‘To Catch a Predator’ Host Chris Hansen’s Wife Files for Divorce Amid Legal and Financial Woes

To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen’s legal woes just multiplied. Hansen’s wife of 30 years, Mary Joan, filed for divorce before his arrest this week, according to Radar Online.

The news outlet reports that Joan ended their marriage in June, claiming in court documents that their “marriage has broken down irretrievably.” She also requested alimony and “a fair division of property and debts.”

The estranged couple, who share two children, met on Tuesday to mediate “financial disputes,” and are set to appear in court later this month, according to Radar.

The divorce comes seven years after Hansen was caught having an affair with NBC anchor Kristyn Caddell. The National Enquirer reported that Hansen and Caddell had an extramarital relationship for four months.

Meanwhile, Hansen and Joan have reportedly been living on opposite coasts for a “long time,” with Cadddell telling Radar in 2013 that Hansen said he was going to get a divorce.

Hansen previously made headlines after he was arrested and charged with issuing bad checks. Promotional Sales Limited owner Peter Psichopaidas told the Stamford Police Department in Connecticut that Hansen failed to pay nearly $13,000 for merchandise. Investigators discovered that Hansen had attempted to pay with two bad checks over the course of Psichopaidas and police’s year-long effort to get Hansen to pay.

Hansen turned himself into police custody in Connecticut on Monday, was arrested and released without bond on that same day after signing a written vow to appear in court.

Following his arrest, reports surfaced that he was evicted from his Manhattan apartment last week. Legal documents obtained by TMZ show that Hansen, 59, last paid rent on the apartment in August 2018, but was $400 short. He stopped sending in checks completely after that and was taken to court by the building owner in October. The building owner also filed paperwork demanding that Hansen be evicted.

Last week, a judge ordered Hansen to leave in 10 days, meaning that his official eviction day is Friday, when city marshals will come in and remove his property.

Hansen is best known for hosting To Catch A Predator, a popular Dateline NBC segment where he trapped potential internet sex predators in sting operations with police departments across the country. The segments ended in 2007, but Hansen most recently hosted the syndicated series Crime Watch Daily, which ran from 2015 to 2018.

Hansen has not publicly commented on his arrest or eviction.