Ronnie Ortiz-Magro Shut Down ‘Toxic’ Accusations About Relationship With Jen Harley Hours Before Domestic Violence Arrest

Just hours before Ronnie Ortiz-Magro was arrested for allegedly attacking Jen Harley, the Jersey Shore star gushed over his on-again, off-again girlfriend in an interview with Us Weekly Thursday. The couple has a history of alleged domestic violence on both sides, but Ortiz-Magro denied being in a “toxic” relationship with the mother of his 18-month-old daughter.

“Honestly, even though everyone thinks we’re toxic, she really does balance me out,” he told the outlet. “She really does keep me level because with her I have her and the baby, which is a family, which is what I want at the end of the day.”

He continued of his dreams of being a family man, “The Jersey Shore thing and being single, it will always be there. And Pauly [DelVecchio] and Vinny [Guadagnino] have proved that, like, 10 years later. It’s not what I want, it’s not I want to strive for, like, I’m doing what I’m doing.”

“I’m building a business so that I can pass something down to my kids so that they can have something that I’ve never had and I’m not doing it for me,” he added. “I’m blessed that Jersey Shore has given me enough that I’m thankful and I’m happy I’m doing this because I want to give more back to my family and my kids. That’s where I’m at.”

Since first getting together in 2017, Ortiz-Magro and Harley have broken up multiple times, with Harley facing arrest on domestic violence allegations herself in January 2019 and April 2018, both of which she was not charged for in the end.

“You know, we’re still not perfect, but we’re still working on our relationship every day,” the reality star added to Us of their relationship. “I really think it is [about] being the best parents that we can be to [daughter Ariana] and that we’re doing a great job so far.”

Early Friday morning, police responded to the couple’s L.A. Airbnb after Ortiz-Magro was accused of hitting Harley during a heated fight. TMZ reported that the MTV personality was holding both his daughter and a knife during the attack, shutting himself inside the home when police arrived to take him into custody. Officers reportedly broke down the door and tased Ortize-Magro as he was resisting being taken into custody.

Official charges have yet to be announced.

Photo credit: Jason LaVeris / Contributor, Getty