Bachelorette alum Chad Johnson was visited by police at his home on Friday, February 28, after he reportedly posted a photo that sparked concerns of self-harm.
The former reality TV personality, 32, allegedly shared a picture of a rope on his Instagram Story earlier that day beside the words, “It’ll be okay.” According to TMZ, a friend of Johnson’s saw the since-deleted photo and quickly called local police. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Us Weekly that a welfare check was made at Johnson’s residence later that morning. Though authorities would not name of the person involved, “it was determined that they posed no threat to his [or] herself, nor to anyone else.”
The alleged incident comes days after the former Bachelor in Paradise star was involved in a drunken altercation with his girlfriend, Annalise Mishler, on Monday, February 24, following a “big relapse” in his drinking habits. Johnson was later arrested on account of “robbery with a domestic violence enhancement.”
A source told Us at the time that Johnson took his 25-year-old girlfriend’s phone “and chucked it over a fence,” leading a bystander to call 911 for her. “He did hit [her],” the source claimed. “It’s not the first time, but the first time [she] involved police. She was genuinely scared.”
Two days after his arrest, Johnson took to Instagram to share his side of the story, admitting that he was “devastated” by what had occurred.
“I had made a promise to myself and to my girlfriend that I wouldn’t do that anymore,” he said in the emotional video. “Whenever I do drink, I don’t act right. I screwed up and I drank.”
Although Mishler documented the hole Johnson allegedly punched in her wall on social media, the Bachelorette alum said he has “never laid [his] hands on a woman.”
“There was never any domestic abuse of any kind. I have never laid hands on a woman anytime in my entire life,” Johnson said. “I was in the Marine core; I was taught core values. I have a sister. I am a very over protective brother … I can totally understand why Annalise felt threatened whenever I took her phone, but I am 100 percent confident [that] any type of domestic abuse charges are going to be dropped, because there was never any time of domestic abuse at all whatsoever.”
Mishler filed a restraining order against Johnson in the wake of the incident. The pair have been dating since September 2019.
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.
