over partners and families, let them do it with someone else.
Anyway, I hope Branch didn’t flirt with the chinless wonder when he was still hitched. If she did, she bought her own fate and contributed to harming others.
Mate Poachers ????
All is FAIR in love & war?
Others lose. Losers lose.
Serious poacher-hunters strategically target, bait, lure, seduce to WIN the prey.
All a GAME – a rigged game.
An amusing, competitive, challenging, oh so thrilling, RIGGED game.
Not buying it. That’s too much concocting. You break up with someone before moving on that’s honorable enough – regardless of ‘signaling’ going on around you.
Culpability isn’t a pie where serving a slice to an accessory to a crime takes away from the larger share of guilt of the main offender. Poachers poach and faithful people without personality disorders reject the bids. But ill intent is there whether it succeeds or not.
And you left out the part where Tom conveniently forgot to tell Giselle that BRIDGET was pregnant with his baby. Only told her after he got a courtesy call from the rag that was going to blow the story open the next day!
Oops, I’d be a lousy star maps tour guide. You know who else I always mix up with Michelle Mohnihan? Ruth Wilson.
Such floppy feet these two. Oopsie-daisy– so many oversights and accidents that led to a pregnant woman’s collision with a fence post. How’s that happen? What if she’d miscarried from the stress? Oh well, snakes in the grass could have caused the same.
Per Carney’s listing in wikipedia: Carney and Ward divorced in January 2016. Ward, a California native, had moved to Los Angeles by that time.
In 2015, Carney met Michelle Branch at a Grammy party, and the two started dating during the production of Branch’s album Hopeless Romantic, which Carney produced.[12] In 2017, Branch and her daughter Owen moved into Carney’s Nashville home, which they share with Irish wolfhounds
Etched in my mind:
“Staying on the high road reinforces my position as the person wronged.”
They are desperate to find anything and everything they can to use against you to justify what they did. Do NOT hand them any ammo. Keeping my side of the street clean is paramount. I will not do or say anything that will validate the smack he talked about me. In previous relationships, where other more overt forms of abuse were perpetrated against me, I ended those relationships without hitting back, without cheating, without lying, without having someone lined up. I am very invested in keeping my record clean.
I got a professional grade leather punching bag. It gets kicked and punched and my hands stay clean. Writing down how I feel, with a big black scribbly beeswax crayon. Talking to my trusted brilliant therapist and trusted close friends. SAFE outlets for the rage are essential IMHO.
The Godfather sent people. Be like the Godfather and send your lawyer after them.
The cleaner your side of the street is, the dirtier theirs looks.
“Staying on the high road reinforces my position as the person wronged.”
I agree.
However, this idea, or tactic, like so many others, can be turned upside down by our cheaters. I had it weaponized against me by means of the silent treatment. My ex was a master of manipulating me into situations in which he could then act as if he were the wronged person and he was nobly choosing to forgive me, or, alternately, equally nobly hurt and I needed to apologize.
He would go silent, refuse to talk to me, even after agreeing he “needed to communicate better,” and, because I had in the past been accused of attacking him when I did say something, I didn’t feel as if I could say anything.
So I’d hold everything inside, for longer and longer periods, with the pressure building up, until the dam burst inside me, and I’d say something. I wasn’t violent, didn’t yell, but I would be in anguish, and speak about that.
Then he’d figuratively raise his chin and act as if I had hurt him unmercifully and for no reason, and I’d be on the defensive or in the wrong.
It was a cycle, it was a tactic that kept me where he wanted me, and it worked and kept escalating until finally what I burst out with was “I want a divorce.”
It took a lot of reading here and elsewhere for me to recognize this as a tactic of abuse.
Adelante, reading this brings back the pain & confusion of being treated this way.
The silent treatment was him “shutting down” because he just couldn’t handle how volatile I was! After I caught him cheating, he said he was “scared” of making me mad, and “no matter what he did” and “bent over backwards to make me happy,” I never failed to treat him wrong; in fact I was forever “attacking his character” if I called out an action. We also had a “communication problem,” and apparently I was such a horrible shrew I never even gave him “just a simple thank you.” Oh woe, poor victim. Honest to God, in that relationship I can remember actually raising my voice maybe twice in 16 years, no matter how I felt inside…which apparently was an unforgiveable crime – why, for a decade and a half he suffered! But lucky me, he nobly “still loved me” even though I was such a terrifying bitch. He, noble and long-suffering of course, was never actually going to leave me for her. He just had to sleep with her because she treated him nicely and he was so starved for niceness. And pussy buffets.
Anguish. That is the only description of the feeling. You cannot even have an emotion, not anything other than joyful worship, or you are abusive.
I was so relieved when I finally said I wanted a divorce. I hadn’t even known how badly I wanted out of that cycle, but as painful as it was to be betrayed, in the end it is just a relief. It was what I needed to make the decision.
If it means anything to you, the best description I found of it (other than pouting) was “vulnerable narcissism.” I know some people don’t like labels though.
I now find it very difficult to have any real emotion in a relationship other than anxiety.
Thank you.
“Vulnerable narcissism” describes my ex perfectly.
100%. I think it’s why some of them are so persistent in their attempts to goad us into confrontations.
During the 10 months of forced cohabitation, more than once the Kunty Kibbler would wait until I was in the master bedroom (to retrieve clothing or whatever), come in and close the door behind her, and start in with her demands: respect me goddammit, start acting like a mature man goddammit, whatever the complaint of the day happened to be. No matter how many times I said “I’m not having this conversation” or “Let me leave this room” she stood her ground with her finger pointed at me and her chin thrust out, as if to say “Go ahead, I DARE you!…”
Most of the time I simply sat or laid on the bed until she exhausted herself. Only once did I successfully get past her. Knowing full well that any use of my hands, feet or head could seriously come back to haunt me in the eyes of the court, I managed to position myself such that my back was in contact with her side as she was blocking the door. A bit of backwards force moved her away enough so that I could turn the knob and leave the room. And even then I wondered whether use of my back could be perceived as an act of aggression.
You were wise UW.
Over the course of > 26 years, there were times where Cheater was grossly threatening and abusive and got right up at me and turn the torment to 11…he was a combat-seasoned warrior and I am a wimpy mommy who couldn’t punch myself out of a wet paper bag. During 2 of those episodes, I responded with something akin to flailing in desperation and brushed against him… at that exact moment, estopped his torment and said “you hit me, I want it to be noted that you hit me” and he stopped. Later in various modes of threatening, he did claim that I had “hit” him. This same person would put my head in a wrestling hold and remind me he could snap my neck and drove in rages that nearly killed us all (and claimed he didnt) so you were very wise to do whatever it took to not giver her one molecule of that sort of ammo against you.
BTW, today is my 36th sobriety birthday. My last drink was August 15, 1986.
There is no doubt that this site helped me achieve this milestone. The pain of infidelity is earth-shattering. A level I did not know existed and I had never experienced. I wondered if it would kill me. (It might; I developed a
AFIB as a direct result according to the two cardiologists with whom I spoke.) By some miracle I did not have the urge to drink, do drugs, smoke, or find someone to hook up with. I suddenly understood why people respond to infidelity with violence, homicide, or suicide. I felt that way and did not act on it. I came here and read in the morning, during the day, before bed, during the night. This site still keeps me grounded and sane, siphons off the rage that crops up, and I have each and every one of you to thank for being part of the extensive pit crew of support.
Especially dear dear dear Tracy, aka Chump Lady.
Resist the urge to be violent toward cheaters but most importantly, don’t do anything to hurt YOURSELF either.
Congrats to a very wise woman (I have quite a few of the comments you’ve written here saved in my notes that resonated with me and I need to read often. Thank you!!!)
Congratulations! Like you did, I am on here numerous times per day reading. I feel like this is where Neo in the Matrix went after taking the reality pill. This is where I come to not be gaslit. To not be blamed. To look at my reality with open eyes and fight for freedom and sanity.
My world took a big then for the better in the last week. Things are looking up. Very close to filing – FINALLY. I wouldn’t be where I am mentally ready for it were it not for team CN. I come here and don’t feel like the only chump in the world. I look forward to the other side. Won’t be easy but it will be worth it!
Wonderfully eloquent as always, VH. Congratulations. xoxo
A huge congratulations to VH, from another chump trudging the road of happy destiny with you!
Congrats on your sobriety! So we’ll can I identify with your words and how coming to this site has freed me from the snare of dispare ! Hearing the many voices and similarities kept me reminded and able to sort out the misbelief in what I had went through . The humor of Chump lady is kick ass!
Congratulations, Velvet Hammer! Your recovery is a huge accomplishment! You are one chump I love to hear from every day. I celebrated 33 years sober in June, having moved 6 times in the past year, relocated to a huge metro area, fought cancer (and am winning!), bought a house, moved my son’s family in with me, and am thriving! This site saved me from the worst pain ever and repeating crap decisions (RIC, pick-me cha-cha, etc.). Tracy is a life saver! As are therapy and my mutual-support groups. Ever upward! Five years post Dday, I still visit this site daily and drink in the wisdom, sanity, snark, engaging comments & discussions. I continue to benefit from this movement and am growing wiser & happier as a result. VH – if you would be interested I’d love to pm you. Idk how that works with the moderators, et al.
Thank you for continuing to chime in and keep us updated about you and your recovery from ALLLLL the things here. I celebrate YOU, Velvet Hammer!
And all of CN, of course.
Chump Diva, I’ll send Tracy an email.
Way to go, sister! ❤️
Congratulations! You are a model of strength and integrity. Your words help me every day!
My drinking turned into alcoholism about 3-4 years before D day. I was walking on eggshells our whole relationship and I knew something was terribly wrong but he would never admit it. I’m sure he loved me clouding myself to stay silent and let him enjoy the life he was living. I have been sober almost 2 years now (went into recovery during the divorce). It is so uplifting to hear about your sobriety and thriving!
CIC – There’s a scene early in the Sandra Bullock movie 28 Days where a middle age (?!) woman says something like “I used to stay at home, drinking. Waiting and wondering where my husband was. And then he came home and told me he had a girl friend and she was moving in. He said I could stay or move out.”
I left when I was 90 days sober. Filed for divorce about a year after that. Currently have nearly 4 years sober. There is no situation that alcohol doesn’t make worse. It’s hard, though to talk about betrayal during meetings. Verges on the self-pity business. I just refer to having changed “people, places and things”.
Congratulations, ChumpinCharge! Treasure your sobriety, sister! I’m here for you, too. Stay close to us – WE recover together. ❤️
Happy sobriety birthday! And thanks for the kind words. I’m just one voice, CN is a community, and it’s the whole choir of voices that makes the difference.
Congratulations VH! Very wise words, as always
I found this site last year and in between crawling out of bed and going about my day, as best I could, vomiting and sobbing, read as many as the archives and the comments
You are one of the many inspirational voices on here and keep us all newbies sane and on the right track. Helping us grow stronger
Rock on, mighty one!
Congratulations VH. That is a big deal!
First of all, I’m going to be tacky as hell. He must have a magic dick if he’s got women hanging around him.
Second, I looked up if you can spank or hit a child in Tennessee. There is no law against it. I wonder if she had swatted him on his butt really hard but did not leave a mark if that would be considered domestic violence. That same hand can hit a child and get away with it. The world is completely upside down
Most of these groupies to fame are after money, gifts etc. If they can snatch the creep all the better for them, or at least they think so. Many of them are hoping for a child, so they can get some assets.
I am not in any way saying all women, I am saying these types of women who know the man is married, but still hang around him. Whether they are rich or have great benefits.
I am betting this dude would have to pay for sex if he had no money or connection to anyone with money.
She better get out before he gets wrapped up in a child support situation.
I don’t agree with domestic violence either, but god knows I was on the receiving end of enough of it! About twice a week for YEARS! He used to come home drunk around 1 a.m. and then start looking for a fight (I was probably “sleeping too loud”), then start laying into me for my faults. His screaming and punching and hitting would go on for about 40 minutes until he wore himself out and passed out. One time, though, I’d had enough. I knew he had about another 15 minutes in him so I lay on my back on the bed facing the door, pulled my knees up to my chest and when that motherfucker came crashing back through the door looking for round 15 I kicked him straight in the chest and the scrawny runt flew through the air and landed against he wall with a satisfying thud. He never knew what hit him, the AH! Didn’t do any damage but it sure was satisfying, even if I paid for it later. I also remember one time my son and his mates were in our camper on the driveway and AH wanted to hang out with them. They didn’t want it of course and next thing I knew one of the mates came running into my bedroom around 3 a.m. because my son and AH were getting into it. My son was NEVER violent but I found him sitting on his dad and smacking him (open handed) around the head asking “how do YOU like it AH”? AH came to me crying because he couldn’t understand why his son should be so nasty as “he hadn’t done anything” (yeah, so now you know how it feels)! Said he was going to call the cops. I told him “please do”, I’ll support my son 100% against you. I eventually got a DV conviction against the AH – which is why I think he will never move back to France even though I know he would love too! Toodles AH!
I hope her lawyer can plead temporary insanity. I know that’s what I was on D-day! The one person you depended on & loved & all those feelings their cheating invokes: sad, angry, betrayed, frustrated, confused, loss…all those feelings gotta go somewhere! Unfortunately, like you said CL, I was goaded too but I just sent sobbing, sappy letters (which I wish I could take back now) although, often I wanted to drive over and punch him & the AP’s face in! There’s a part of me that high-fives Michele Branch (although I don’t believe in actual violence either, just fantasizing). I hope she can shake off both her undesirable husband & her arrest & go on & live a fabulous FW-free life!
I’m getting really sick of men whining “But she hit meeeee toooooo!” What is this–a kindergarten playground?
Johnny Depp, that creep from Florida, and now this one. Get a clue, people. This attitude gets women killed.
Disgusting.
Gets women killed, like Gabby Petito.
My X decided that a good tactic in court was to accuse me of abusing him. What was the abuse you ask? I supposedly repeatedly finger flicked him hard in the head -repeatedly and often……The reality was I one time gave him a finger flick on the shoulder when he was being especially idiotic and annoying to me. Oh the horror! The court rolled its eyes at him, admonished him for being trying to put that label on me when they see actual, horrific examples of physical abuse every day.
I used to live in Nashville. This cheater might as well put up billboards all over town announcing himself as winner of the Wimp Award 2022. A “man” who calls the police on his wife and the mother of his two children for a slap after finding out he’s cheated has testicles the size of a mosquito. I hope she counter-sues for him potentially exposing her and their child to venereal diseases that can cause irreparable harm and death. On a lighter note, this guy is the laughing stock of Nashville and country music fans everywhere…good luck him getting another job or more than a pity date after his wife kicks his ugly ass out.
Exactly. Called the cops because she slapped him? What a pansy.
I am also less than impressed with his ap manager. Great professionalism there!
Ugh…I used to love the Black Keys.
Just removed them from my play lists and unfollowed. Take that cheater-man!
Right? Love their sound. Then again, I suppose most musicians have cheated on the road. It feels like a cop-out to say “separate the art from the artist” but if I didn’t I don’t think I’d have any music left to listen to. Maybe the other brother does most of the songwriting?
Cheating is domestic violence. When I slept with my husband who was secretly fucking all kinds of strange, it exposed me to pathogens. I never consented to that. It was assault. XH’s blameshifting and gaslighting and threats to destroy our family’s financial future in the aftermath wrecked havoc on my brain. I was filled with terror and rage. 26 years with the man I trusted, believed in, loved and cared for beyond measure—replaced in an instant with a monsterous stranger bent on destroying everything I cared about- my children, our family, our home. I am a lifelong rule follower, a member of the bars of two states, I normally abhor any form of violence. And yet I had MANY thoughts during the horrible days following Dday and false wreconciliation of doing harm. I was definitely not myself. It was scary.
I understand Michelle Branch’s rage and hurt. I really do. I hope she goes no contact and starts to heal. ????
Well, I’m Canadian and a law was just passed that if you must ask your partner and both agree ( consent) whether or not to wear a condom. Otherwise it is sexual assault… Finally, some consequences for shady sexual practices like removing the condom secretly and not telling your partner . Maybe, this new law can open up the idea that sexual infidelity is also sexual assault since it is absolutely done without consent from the betrayed partner.-
I am not a violent person, but did consider suicide during the aftermath of DDay. The mind games were horrific. And you are absolutely right that it is ASSAULT. My FW gave me HPV from his “data-collecting”, as he called it. I am just mean enough to hope he gave it to the OW as well, though, at this point don’t really care.
Grew up with an physically abusive Dad and probably one reason why I picked FW-he was nice to me. Never was physically abusive to me so I didn’t understand that abuse comes in different colors. It always my stomach to read about physical abuse, now I’m sickened by betrayal abuse. I have learned to be independent through all this..self sufficient and for that I am grateful. Hugs to newbies and victims of abuse. You don’t deserve it..get out as quickly as you can. Besides yourself, children are scarred.
Having been chumped in all three of my marriages (my picker is clearly broken), the lyrics reasonated with me. Every single FW told me that sex with me was “mind-blowing” (but clearly not enough to keep them from cheating). Every single one of them tried to circle back, whining about the “mistake they had made”. Thank you, CN, for helping me jettison #3.
I guarantee that the Pastry Basset Hound will weaponize Michelle’s slap. I hope her attorney will be able to convince the judge that there are many forms of abuse that don’t leave bruises, and heal about as well as an amputated limb.
IF Michelle was the OW in the PBH’s previous marriage, I hope his XW is enjoying the show and is living her best, and FW-free, life.
Apparently Pastry Basset Hound’s 2nd ex-wife (the one he was with before Michelle Branch), is now a very accomplished interior designer and married to Giovanni Ribisi. It’s tough not to be skeptical of the success of celebrity marriages, but hope she’s happy nonetheless.
Apparently his 2nd ex-wife was also the AP from his first marriage. I tracked down an interview with his first ex-wife where she talks about being left for another woman. He is a real gem!
On Christmas Day in 1016, my niece’s husband nearly beat her to death over her cheating. If her son had not run to the neighbors for help he would have killed her. He got out of state prison last last year and is on parole for the next two which means he cannot leave the city he lives in. He has not seen his 2 sons in 6 years, lost his teaching license, coaching credentials and is a convicted felon. My niece suffered head and body injuries that will never fully heal. My brother at the age of 68 is raising 2 traumatized boys. I understand anger but it is so important to get professional help than to completely loss control and hurt somebody.
Kathy, What a horrific real life tragedy! Adultery. Rage. Violence. Trauma. Life long, serious, severe consequences to the 4 people who were once a family. Add your brother. You too are affected. It spreads.
Your message is noteworthy:
Getting needed help ASAP is of the utmost importance. You are right ~ Prevention is key.
When I was done pick me dancing for my XW, I put a keylock on our bedroom door and carefully removed all her stuff to the garage. When she came home from her weekend with “friends” to discover I wasn’t going to play her game anymore she raged. Broke the bedroom door and trashed all my stuff in front of the kids. After she left I photographed the wreckage and gave it to my attorney. 48 hours later I had a restraining order and she never lived there again.
She blames me.
I am thankful she was an idiot and allowed her misguided emotions lead her to disadvantage.
☝️Anybody who thinks women can’t possibly be as abusive as men? Think again.
Extra layer of danger for men is if/when she flips the script.
Ghislaine Maxwell kept her polished, ladylike mask on for decades. Pretty outside, ugly inside.
It never ceases to amaze me at the anger cheaters have when they are called out. They are so incredibly self centered they rage when their kibble supply is threatened.
☝️Challenged or threatened or corrected or questioned? ALL
UN-acceptable! NOW, you must be controlled, trained, punished
UNTIL you conform & obey.
And, of course, immediately
back to kibble-giving appliance
as soon as this lesson ends.
In some ways it’s easier if they lose their shit. My ex walked the line and never gave me anything I could call the cops on, although I felt compelled to flee our home with my daughter and dog a couple of times. He was unhinged and unpredictable and scary. If he had flown off the handle and gotten physical, it honestly would have made the divorce and custody situation easier. Instead, he’s been able to emotionally and mentally abuse us both now for years.
I hear you. I had an incident over the weekend (I’m still lining up the ducks to leave) where for no reason at all, klootzak went ballistic. He threw my trash can around in my office and threw my son’s bathroom step stool down the stairs. My son was terrified. I got him into bed and stayed in his room snuggled with him until he fell asleep. And then I was scared to leave kiddo’s bedroom. I asked myself if klootzak was waiting for me to come out to lay hands on me. And I decided if he wanted to try it, so be it. I texted my best friend – a prosecutor who lives up the street – to update her on the situation. (She has offered her home as a safe haven and I wasn’t sure if I was about to need it.) Then I walked out of my son’s room to find klootzak half drunk watching TV downstairs as though nothing had happened.
But my brain had gone to that same idea. If he raised his hand to me, he was about to make it much easier for me to have him removed and to deal with custody and so on. But that is definitely not the path I would want to take so I won’t be provoking sh*t!
Attacking belongings is a step away from attacking you. I don’t know if you saw my comment about “bouncing feet”: it looks as if he’s having thoughts that could ultimately “manifest.” I’m sure you know binge drinking escalates everything. He sounds psychotic.
I can’t second guess why you can’t leave just this second because you know your particular situation better than anyone else and the risks that come with every choice. But I think nanny cams around the house would be a good idea. Some states that ban recording without all-party consent have a loophole of making stealth recordings admissible if a crime is caught on them. Ask your friend about your legal options.
If he does get physical and cops are called, lie down before they arrive, calmly tell police you can’t get up, say “yes” to needing an ambulance and request a friend be called to watch your son. You likely will feel eerily calm if cops arrive, both out of relief (police know the reaction well) and because shock is incredibly numbing. High cortisol from fight or flight can cause numb hands and feet, ringing in the ears, etc., but this can also be due to spinal or other injuries. Sensations can be so dulled that you won’t know how serious any injuries are until days later and you can make things worse by moving around. And staying still and agreeing to an ambulance makes it much harder for an abuser to fabricate stories about you being violent and getting you arrested under a dual arrest policy if that exists in your region. Even if he does demand your arrest, they’d still have to take you to the hospital first which gives time for polie to review evidence like recordings or witness statements and to put pressure on him to retract his accusation under threat of being charged for making false statements so that you may not be arrested at all.
I hope it doesn’t come to anything like that. Please stay safe.
☝️Yep, he destroyed things. Never his own. Always mine. Then some more expensive or irreplaceable items. Then kicked a infant-stage puppy.
Bedtime crying enraged him. Opposite of my compassion.
Patience would’ve been good enough. Then it was me.
Many thanks HOC, providing me/us with your wealth of knowledge is so appreciated.
Mine routinely trashed the place, pulled wardrobes over and broke things. It was scary as hell and awful for the kids!
The most talented abusers never have to take their hands out of their pockets to psychologically flatten their partners. It’s what DV researcher Donald Dutton refers to as a typical “beat by need” pattern of batterers: most abusers would prefer less legally risky, less athletic means of paralyzing their prey but may lack the skills. That’s why it’s hopeful that coercive control legislation is starting to surface in some places though I’m still nervous about enforcement in case it’s misused against victims.
I don’t recommend provoking them into violence, but sometimes that is the way it spins. Be prepared for it and have an escape plan.
I hope her attorney has ample proof of the health risks he exposed to a pregnant woman, healing woman and fetus and newborn – without her consent.
I hope there’s a morals clause in his contract with his manager if she’s independent or CAA who represents a lot of artists. Inappropriate use of marital funds if nothing else. I hope she expensed some of their affair action.
Congratulations to VelvetHammer, and thanks for giving me a lot of wisdom to ponder and remember.
Congratulations too, to everyone here who has held back when justifiably furious, and channeled that rage and anger to better outcomes for themselves and kids.
My adage is to enjoy the music, movie, book, but do not confuse the artist with the characters or lyrics.
Regardless of the backstory, I have compassion for any woman with a newborn and a young child. When I was in that condition, I thought I would lose my mind on a regular basis. By the way, the father of my children found time to cheat. You see, motherhood is just not as fun and sexy as the relationship was pre-children. However, he found time to cheat then, too. Cannot make up a reason, and neither could he, except “I was drunk and weak. I’ll never do that again. Trust me and forgive me.”
It is the essence of being a chump, IMHO. You love, and you want to believe in the dream, and you see life thru the same goggles the drivers ed teachers put on you to simulate drunk driving. You are drunk on the dream.
I don’t condone violence either. But I also would not classify a slap as an assault. I think a woman in this position should be tried in front of a chump jury. I’m sure she would be found not guilty, and she would be awarded damages for his having the selfish gall to cheat on her.
“Drunk on the dream”. ????????????
For those of us who are older, a woman slapping a man in decades past was never thought of as “assault.” It happened a lot in old movies. And it was usually in a situation where a man had behaved badly, and the audience was encouraged to believe that she did the “right” thing because he had it coming!
Yes, it was acceptable for a woman to slap a man (once) for misbehaving.
In real life, (1960s & 70s) it was acceptable for a parent or teacher to spank misbehaving children.
Probably why I don’t think of it as an assault. I know it’s not always true, but usually men are stronger and bigger, at least the ones I was in a relationship with. If a man behaves like a cad, he gets slapped. Sometimes it is humorous and playful, not a hard slap in the face but a slap on the arm. Maybe I need to look into my FOO thinking? I see a slap as a warning — you’ve gone too far bucko. It is not like a punch with a fist. But I can see where it would be a dangerous precedent. Also, not acceptable for a man to slap a woman. I don’t remember ever slapping my ex’s in the face, but I know they pushed me sometimes so hard I wanted to.
I do remember an exchange of slaps in the face that happened between me and my mother when I was a teenager. She was angry at something I had done, or wanted to do, as usual, and I said something with my smart-ass mouth. She slapped me, it shocked me, and I slapped her back. It was an awful moment where we had both gone a step too far. I feel we were both wrong — we acted in anger, and it could have gone completely off the rails. Obviously not a good idea, not a fine moment in parenting, either.
I am old school about discipline for children. I could never reason with a 2- or 3-year-old. I would slap their hands, turn them around and slap a well-padded diapered bottom to discourage bad behavior. There were some spankings. I was raised this way. It was not child abuse, for my FOO. I was not beaten; I did not beat my children. I realize this is a big argument in the world of child rearing. My parents were parents, not friends. Sometimes they were overbearing and unfair, particularly my dad. But there was a cause and effect to their discipline. If they said “Stop it” or “Don’t do that,” and we did it anyway, we were punished. We were raised to respect our elders, that it was not our place to question adults. They insisted on manners.
There are probably better ways to deal with discipline, I think this was expedient. But I will say this — it got results. My siblings and I know how to treat other people, particularly our elders. My children have good manners. Their employers have commented on it, to me, when I would drop off or pick up my sons from their first jobs. I really believe this country would be better off if people acted with some respect towards others. You don’t have to agree with someone to be civil.
Cheating is an insult, and an assault. A slap does not seem disproportionate but it’s probably not a good idea.
Yes, but the opposite was true, too. A woman “had it coming.” Even I Love Lucy is full of Ricky spanking Lucy or threatening to “turn you over my knee.”
After DD, but before I told him I knew, FW complained that I was waking him up at night beating my pillow. I don’t have words for the level of rage I felt. I’m lucky I didn’t kill him I guess.
Gawd he is ugly. But sad to say there’s men and women out there who get off on trophy fucks like doing Shania’s hub, Michelle’s hub, or Colin Firth’s wife etc. just so they can say they one upped the big star who obviously thinks he/she’s better than everyone, so rich in their big house.
Ha trophy fucks, good description.
I think all of us condone violence. A slap ? really? In time we see that they are simply not worth it. I was so angry and my xh is twice my size, and an x cop, I did not trust him on that! I did get satisfaction in other ways, i.e., while having a yelling match in our kitchen one day during divorce from hell, I grabbed his favorite coffee cups that his fav aunt (who was deceased) had given to us as part of our wedding gift. 30 years he loved those cups. I held them both above my head and dropped them on the floor. I said thats what “shattered looks and feels like”. He was LIVID !!!! lol
I’m super not into this name-calling about people’s looks, even cheaters. It’s their character that’s the issue. Not their face, or their weight, or their dress sense.
I don’t like it either. It’s something you have to remain above because many of our ex-spouses put down our looks as a manipulation technique. There was always something wrong with my face, my body, my eating habits according to FW exh. That was my first abusive red flag and I should have heeded it. I should have left then.
I don’t punch down. Cheating is an abusive power dynamic. It’s narcissistic. It’s unilaterally changing the terms of engagement to benefit oneself. Ergo, snark to power. Bring ’em down. Ridicule them. Zero apologies.
Yep, they had no issue dissing us to their adultery partners, and doing whatever they could to destroy us. I am sure the adultery partners dissed right back.
Hey, it’s your snarky, wonderful blog, you can do what you like : )
However, for me, name-calling about looks dilutes the very powerful and important messages.
Most, if not all of the chumps here on CL would never stoop to make disparaging remarks about someone’s looks, weight, fashion sense, etc. However, when it comes to cheaters and their APs’ I say “open season”. Cheaters and AP’s fancy themselves to be special, above the rest in looks, success and intelligence. The way they make chumps feel like shit about themselves before the cruel discard, the way they make their own kids feel like less than is beyond disgusting. So yes, we can certainly make remarks about their lack of character but it feels pretty fucking good to zero in on their imperfections mostly due to their delusional sense of superiority. Plus, it’s a laugh and good release.
Absolutely, my fws whore was short and fat. Now I would have never thought anything about it had she not been his whore. But she was so I will use this safe place to say what ever I want to say. If someone doesn’t like it they can move along to another post.
Having said that my favorite description ever of a whore is rat faced whore. I use that now mostly on this site. My fw is a rat faced whore monger. Or was.
Basing our behaviors on another persons looks – not recommended.
This! They are rotten at the core and we all know that. None of the rest matters.
Im so glad she found out sooner rather than later! My idea of a nightmare is not being able to tell something’s off and let it go on for years (I gave 13 but I ache for those who put in several decades!)
Agreed.
I had at least ten years of a fake m, per the exiting fw. Likely the whole 21 years. My way of handling it was with time, I have no real clear memories of fw and I; but I have taken out the memories of me and my son and our time together and remember those sweet times.
If I have a longing to remember young love, I use the memory of the sweet guy I dated before I met fw. Since I never saw the other guy again, he remains unspoiled by pain.
Worked for me.
I also have great memories of my now H and our years together with our children and grandchildren.
Why is her slapping him illegal but my cheater ex giving me multiple severely painful and expensive to treat infections with the cheating a-okay?
Because we have only just gotten around to acknowledging that “stealthing” is assault and abusive. As far as I know, it’s only illegal in California. Or at least California spelled it out for the assholes who do it.
Well, he cheated on his first wife; may have cheated on his second with his third wife; and cheated on his third wife.
https://www.salon.com/2011/03/03/grollmus_divorce_from_black_keys/
Damn it. I really like The Black Keys when I knew nothing about the musicians. So often it is better not to know anything about them. Ignorance IS bliss when listening to Pandora, Spotify and Garden Radio. Damn it.
THIS IS ESPECIALLY FOR THE MALE CHUMPS! When I filed for divorce my lawyer warned me that a lot of women will try to provoke you to respond physically so they can get a DV charge against you. So they can get the best settlement possible. He warned me to never respond physically to anything they say or do. My ex physically assaulted me a few times after DDay. She would get this smirk on her face and then get in my face screaming at me so much her face turned beet red. My ex wife would corner me and if I pushed her out of the way so I could get to the bathroom to lock myself in it she would scream at the top of her lungs “he is a DVer!” . It got so bad that my lawyer got the paperwork filed faster then usual. My lawyer, elders in church, and my family told to get out now for my physical safety. She has gone around telling everyone that her cheating was justified because I was an abuser. NEVER be alone with your cheater wife. I always had a friend with me when I would go over to the house.
I am 6’ 2” 300 lbs, my ex wife 5’ 6” inches tall. She couldn’t beat me up. I cringe when I read on here anyone physically assaulting anyone. I don’t care if it is this tiny woman who is hitting a man. I understand the anger though.
Side note, My now wife hit her ex husband when she found women (two different times) in their bed. I told you are fortunate that you didn’t get arrested and she said “I know”.
Important Information.
⚠️ Excellent WARNING ⚠️
Crimes of passions can still be the same as manslaughter in terms of punishment. Depends on the state.
I am not totally comfortable with that, as most anyone can claim it or lie about it.
But, I do understand the extreme anger upon discovery. Especially if you catch them in the act, and did not know it was going on, and even more-so if you catch them in your own home. Not to be confused with someone like (Betty Brodrick) who was well aware it was going on and broke in his home and killed them. I do believe that Betty was either troubled before the incident, or was driven crazy by the circumstances. Still, cold blooded planned murder, I just can’t get past.
Betty was treated horrible by her husband not only emotionally but financially; however she did have time to cool off and get some help. She appeared to be extremely resistant to any help.
Another crime of passion that I think should be acquitted if proved is if someone walks in on someone sexually assaulting, or trying to harm their child.
It really does have to be specific to circumstances.
But no one should ever rely on the hope for leniency even with mitigating circumstances. There’s a documentary out titled “And So I Stayed” about what still happens when victims kill their abusers in documented cases of self defense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM_wkVGr3oM
Depressing and unfair but there you have it. I’d rather go to prison than be dead and leave my children motherless but short of that crux, you’re right. It’s advisable to walk away.
See my anecdote above, under Velvet Hammer’s thread.
She’d already planted the seed (before DDay) with one of her fuckbuddies that I was a DVer, so it was a very small step to try to goad me into actually doing something that would work to her benefit legally.
My credo was: “At all times, act and speak as if the eyes of the court are on you AT ALL TIMES.” At least until the agreements are in place.
⚠️ Bonus WARNING ⚠️
Country music? I had no idea. Michelle Branch was my jam back in the aughts when she was doing the pop scene. I still listen to “Good-bye to You,” “All You Wanted,” “Breathe,” and “Everywhere” more than I’m going to admit.
I hope she gets it together and comes out on top.
Same here. I was listening to her pop in college and saw her in concert once.
I later caught onto The Wreckers but was a bit put off by how they chose that name. Michelle’s first husband said she and her writing/singing partner “looked like a couple of home wreckers” or something like that. So as much as I liked their music, it didn’t sit well with me that they were quite OK with looking “like home wreckers” and taking that as a name. I didn’t think that was a name I would want associated with myself. May as well call yourselves The Jezebels.
I never paid attention to how her first marriage ended and second one started. I am not a person who separates the art from the person. I still love those old songs from when she was barely out of her teens, though.
???? The Jezebels ????
Homewreckers, to Wreckers,
Maybe “HoWreckers”?
On this note….Whatcha wanna bet Melania called the Feds and said he has more stuff.
There’s the better response.
First, congratulations Velvet Hammer! Happy Sobriety Birthday— you are awesome contributor to CN!
As for Michelle Branch… assuming she wasn’t an OW too… I know where she’s coming from. In my first major relationship in my 20s, the guy I was with did some pretty terrible things, then woke me out of a dead sleep to fight with me, then he tried to climb into bed with me and I slapped him. He was 6’1” and a former college football player. I am neither. He called the police on me. It was my first time dealing with that kind of crazy narc behavior and dealing with police. And I broke it off with that douche bag after that. (The police saw right through him thank goodness)
But what happened with Tiger Woods? Remember his ex wife chased after him on Thanksgiving years ago — bashing his golf clubs into his car windshield and Tiger tried to get away and crashed the car. No charges came from that. No one seemed to think what she did was abusive. (I certainly don’t but it would have been easy to weaponize that even if Tiger didn’t press charges)
Trying to jump in someone’s bed against their protests carries distinct rapey overtones and I’m glad the police took things like that into consideration. If Woods had tried forcibly to climb into bed with Elin after screaming her out of a sound sleep (another well-recognized abuser tactic. You would never do this to someone who kept a gun under their pillow because it can trigger reaction before thought) she might have had some grounds but there’s been no further information on that event. By the letter of the law, she would have been in the wrong for attacking him if he hadn’t done anything menacing or assaultive in the moment. Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t think it’s a good idea to carve out loopholes making it legal to attack people for suspicion of betrayal since it’s a typical chronic batterer legal rationale and they’ve too often gotten away with it.
At first I thought from the mug shot that Branch had a bruise on her face which could mean Carney either initiated violence or reacted to her attack with violence or the police had roughed Branch up. But apparently it’s a port wine birthmark.
Anyway, CL’s reminder to run from confrontation with cheaters is spot on and sobering. For instance, in the debate over whether Elin Nordegren got away with allegedly battering a cheating Tiger Woods, some noted that there’s really no distinction under the law for whether anyone who initiates an attack against a partner is male or female. Nordegren may only have dodged assault charges because Woods didn’t want cops taking pictures of his injuries so might have been fuzzy about how he’d gotten them. Under the law it wouldn’t even have mattered if Woods could conceivably snap Nordegren’s neck with one gesture if he wanted to. If he hadn’t been actively attempting this just prior to her alleged attack, under the law she would still have been charged. The law wouldn’t factor if the public thought Woods had it coming and it shouldn’t unless we’re arguing that chronic batterers should get leniency for assault and murder if they had evidence of cheating or even mere suspicion of it (which is the defense of many demented chronic abusers).
Just out of support for the system of precedents and protecting victims of violence, no one should muddy the legal waters if they can avoid it. Unless someone can prove they were defending themselves against an imminent or ongoing attack, it’s a criminal act to get physical which is why even chronic battering victims have to be ever so careful of how they defend themselves from violence to avoid dual arrest policies or being charged as sole instigator. There’s no “stand your ground” loophole in dv like there is for home invasion in some places. It can even be grossly unfair. I remember a case like this where a victim of chronic physical abuse simply fired a warning shot into the ceiling to allegedly stop an alleged impending assault. She could even prove that her abuser had previously injured her but she still got charged. The court would not apply “stand your ground” law. It’s not legal to assault or physically threaten someone even an hour after they just assaulted you if the earlier attack wasn’t continuous and the victim can’t prove they weren’t free to leave or retreat.
Even if coercive control laws were applied to Branch’s situation and Carney were charged with psychological abuse/control, Branch would still be charged with assault. I think the only thing Branch can try to argue is post-partum psychosis. It might even have played a part but what a nightmare for her and her kids all the same. Even if it turns out Carney had been violent to Branch a week prior, I wouldn’t trust the system to include this as a factor.
CL is spot on. If you feel like hitting a cheating spouse, you need to step through the exit door of this marriage permanently. Hoping society will encourage people to leave marriages when cheating occurs. The saying Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater sticks around because it’s true!!
If you feel like hitting a cheater, you need …the EXIT door. Truth!
Has a name. Reactive abuse. Don’t fall for it!
Looking at the timeline she divorced Teddy February 18, 2015. She met Patrick February 8, 2015 at a Grammy party. He divorced his SECOND wife in 2016. So yeah looks like there could be some overlap with it all. I wouldnt put it past Patrick to see an unhappily married woman or separated and prey upon her. He knows he can profit from her. I also wouldnt put it past her to see a man who says hes unhappy or separated and run with it. Seems at the least naive on her part, at the most saying f- it regarding his wife, right?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=NERmgwWfnoI&feature=share
Go Michelle! I’m so sorry. I’m cracking up over the description of her hubby
He’s so ugly. I hate how it’s not considered abuse. Even if he had given her and the children HIV people would say “So?! Maybe he wasn’t happy! Maybe she didn’t put out enough! Children would rather die of AIDS and have a happy father!”
It’s all so not worth it. CL is right. Just silently remove everyone who thinks like that from your life, move on, and repeat the degenerate removal as often as necessary. I get why she slapped him but he’ll never take any responsibility and will just use that to harm her and their children even more.
Is this the same Michelle Branch that sang “Everywhere” back in the late 90s?
After being abused in all kinds of ways, including suspected adultery, the humiliation, anxiety, frustration & confusion were accumulating. In a perfect-storm moment, I Struck him. Once. Hard. In Anger. I was SHOCKED! He was too.
To this day, I don’t know how to judge myself about this incident.
Of course, I should have left before. Of course, I was guilty
of an act of violence. I could have had consequences. But…
Cognitively & objectively,
I don’t approve of Michelle’s act:
Emotionally & subjectively,
I understand it.
Pat Carney is one half of The Black Keys, brilliant band. He is an insane drummer and The Keys lyrics explore the complexities of love. Just some info, no one seems to know who he is. Very disappointing as I’m a huge fan and love their humour and humble approach.
I knew I always liked her.
I just wish she hadn’t slapped him. Not that he doesn’t deserve it, probably he deserves a lot worse, but she may have shot herself in the foot if there’s a custody battle.
Dammit Michelle – get rid of him entirely!
https://www.thecut.com/2022/09/michelle-branch-profile-interview.html
https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/michelle-branch-files-for-divorce-from-patrick-carney/
Stick the landing.