NEWSInside 'Jersey Shore' Alum Ronnie Ortiz-Magro's Custody Battle With Ex Jen Harley
Oct. 14 2022, Published 9:00 p.m. ET
Earlier this week, Jersey Shore alum Ronnie Ortiz-Magro made headlines after he was granted primary physical custody of his daughter, Ariana.
"Ariana's primary residence is with the father in California,” read legal documents obtained earlier this week, referencing the four-year-old, whom the MTV staple shares with ex-girlfriend Jen Harley.
This legal decision stemmed in part from the desire for stability for the tot as she started attending school.
“This order is made with the knowledge that Ariana will be starting school soon and needs a primary residence with one parent,” read the document, adding that “Ariana will be with father at all times."
Despite this decision, it seems Harley will still be allowed to visit her child.
"During the school year, the mother will have custody every second, third, fourth and fifth weekend from Friday at 6 p.m. until Sunday at 6 p.m.," the ruling explained, adding that Ortiz-Magro will have custody of his daughter during the first weekend following the court’s ruling.
But it seems this weekend clause isn’t the only caveat in the ex-couple’s custody terms. Alongside stating that "neither parent will consume any alcohol during his or her custodial periods,” the former flames will have “joint legal custody” of their daughter.
“In the event of a disagreement father shall have tiebreaker authority after making a good faith effort to meet and confer," the decision continued.
Despite this straightforward ruling, the two’s now-defunct romance has been anything but simple, ever since its 2017 inception.
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“She is the first person I finally fell in love with. I want to settle down and have a family,” the reality staple spilled of his girlfriend in November 2017, months after they first took their relationship public on social media. “She is that person for me.”
Though the duo welcomed Ariana in April 2018, they called it quits shortly after, partially due to a series of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation episodes in which Ortiz-Magro’s costars questioned his faithfulness to Harley.
Yet it seems these cheating allegations ran both ways. “Note to self, can’t turn a natural born HOE into a HOUSEWIFE, if you find them in the gutter, then leave them in the gutter,” the TV personality quipped in a deleted Instagram Story at the time. “Not all people can be saved when they are so far gone. All you can say you did your best and keep it moving.”
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Shortly after, Harley fired back with a post of her own. “Can’t turn a c**e head into a father!” she wrote.
Ortiz-Magro later issued an apology on social media. The pair ultimately got back together, dating on and off for the next several months, their breakups seemingly exacerbated by their various run-ins with the law.
The pair first engaged in a public altercation in June 2018. While authorities deemed that “a battery did not take place,” just weeks later, Harley was arrested for domestic battery following an incident involving the couple’s car. She was ultimately not charged with any crimes due to “insufficient evidence.”
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The following October, Ortiz-Magro took to social media sharing a photo of himself with a black eye, hinting that Harley was to blame.
“Sorry for lying to my friends and family, sometimes you love people so much you’re willing to lie and [then] hurt the people that love you the most to protect,” he wrote at the time. It is unclear when the photo was taken.
The pair continued breaking up and getting back together for another year, finally, calling it quits for good after the Jersey Shore cast member was arrested in October 2019. He was hit with seven different charges, including willfully inflicting corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant, false imprisonment and child endangerment.
Though the star plead not guilty to these accusations, he was ordered to stay away from Harley and their child. He ultimately agreed to a plea deal, in which he was required to complete 36 months of probation, 30 days of community service, as well as donate $20,000 to a battered women's shelter.
Despite moving on with new partners, both Ortiz-Magro and Harley were respectively arrested in domestic violence cases in 2021.
