Mom to the rescue. Ronnie Ortiz-Magro‘s ex Jen Harley documented her drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles to pick up the pair’s daughter after the Jersey Shore star, 35, was arrested for domestic violence.
“I want my baby home,” Harley, 32, wrote in an Instagram Story on Thursday, April 22, shortly after Us Weekly confirmed the MTV personality’s arrest. The Nevada native shared footage of herself cruising down the highway at sunset, saying it was the “last time” she’s “ever making this drive.”
Harley and Ortiz-Magro, who share 3-year-old Ariana, have face plenty of ups and downs since the beginning of their rocky romance in 2017. The duo called it quits for good in October 2019 and continue to split time with their daughter. When the reality star was arrested on Thursday, a source told Us that Ariana was with him “but [was] in safe hands” after the incident.
The Los Angeles Police Department also confirmed the arrest, noting that the booking was slated as “intimate partner violence with injury with priors,” referring to Ortiz-Magro’s prior arrests. His bail was set at $100,000 but by Friday, April 23, he was released on bond.
The Famously Single alum’s lawyers, Scott E. Leemon and Leonard Levine, addressed the incident in a statement to Us on Thursday, noting that they would “need some additional time to further investigate” the situation. “As such, we will not be making any other statements at this time,” they said.
Ortiz-Magro was previously arrested in October 2019 after an alleged domestic violence dispute with Harley where Ariana was present. At the time, he was charged with seven misdemeanors, including domestic violence, child endangerment, brandishing a weapon, criminal threats, false imprisonment and two counts of resisting arrest. The New York City native pleaded not guilty to all charges one month later and was later put on a three-year probation.
Also included in his plea deal was an order to complete 30 days of community labor in his state of residence, Nevada, and a $20,000 fine paid to the Jewish Family Services of L.A., a women’s shelter in Los Angeles. He was also required to finish a 52-week domestic violence program, but a source told Us at the time that Ortiz-Magro began the classes three months prior “on his own free will, not because he was ordered.”
Both the exes have moved on with new people since their split. The Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star introduced his girlfriend, Saffire Matos, to his Instagram followers in October 2020, and two months later, Us exclusively confirmed that Harley was “excited” about a new man in her life named Joe.
Ortiz-Magro gushed over his new relationship during an exclusive interview with Us last fall, noting that Matos, 30, brought a new sense of positivity to his life.
“It’s different for me because I found someone that adds to my happiness,” he said in November 2020.
At the time, he felt like he was in the “happiest place” after facing a challenging few years in the spotlight. “[I] realized [the hard moments are] going to make [me] stronger and it’s going to build me as a person and as a man,” he told Us. “And that’s what I want because that’s who I want my daughter to watch me grow up to. I want her to see me grow up to be the man I am, basically.”
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Keep scrolling for a look at Harley’s journey to reunite with her daughter:
