Who Is Karen Derrico? 4 Things to Know About the Former TLC Star Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Her Ex and Kids

Former TLC star Karen Derrico has returned to the spotlight following her divorce and a shocking arrest.

The reality TV star, best known for Doubling Down With the Derricos, drew public attention after she was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill her ex-husband, Deon Derrico, and their 14 children. The legal trouble emerged after the former couple finalized their divorce.

Amid the recent headlines, here's everything to know about Karen's life and legal situation.

Before her recent legal issues came to light, Karen was widely recognized for her TLC fame. She appeared on Doubling Down With the Derricos, which ran for five seasons before its cancelation shortly after she and Deon filed for divorce in 2024.

"Guess what today is?" he said in an Instagram video. "It is officially the day that the Derricos are no longer signed with TLC. We have no obligation to TLC as of today. I have been waiting all this time to share this with you all. I am super excited."

Deon then clarified they decided not to renew their contract with the network.

"We chose to no longer go forward with filming with TLC. That was totally done by us," he said.

The father-of-14 continued, "And don't misunderstand me, TLC was great. We love TLC, we still love TLC, we still want to watch TLC. We just won't be watching Doubling Down With the Derricos on TLC."

Karen and Deon, who tied the knot in 2005, filed for divorce on June 4, 2024, after nearly two decades of marriage.

"Together, we remain unified in the parenting of our 14 beautiful children — their well-being is our priority," they shared in a joint statement. "We thank everyone for their understanding and support as we move forward for the good of our family."

A judge signed off on the split on June 6, according to TMZ. The former couple will split custody of their 13 minor children, with Deon paying more than $1,100 a month in child support and Karen paying the medical insurance premiums of their kids.

The reality stars welcomed 14 children during their marriage. Their family-of-16 grew in a rare pattern: two single births, followed by twins and quintuplets before they later welcomed another set of twins and triplets.

In 2022, Deon revealed they were open to having more children.

"We have not shut the factory down, and I can't tell you when we will, to be honest," he told Us Weekly. "From my perspective, I just have that empty nester fear. I want to always have a child, a baby, in the house with us. That's how I feel."

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Karen was arrested in Las Vegas on June 17 and charged with misdemeanor harassment, violation of temporary order for protection against domestic violence, preventing or dissuading witness from testifying or producing evidence with immediate threat or use of physical force and aggravated stalking constituting domestic violence. She was released from jail on June 21 and arraigned on June 23.

Per the complaint, she allegedly sent Deon messages, threatening to harm him and their children.

"I want you dead," she allegedly wrote in a message. "I could kill you and it won't even bother me to go to jail and I'll kill any of my kids if they take your side."

The documents added that Karen's alleged comments indicated "that she has a gun and making threats to kill him and/or his new girlfriend and/or his children and/or telling him there are lots of cousins and killing him would be easy and/or she will see to it that he dies a slow death."

Deon also discussed the claims in an interview with Us Weekly, sharing, "She didn't specify which one. It was a brawl. Like, 'I'll kill y'all. I'll go to jail for it. I'll gladly go to jail for it.' That was said several times."

Meanwhile, Karen's lawyer called the charges "total nonsense and fabricated by Mr. Derrico" in a statement.

"This has everything to do with him being spiteful and malicious and nothing to do with him being frightened or harassed," the lawyer added.