Jersey Shore's Ronnie Ortiz-Magro Accuses Ex Jen Harley of 'Abandoning' Their Daughter
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro has once again brought his rocky relationship with ex-girlfriend Jen Harley into the public eye.
The Jersey Shore star slammed Harley in a series of confusing and angry posts on his Instagram Story on Thursday, accusing her of “abandoning” their 20-month-old daughter Ariana. The posts have since been deleted.
PEOPLE has reached out to Ortiz-Magro’s rep for comment. Harley’s attorney Lisa Bloom issued the following statement to PEOPLE in response to the allegations:
“Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is currently the subject of domestic violence restraining orders banning him from disturbing the peace of my client, Jenn Harley. Nevertheless he chose today to post cruel and false statements about her, along with her work phone number, causing her to be subjected to a barrage of hate calls and texts from his followers. Jenn Harley simply wants to work and care for her baby daughter in peace.We will be taking appropriate legal action.”
A source close to Ortiz-Magro tells PEOPLE: “Ron is frustrated with people falsifying stories about him as a person and father, this entire situation in general. Legally, he can’t see his daughter and it’s hurting him beyond belief. He just wants whats best for her, she is his number one priority.”
In his first post, Ortiz-Magro, 33, shared a screenshot of a text exchange with a friend named Andrew who informed Ortiz-Magro that baby Ariana had been with him overnight.
“When the courts give full custody to a person who abandons their kids?!” Ortiz-Magro captioned the screenshot.
In response to Andrew, Ortiz-Magro texted that Harley “can’t handle being a mother” and apologized, informing his friend he couldn’t come get his daughter due to Harley “holding this legal stuff over my head.”
Alongside another screenshot of his texts with Andrew, Ortiz-Magro wrote, “When the mother of your child leaves the state with no babysitter and won’t even come home to her.”
Alongside another screenshot of a text exchange, Ortiz-Magro wrote of Harley, “Knows [Ariana is] crying and decides getting drunk with a sugar daddy is better.”
“#FullCustody??”#AbandonmentOfAChildMuch,” he continued.
Ortiz-Magro continued, “I refuse to sit back anymore and let a mentally unstable person ruin my name, take my daughter, try to take my freedom with lies.”
“I am standing up for myself & my daughter and everyone else this person has been trying to hurt over the last week. Upset because I’ve moved on with my life,” he wrote. “I refuse to be bullied!!! I am a great father, an amazing person! I’ve been harassed for the last 2 weeks, people I care about being harassed about fake stories being made up! Let’s [sic] the world know the truth!!”
“All I have ever done is provide for my family and try to give a life to them I never had … I didn’t even want to stoop to this pathetic level of instability,” he added. “But how many fake articles can one person wake up to? How many fake lies can one person deal with that my daughter will have to hear? How much emotional abuse, mental control can one person tolerate? How many people can I let this person try to destroy in my life that I carry about? I’m sticking up for myself, my daughter and the people in my life that this mentally unstable person has been harassing & threatening!!”
RELATED: Jersey Shore‘s Pauly DelVecchio Says Ronnie Ortiz-Magro Is ‘Addicted’ to His ‘Toxic Relationship’
The exes have a volatile relationship history, each having accused the other of abuse and infidelity.
On Oct. 4, Ortiz-Magro was arrested on a kidnapping charge after an alleged altercation with Harley, 32. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE at the time that authorities responded to a battery report at around 2:40 a.m. “The victim and suspect were involved in some kind of physical altercation,” the spokesperson said. “Officers did have to use a taser on the suspect in which a minor use of force occurred. There was no further incident.”
Ortiz-Magro’s lawyer told PEOPLE in a statement at the time, “The reporting of the alleged incident relating to Ronnie Magro yesterday is based upon pure speculation and innuendo. We are currently conducting our own investigation and will have no further comment until that has been concluded.”
The reality star was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Harley, TMZ first reported. The order was in place until Oct. 11.
According to the outlet, the order did not prevent Ortiz-Magro from seeing his daughter; however, law enforcement had to be present if he requested a visit. He reunited with the toddler for the first time two weeks after the incident.
“He couldn’t be happier,” a source told PEOPLE on Oct. 17. “Ariana is his whole world and he was really upset over the fact that he couldn’t see her. Ron is co-parenting the best that he can. He wants the best for Ariana.”
According to Harley’s attorney Lisa Bloom, Harley obtained another restraining order against Ortiz-Magro on Nov. 8.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office turned the case over to the City Attorney. Ortiz-Magro was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, one count of brandishing a weapon, child endangerment, resisting arrest and threatening to commit a crime, a City Attorney’s office spokesperson told PEOPLE on Oct. 24. He was additionally charged with willingly and unlawfully depriving Harley of her personal liberty, plus two charges of resisting arrest — one for each officer.
On Nov. 8, he appeared in a Los Angeles court and pleaded not guilty to seven charges, including false imprisonment of Harley, his rep confirmed to PEOPLE.
Harley has faced legal trouble of her own due to alleged altercations with Ortiz-Magro. In June 2018, she allegedly dragged him with her car while their infant daughter was in the backseat, landing him in a sling. She was arrested and charged with domestic battery; the Clark County District Attorney’s Office later confirmed to PEOPLE that there was “insufficient evidence” to prosecute her.
In October 2018, Ortiz-Magro posted a photo of himself with a bruised face and black eye and blamed the injuries on Harley; she fired back with screenshots of their text exchanges and claimed he was “begging” her to take him back. At the time, Harley’s legal representative told PEOPLE they “do not know when that photo [of the black eye] was taken or how the injury occurred.”
Another alleged altercation took place between the couple on New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas. At the time, a source told PEOPLE Harley allegedly “lunged” at Ortiz-Magro after the two got into a fight at a party, “took an ashtray from the table and threw it at his head, busting his nose and lip.” The Clark County District Attorney’s Office later confirmed to PEOPLE that Harley would not face domestic battery charges.
