‘I Slapped My Husband :Michelle Branch Addresses Domestic Dispute with Husband Patrick Carney
© YouTube/Tamron Hall Show
In various interviews, Michelle Branch has spoken out about her recent marital problems with Patrick Carney. The musician, whose fourth studio album The Trouble with Fever, co-produced by Carney, is due tomorrow, expressed sadness over her husband’s behavior.
Branch revealed on Thursday’s Tamron Hall Show that she did have a physical incident with Carney last month. “These are not allegations,” she clarified to Hall. “Violence, I do not support violence.” My husband was slapped. “This was not my finest hour.”
The singer added that several factors were involved in the widely-reported incident, including her postpartum and having had “a few drinks” at a birthday party. “All the blocks were stacked in a way I didn’t have time to think about what I was doing,” she recounted to Hall. “It was one of those things where I was like, “Is this happening? Did this just happen?’”
Last month, the couple made headlines when Branch tweeted, “Just found out my husband cheated on me… while I was home with our 6-month-old daughter.”
After police were called to the couple’s house in an upmarket Nashville suburb for an alleged domestic disturbance, the “Everywhere” singer was detained at 2 a.m. on August 11. Branch allegedly confessed to slapping Carney in the face “one or two times” during an argument. According to a Davidson County Sheriff’s Office official, Branch was arrested and released on $1,000 bail the same day. The domestic abuse complaint was later dismissed, and the couple agreed to hold their pending divorce case for six months to try to reconcile.
The singer admitted to People that she should not have sent the tweet. “I shouldn’t have said anything on Twitter,” Branch told People. “I’m standing here saying, ‘Please respect our privacy,’ yet I’m the one who said it to the world.”
Branch revealed in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment that the couple is attempting to mend their relationship.
“I mean, he’s my children’s father.” “I adore him,” she declared. “In an ideal world, I believe we’ll find a way to make it work.” I’m not sure. It’s just so fresh and raw right now. But at the heart of our relationship is a close friendship. So, whatever happens in our marriage, maybe that will remain.”
Branch told Yahoo, “I’ve been able to compartmentalize the album and what’s been going on recently.” “I consider my creative working connection with Patrick to be quite valuable. It isn’t tarnished, and neither is what we worked on together. In that regard, he’s always been my tremendous champion and supporter. I was able to sort of separate everything.”
Branch also expressed her concern about Carney going on tour and leaving the couple’s two children behind in an interview with Yahoo.
“It’s difficult,” she said. “I mean, there are days when my four-year-old son is in tears, like, ‘I want Daddy to come home!’ ‘Why does Daddy have to perform in concerts?’ It stinks at times. I’m getting set to go on tour in less than a week. I’ll be bringing my baby because she’s seven months old and I’m still breastfeeding. I’m going to leave my [older] children with the babysitter, and Patrick will be in and out of town on tour, as will grandparents. It takes a community.”
Branch, 39, and Carney, 42, married in New Orleans in 2019 after having their first child, a son, together in 2018. In February 2022, they welcomed their second child.
“To say that I am devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me, and now I must figure out how to move forward,” Branch said in a statement to People. “With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”
Earlier this month, a judge in Tennessee signed a court order stating that Branch and Carney can attempt to repair their marriage without giving up any ground in the event the effort fails. The couple had six months to attempt reconciliation.