Matt Altman, a real estate agent on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing, is speaking out after his wife was arrested and charged with domestic violence earlier this month.
According to People, a spokesperson from the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Johanna Sicat Altman was arrested on August 4 around 9:30 p.m. and booked into jail in Van Nuys soon thereafter. The 40-year-old was charged with felony domestic violence and as reported in a booking sheet was released from custody around 4:30 a.m. the next day.
The entire situation was seemingly kept under wraps for some time until legal records were obtained. It’s unclear what exactly happened between the Altmans, but according to California records, a prosecutor will typically file a felony charge over a misdemeanor “when there are injuries or where the defendant has a history of domestic violence offenses on his or her criminal record”. Yeah, not good…
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When asked for comment from Matt about what happened, he told Page Six… about the loss of his father-in-law to COVID-19?
“The loss of my wife’s father due to COVID-19 has been absolutely devastating to her and our entire family. We have all been struggling with this loss and have been going through a tough time.”
Quite the strange deflection from the topic at hand…
Continuing, he assured he and Johanna have “never been more in love”:
“We have never been more in love and connected from this tragedy. We ask everyone to respect our privacy.”
Now clearly we don’t know what’s happening behind closed doors, but something about his statement seems a little concerning. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, it’s extremely common for domestic violence victims to love — and even protect — their abusers. It defines feelings for a domestic abuser as a “survival tactic” which many victims do subconsciously, not even knowing they’ve developed the behavioral pattern. We’re not saying that’s the case here, but it’s important to note.
Even stranger (and more alarming), both spouses have shared Instagram posts following the alleged domestic violence. On Friday, only eight days after his wife’s arrest, the MDL star shared a photo from his wedding and gushed over the couple’s fifth anniversary:
“Happy 5th Anniversary
@johanna_altman couldn’t imagine sharing life with anyone else. 5 years, 4 house moves, 3 incredible kids, 2 people sharing 1 heart. Love you xo #anniversary”
And yesterday Johanna shared an anniversary post of her own, mentioning “ups and downs” in their relationship:
“Such a beautiful anniversary weekend. 5 years and only getting stronger. Ups and downs ain’t gonna stop anything. Love you so much @themattaltman”
Her caption has a completely different tone after knowing about her arrest! Ironically, her post comes after media outlets started calling her out for not posting for the couple’s anniversary. Perhaps she did this to try and clear the air a little bit? Hmm…
See the full post (below):
The replies to both posts have since been turned off and neither the Altmans nor their family are responding to requests for comment. Johanna is due back in court September 2.
We truly hope all is well between them. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as this story continues to develop.
If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic violence, help can be found by calling 800-799-7233 or texting START to 88788. Additional resources can be found at https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Instagram/Johanna Sicat Altman]
