Julie Banderas' Estranged Husband Allegedly Threatened Her With Knife

By Daniel S. Levine

Fox News anchor Julie Banderas' estranged husband Andrew Sansone was reportedly arrested for allegedly putting a steak knife to her throat during a December argument. News of the arrest surfaced on Feb. 16, days after Banderas announced she was getting a divorce during the Feb. 9 episode of Fox News' Gutfield! talk show. The topic of her divorce came up when she and host Greg Gutfield were talking about Valentine's Day.

Sansone, 55, was arrested and charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon for an alleged incident at the former couple's Southampton, New York home, according to documents obtained by The Daily Mail last week. On Dec. 14, he allegedly became angry when Banderas, 49, ate mashed potatoes he made for their children, papers filed in Southampton town court note. Banderas claims he grabbed a steak knife and pointed it at her neck, which caused her to fear for her life. Their children, ages 6, 10, and 12, were in another part of the house during the alleged incident.

Banderas called the police five days after the alleged incident. Sansone was led out of their house while their children were at school, sources told The Daily Mail. A judge granted Banderas a restraining order that bars Sansone from visiting her. However, he can still visit their children through curbside pickups.

According to the police report, Sansone and Banderas argued about money, their pending divorce, and child custody earlier in the day on Dec. 14, sources told The Daily Mail. Sansone is seeking primary custody of their children and financial support from Banderas, the sources said. Sansone is a financial advisor and filed for divorce in March. However, the two continued living together during their divorce proceedings.

Banderas and Sansone were married for nearly 14 years. On Dec. 8, Banderas referred to her husband as a "soon-to-be-ex" in a tweet. However, her divorce did not attract widespread attention until Feb. 9 when she talked about it on Gutfield! during a Valentine's Day segment.

"F— Valentine's Day. It's stupid. I mean, even when I was married, I didn't get s—," Banderas said on the show. "I'm getting a divorce. I am going to go ahead and say it right here for the very first time." The other panelists were left in shock, prompting Banderas to tell them that, "Congratulations are in order... That was breaking news, huh?" After the broadcast, some on Twitter thought she may have been joking. "I wasn't kidding," she responded to one fan.

Sources close to Banderas, who has been at Fox News since 2005, told The Daily Mail that she and Sansone had a "rocky relationship." Sansone was allegedly "uncomfortable" with Banderas' success at the network. The sources claimed Sansone would talk down to her, even in front of their children.

"They had a rocky relationship before," one of The Daily Mail's sources said. "Julie is extremely tough, mentally, and never let anything get to her, just plowing through whatever happened. But after he filed the divorce papers, it got especially awkward. He was making her feel very uncomfortable in her own home." 

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