The past few days have been tough for Michelle Branch. On August 11, she accused husband and The Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney of infidelity, writing in a now-deleted tweet, “Just found out my husband cheated on me with his manager […] while I was home with our 6 month old daughter.” This morning, she confirmed she and Carney are separating, saying in a statement, “To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”
Now, there’s another layer to the story: Branch was reportedly arrested for domestic violence against Carney.
TMZ reports that police were called to Branch and Carney’s home for a possible domestic disturbance. This happened at around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning (August 11), which was shortly after Branch shared her aforementioned tweet, which was posted just minutes earlier at 1:28 a.m. According to court documents, Branch admitted to slapping Carney in the face “one to two times” and was arrested and taken into custody. Carney did not appear to have any visible injuries.
Page Six notes the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed with them that Branch was released late Thursday after posting a $1,000 bail. TMZ notes “it appears she was released from custody early because she’s breastfeeding the couple’s 6-month-old.” Page Six reports Branch has a hearing scheduled for November 7 to face a charge of domestic assault by offensive/provocative conduct.
Carney has yet to offer a public statement about the alleged infidelity or Branch’s domestic assault charge.
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