‘The Bachelor’ Creator Mike Fleiss Settles Divorce With Wife After Assault Allegations

Mike Fleiss has reportedly settled his divorce from wife Laura Kaeppeler after she alleged assault against The Bachelor creator. TMZ reports that Kaeppeler, 31, dropped the assault accusations against Fleiss, 55, after he filed for divorce earlier this month.

The settlement will reportedly allow both parties to receive joint custody of their 4-year-old son, Benjamin, with Kaeppeler also receiving $10 million as part of the deal. Kaeppeler had previously requested sole custody of Benjamin.

Kaeppeler, who is 11 weeks pregnant, previously alleged that Fleiss assaulted her and requested that she terminate the pregnancy of their second child. She obtained a temporary restraining order against Fleiss and a court date was scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 6.

“While Mike has frequently been verbally abusive towards me during our marriage, in recent weeks, he has become enraged, due to the fact I am pregnant with our second child,” she claimed in court documents. “Mike told me many times that he did not want us to have a second child.”

Kaeppeler further claimed Fleiss threatened to hurt her several times, including telling her he was going to “shove [her] down the stairs” on July 6.

“I have been hiding in a hotel for the past several days with Ben,” the former pageant queen said, adding that she was afraid of Fleiss. “And want to be able to return home without fear for myself, my son and my unborn child.”

Fleiss denied Kaeppeler’s allegations at the time and made his own accusations against the former Miss America, claiming in legal documents obtained by The Blast that she informed him she was using birth control. Fleiss additionally claimed that he “did not want to have another child as Laura had issues with emotional stability and had a difficult time caring for Ben when he was a baby.”

Fleiss and Kaeppeler married in a 2014 ceremony in Malibu officiated by Fleiss’ friend and colleague, Bachelor franchise host Chris Harrison.

Harrison broke his silence on the drama earlier this month on his girlfriend Lauren Zima’s Bachelor Party podcast, saying it was “very personal, private matter.”