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RHOC’s Gina Kirschenheiter’s Estranged Husband Matt Pleads Not Guilty to Domestic Battery, False Imprisonment

Matt Kirschenheiter, the estranged spouse of Real Housewives of Orange County star Gina Kirschenheiter, is keen on maintaining his innocence after being charged with domestic violence and false imprisonment.

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Matt, 35, entered a not guilty plea to his two felony charges on Friday, September 6, at the Orange County Superior Court in California.

“Matt maintains his innocence,” Edward Welbourn, Matt’s attorney, said on Friday. “The divorce and the alleged incident is unfortunate, and there are unfortunately three children who also are going through this. In these cases, where there are no witnesses, it comes down to the credibility of the people.”

Welbourn continued to state that Matt “has always been a family man” and “a hardworking man who has provided for his family,” noting further that Matt has “fantastic credibility.”

RHOC Matt Kirschenheiter Pleads Not Guilty Amid Legal Battle
Matt Kirschenheiter and Gina Kirschenheiter. Courtesy Gina Kirschenheiter/Instagram

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Matt was arrested on June 22 on charges related to domestic violence, and he was released the following day. Soon after the arrest, Gina, also 35, filed for a restraining order against her estranged husband.

The Orange County District Attorney officially charged Matt with domestic violence on Wednesday, September 4. Documents obtained by Us Weekly stated that he “willfully and unlawfully inflicted corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon” Gina.

Since Matt was formally charged on Wednesday, he was then ordered to appear in court two days later. He promptly posted a $50,000 bond after entering his plea, and he will not be required to return to jail at this time.

Though Matt pleaded not guilty and will remain out of jail, for the time being, the judge approved of Gina’s restraining order. It requires him to remain 100 feet away from her.

Related: ‘Real Housewives’ Couples Who Filed for Divorce After Appearing on TV

This protective measure does not pertain to their shared children — daughter Sienna, 5, and sons Nicholas, 7, and Luca, 4 — because they reached a custody agreement during their July divorce proceeding.

Matt was also instructed to hand over any firearms in his possession to officials.

Gina and Matt revealed their plans to separate after seven years of marriage in July 2018. News of their split came right before season 13 of RHOC debuted on Bravo. Gina does not blame the series for causing the breakup.

“It’s a very complicated situation and I do think that it wasn’t the show,” Gina told Us in September 2018. “I think that moving to California had a very big, big impact on our relationship. Because when we were on Long Island it was a community of people surrounding us.”

She continued, “I think that had I known that this was gonna happen, I actually wouldn’t have done the show … I mean nobody really wants to get divorced while they’re on a reality show. It’s hard to watch.”

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