Former NFL star Marcellus Wiley is fighting back against claims that he was abusive to his estranged wife, Annemarie Wiley.
“We did not have a perfect marriage. We experienced disagreements, frustrations and periods of marital strain,” Marcellus, 51, stated in court documents obtained by Us on Tuesday, July 21. “However, I have never physically abused, sexually assaulted or intentionally harmed my wife at any point during our relationship, either before we were married or during the more than 12 years that we have been husband and wife.”
Annemarie, 42, and Marcellus — who married in June 2014 and share three children together — split earlier this month after an alleged altercation during a Florida vacation.
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star filed for divorce from Marcellus on July 6. She also requested a domestic violence restraining order against her estranged husband.
In court documents obtained by Us, Annemarie alleged Marcellus raped her on more than one occasion. She also claimed his verbal and emotional abuse is “constant” with his physical abuse occurring “approximately once a month, and at times more frequently.”
When responding to the domestic violence restraining order request, Marcellus denied his estranged wife’s claims.
“It particularly saddens me to read that Annemarie now characterizes our marital intimacy as rape. That allegation is completely false. I have never forced, coerced or sexually assaulted my wife,” Marcellus wrote via court docs. “Those allegations are profoundly painful to read because they bear no resemblance to the relationship I believed we shared. Until these proceedings were filed, Annemarie and I remained husband and wife living together in the same home with our three children. We had not separated.”
He continued, “The first time I learned that she was claiming I had abused her throughout our relationship was after these dissolution proceedings were initiated. That was shocking and devastating to me.”
Marcellus claimed in court docs that he was serving as the primary day-to-day caregiver to his three children.
In his latest filing, Marcellus argued that one of the hardest parts of the legal battle has been the loss of contact with his kids after a judge granted Annemarie’s request for a temporary restraining order earlier this month.
“My children know me as the father who wakes them up for school, prepares them for the day, drives them to school, picks them up each afternoon, coaches their teams, attends their practices and games, helps with homework and spends virtually every afternoon and evening with them,” he claimed in court documents. “That has been their daily routine for years.”
He continued, “The suggestion that I would intentionally harm my own children is as painful to me as the allegations that I abused my wife.”
Marcellus asked the court to deny Annemarie’s request for a domestic violence restraining order and make orders that are “in the best interests of our children.”
Us has reached out to Annemarie and Marcellus’ attorneys for additional comment.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
