SWAT officers surrounded Real Housewives of Orange County star Elizabeth Vargas’ Newport Beach home on Wednesday and brought semi-automatic weapons after her ex-boyfriend barricaded himself inside her home.
TMZ reports Vargas called the police on Tuesday to report the ex for extortion. It was after Vargas made the call that he showed up at the house and locked himself inside as he refused to cooperate with police. After an hours-long standoff, police were able to take the one person in the home into custody. The outlet reports Vargas wasn’t harmed in the situation. Sources close to the reality TV star say she’s been having issues with the man in question for some time now.
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According to KCAL, police identified the suspect in custody as Ryan Matthew Geraghty. He’s currently being held on charges including suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, extortion and a felon in possession of a firearm.
The standoff reportedly started around 5:45 p.m. and went on for two hours. Officers decided to enter the home and discovered the suspect was “actively threatening the life of the victim.” Vargas’ manager confirmed the victim to be the RHOC star. “She was being held captive for a number of hours and is extremely thankful to the Newport Beach Police Department, who was able to rescue her and get her out of harm’s way,” Weintraub told the outlet in a statement. “She spent the entire night with the Newport Beach Police Department going over what exactly happened and she is just glad to be safely out of the situation.”
Following the incident, her manager gave Us Weekly an update on Vargas’ condition. “She’s shaken up and had an extremely traumatic experience,” Weintraub said in a statement. “Fortunately, the Newport Police Department saved her and she’s doing well.”
Vargas began dating Geraghty following her divorce from ex-husband Bernt Bodal. Vargas and Bodal officially split in 2017 after 17 years of marriage, but their divorce wasn’t finalized until 2020.
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