Steve Gill, a conservative talk radio host for WLAC in Tennessee, has been accused of being physically abusive by his wife, who has also filed for a divorce, The Tennessean reported. Court documents revealed that she filed a temporary order of protection against him.
Wife files for divorce
Gill’s current wife — who is unnamed due to her status as an alleged abuse victim — even testified against her husband in a recent court hearing over his failure to pay child support to his ex-wife.
Gill was ordered to be held in custody by Judge James Martin after he’d been found in default on $170,000 in unpaid child support, and has been residing in the Williamson County Jail since then with a $170,000 bond.
The judge ruled that Gill was “willful” in his neglect to pay the child support to his ex-wife, and didn’t buy Gill’s excuse that he’d been unaware that he was in default on the payments. The judge cited numerous mailings that were sent to inform Gill of such.
Alleged abuse
In a three-page document filed with the court by Gill’s current wife alleging his abusive behavior, she wrote of how “terrified” she had been to testify against him in the court hearing.
She alleged that she’d been unable to live at their shared home since February, and instead stayed with friends or in hotel rooms. She detailed numerous instances in which he had allegedly threatened to use his “power and influence” to ruin her if she attempted to end their relationship.
Gill’s wife described “the history of his abuse, intimidation, verbal threats of what he’ll do those I love. That he will take everything I have and use his power and influence to destroy me.”
“Steve has pushed me, grabbed me. He liked to block me in the shower when I am nude, screaming at me, intimidating me, calling me disgusting names,” she continued, recalling one instance where she locked herself in her car in the garage while he beat on the windows and screamed at her.
“I need protection,” she asserted. “I am terrified. He is ‘influenced’ and ‘powerful’ and he used that to try to keep me from escaping.”
The other side
In a statement released through his lawyer on Friday, Gill thanked his friends and fans for their support and suggested that he plans to contest his wife’s allegations, according to the Columbia Daily Herald.
“There is another side to this story, a very different one than that portrayed by others,” the statement read. “When the time is right, the public will hear these facts.” The Herald noted that Gill has resigned his position as editor for The Tennessee Star.
No contact, no shared home, and no firearms
As per the order of protection granted by the court, Gill is prohibited from making any contact with his wife, including at home or her place of work. On top of that, the court also ordered all of Gill’s firearms seized from his possession.