Michelle Branch was arrested for domestic violence for slapping her cheater husband
Last Thursday, reports started to come out that Michelle Branch and Patrick Carney were splitting after seven years together. Carney, who is the drummer for The Black Keys, met Branch in 2015 as she was getting out of her first marriage to Teddy Landau. Carney and Branch got engaged in 2017, and in April 2018, they welcomed their son Rhys James Carney. Earlier this year, they welcomed daughter Willie Jacquet Carney. Branch also has a 17-year-old daughter, Owen Isabelle Landau, with her first husband. So, Branch and Carney seemed happy together. Then early Thursday morning, she tweeted this:
She later deleted it, but she clearly just learned at that moment that Carney was cheating on her just months after she gave birth to their daughter. Something else happened in those early hours on Thursday: Carney called the police on his wife and pressed charges against her for… slapping him. She clearly slapped him because he cheated, and then he got the Nashville police to put her in handcuffs:
Michelle Branch was arrested for allegedly slapping her estranged husband, Patrick Carney, in the face … this in the wake of her claim he cheated on her. According to docs out of Nashville, obtained by TMZ, on Thursday at around 2 AM police were called to their home for a possible domestic disturbance. Michelle admitted she had slapped Patrick in the face “one to two times,” according to court docs.
Patrick did not have any visible injuries and Michelle was taken into custody. Her bail was set at $1,000 … and it appears she was released from custody early because she’s breastfeeding the couple’s 6-month-old.
TMZ broke the story, Branch and Carney are splitting after 3 years of marriage. She told us Thursday, “To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”
The split announcement came just hours after Michelle tweeted accusing Carney of cheating. Michelle was previously married to Teddy Landau from 2004 to 2015, but married Carney in 2019. We reached out to Michelle’s rep … so far, no word back.
While violence is never the answer, I think most women completely understand what happened and why she reacted that way. And dear god, Patrick Carney cheated on his wife and then called the cops on his wife when she slapped him? WTF?? I hope she hires the best lawyer in Nashville and makes Carney pay through the nose.
Also: this gives me a new perspective on Jack White’s years-long beef with The Black Keys. I wonder if White knew something we didn’t.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
148241, Michelle Branch and Patrick Carney arrive at Universal Music Group’s 2016 GRAMMY After Party at The Theatre At The Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. Los Angeles, California – Monday February 15, 2016. Photograph: © Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews.,Image: 507007536, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews / Avalon 
148241, Michelle Branch arrives at Universal Music Group’s 2016 GRAMMY After Party at The Theatre At The Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. Los Angeles, California – Monday February 15, 2016. Photograph: © Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews.,Image: 525551398, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews / Avalon 
148241, Michelle Branch and Patrick Carney arrive at Universal Music Group’s 2016 GRAMMY After Party at The Theatre At The Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. Los Angeles, California – Monday February 15, 2016. Photograph: © Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office: +1 310.822.0419,Image: 532164765, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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