Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City star's ex-husband ARRESTED for allegedly violating protective order

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Britani Bateman's ex-husband has been arrested after allegedly violating the protective order she has against him.

As per legal documents obtained by the Daily Mail, John Underwood, who was married to Bateman from 2016 to 2023, was arrested in Utah on Friday, December 12.

Underwood is being accused of leaking Bateman's personal cellphone number to social media earlier this month.

Officers with the Lehi Police Department first made contact with Bateman on Tuesday, December 9 after she claimed she had begun 'receiving phone calls and texts from unknown individuals' while out of town in New York.

One of those alleged texts was from an unknown individual who informed Bateman that her ex-husband had allegedly posted her phone number publicly in the comment section of a TikTok video, which Bateman was a collaborator in.

According to screenshots texted to Bateman by the unknown individual, Underwood had also allegedly commented: 'There ya go. Give her a call,' as reported in the arrest affidavit.

Along with unwanted texts and calls, Bateman claimed that unknown individuals began showing up at her home. 

She was eventually forced to 'change her phone number,' the docs claim.

Because Bateman was a collaborator on the TikTok post, the arresting office said he had 'probable cause to arrest John' for allegedly violating the protective order, which does not expire until June 22, 2026.

Underwood was arrested on December 12 and was to be 'held without bail' until he could be seen by a judge, as per court documents.

According to the arrest affidavit, Underwood was charged with 'Violation of a Protective Order' and 'Electronic Disclosure of Personal Identifying Information.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Bateman and Underwood for comment but has yet to hear back from either party.

According to TMZ, Underwood appeared in a Utah court for the first time on Wednesday, where prosecutors claimed he has been harassing his ex-wife since the protective order was put in place nearly three years ago.

Prosecutors went on to paint a picture of Underwood's alleged harassment against Bateman.

They claimed Underwood would stare at Bateman from the protective order's allowed 25-foot distance, according to TMZ.

Underwood was also accused of tampering with Bateman's home electrical box with the alleged intention of interrupting her power as well as allegedly having Bateman's mail re-routed, the outlet reported.

Bateman and her ex-husband have been in a heated feud since their 2023 divorce.

Last December, Bateman accused Underwood of draining their shared bank account and cutting her off from their shared businesses.

In court documents exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail in December 2024, Bateman claimed the business contractor and estate builder had been non-compliant with the Domestics Relations Injunction that was signed by a Utah judge in 2023 as part of their divorce proceedings. 

Bateman detailed in the court documents what violations Underwood was accused of, including 'unauthorized expenditure of business funds on personal expenses, failure to add Bateman to accounts related to the businesses of the parties, unauthorized draining of the account of the parties' business and failure to operate the businesses consistent with the parties' historical manner.' 

The shared businesses, as seen in a separate filing, include the Starwood Group, a real estate development company, Pure Productions, an entertainment production company, and Millcreek Builders, a construction company.

Bateman also claimed Underwood failed to maintain a 25-foot distance from her, as required by the Protective Order. 

The protective order states, 'If either party arrives where the other is currently at, a job or business site, the arriving party has the responsibility to remain 25 feet away from the other.' 

The order even went so far as to dictate when they each can attend certain outings. For example, Bateman 'may attend the country club on even numbered calendar days' and Underwood 'may attend the country club on odd numbered calendar days.'

In addition, Bateman accused Underwood of disposing of marital property — specifically funds in their business account and marital stocks — without her consent, rerouting her personal mail and causing a lapse in her life insurance policy.

Per the documents, the penalties for violating such orders 'may include, but are not limited to, a fine of up to $1,000 and confinement in jail for up to 30 days.' 

Bateman is seeking an entry of judgment that 'matches the amount of personal expenses that John Underwood paid off with business funds,' as well as an award for attorney's fees and an order that Underwood restores her access to 'all business accounts and record-keeping software and information (such as QuickBooks).'

Underwood was ordered by the court to appear at a hearing in December 2024 to explain his side. A judge would then determine whether he had violated such orders outlined in the Domestic Relations Injunction. It's unclear if the hearing ever took place.

As detailed in the divorce decree, filed in October 2023, the court stated that both Bateman and Underwood are 'entitled to an equitable, presumably 50 percent, share of any profits generated from the existing marital business projects.'

It is unclear how much money Britani has allegedly been cut off from, but in an order filed a few weeks after the decree, the court found that each party 'may receive a disbursement for personal expenses for up to $22,525,' and, beyond that, they must mutually agree on an equal division of the net proceeds.

Bateman noted back in May 2023 that her current monthly expenses totaled $66,077.25, and her anticipated monthly expenses at the time totaled $39,873.24.

As previously reported by the Daily Mail, Bateman, separately, has another lawsuit against her ex, in which she's suing him for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The bombshell $2.5 million lawsuit details how she allegedly suffered 'severe emotional distress' during their six-and-half-year marriage.

The RHOSLC star provided examples in the complaint, which was filed in October 2023, of many alleged instances of his 'controlling and abusive' behavior, including 'dictating what clothing, makeup, perfume, and other beauty products Britani could and could not wear or use, both in and out of his presence.'

She also alleged that he demanded she have sex with him multiple times per day. The documents claim that Underwood required her 'to submit to sexual intercourse on demand (sometimes several times a day) and prohibited her from ever complaining about it.'

In addition, she said that her production company 'earned an average of $150,000 each year prior to the marriage,' but John 'forced' Britani to give up her career and sell her company, which ultimately cost her 'several million dollars in lost income.'

The intentional tort complaint remains ongoing and the last filing was in February of this year.

In a previous statement sent to the Daily Mail, Underwood's attorney Randy S. Kester denied Bateman's allegations: 'This is just one of many vexatious cases for which Ms. Underwood has had the impetus, often making false and exaggerated claims. At least three prior cases which she was behind have already been dismissed.'