A complicated breakup. Michelle Branch and Patrick Carney called it quits in August 2022 after three years of marriage — and their split got off to a rocky start.
The “Everywhere” singer announced the news in a statement, telling Us Weekly: “To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”
Hours before announcing the split, however, Branch was arrested for domestic assault and taken into custody in the couple’s hometown of Nashville. The “Goodbye to You” songstress was later released on $1,000 bail, and her next court date was scheduled for November 2022.
The Arizona native also posted a since-deleted tweet accusing the Black Keys drummer of cheating on her while she was at home with their youngest child, daughter Willa, who was born in February 2022. The duo also share son Rhys, who arrived in August 2018. (Branch also shares daughter Owen, born in August 2005, with ex-husband Teddy Landau.)
Carney did not publicly react to his partner’s claims about the alleged affair, and a representative for the musician did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Audio Eagle Studio founder and the Grammy winner met in 2015 while Carney was producing Branch’s album Hopeless Romantic and started dating shortly thereafter. “Pat has said, ‘I remember seeing you on MTV in the early 2000s and thinking you were really cute,'” Branch recalled to Billboard in March 2017. “It’s like, why couldn’t we have just met each other in our twenties? We would have saved so much heartache!”
Carney proposed to the “All You Wanted” singer on her birthday in 2017, and the duo tied the knot two years later in a ceremony held at the Marigny Opera House in New Orleans. “Favorite moment of 2019,” Branch wrote via Instagram at the time alongside a photo from the big day. “Hands down
.”
One year later, the “Leave the Pieces” musician revealed that she suffered a pregnancy loss. “Just when we were rounding third and heading home (A baseball metaphor?! I know.) 2020 was like, ‘nah, I ain’t done yet,’” she wrote via Instagram in December 2020. “December decided to really finish us off with a bang! No, literally. A bomb went off in downtown Nashville yesterday. And to further twist a dagger in my heart, I experienced my first miscarriage (ugh! Motherf–ker!).”
Branch and the Rentals artist welcomed daughter Willa just over one year later.
Keep scrolling for more details on Branch and Carney’s split.
The "Game of Love" crooner announced her split from Carney on August 11, 2022. That same day, she accused her husband of cheating on her in a since-deleted Twitter post. Courtesy of Michelle Branch/Instagram
In her statement announcing the breakup, Branch implied that the split was sudden, saying, "The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward." Carney, for his part, did not comment on the situation or respond to his wife's allegations that he cheated on her. Broadimage/Shutterstock
Hours before she announced the duo's split, Branch was arrested for domestic assault in Nashville and taken into custody. "Michelle stated that she and her husband are having marital issues and had been arguing," read court documents obtained by Us. "The argument began at another location and continued when they arrived home. The argument escalated and Michelle admitted to slapping Patrick in the facial area one to two times." Carney, for his part, told authorities that Branch "slapped him during the argument." Officers noted that the drummer did not have any visible injuries. After Branch was released on $1,000 bail, her next court date was set for November 2022. Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Branch officially filed for divorce in Nashville on August 12, 2022, citing irreconcilable differences. In her petition, the "I'm a Man" singer claimed she has always been "the primary caretaker" of the couple's children, asking that Carney pay child support. Branch also requested that her now-estranged husband pay her attorneys' fees and other litigation expenses. Courtesy of Michelle Branch/Instagram
The songwriter's misdemeanor domestic assault charge was dismissed by a Nashville judge at the state's request during an August 2022 hearing two weeks after her arrest. SplashNews.com
Although the "Game of Love" singer is seeking a divorce, it's still surreal for her to think of her relationship with Carney as over. "I wouldn't even call Patrick my ex yet. We're, you know, we're working through it by the day," she told Newsweek in September 2022. Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock
Amid her public fallout with the "Lonely Boy" musician, Branch is releasing an album titled "The Trouble With Fever" in September 2022. She recorded and coproduced the record with Carney in their home studio ahead of their split. In a September 2022 interview with Billboard, the "Are You Happy Now?" musician called focusing on the album and subsequent tour "the best distraction ever." She added, "I think if I didn't have this album coming out, I would probably be in bed crying all day." Branch credited Kacey Musgraves, who split from ex-husband Ruston Kelly in 2020, with giving her the idea to concentrate on work. "I called her right as this is all happening, and I was like, 'F—k, Kacey, what should I do?' She was like, 'I don't know about you, but I do better when I'm busy,'" the Arizona native told Newsweek. "And I was like, 'Oh, my God, you're so right. Like, I need to just focus on my work and go on tour.' I have young kids, I don't have the luxury of sitting around and wallowing, really." Shutterstock (2)
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