The Bachelor's Catherine Giudici: Restraining Petition Details Dad's Suicidal Behavior

Catherine told Sean Lowe on the show about her father's suicide attempt when she was 14; E! News has obtained the petition filed by her mom against her dad

By Natalie Finn Mar 14, 2013 12:55 AMTags
The Bachelor, Meeting FamilyABC

Before Catherine Giudici took Sean Lowe home to meet her family, she revealed why her mother and father do not live together.

"He was battling depression for a very, very long time," the 26-year-old from Seattle explained on The Bachelor. "When I was 14, my dad had a suicide attempt in front of my sisters and I, and he was immediately taken away...It's kinda hard for me to deal with, because he's my dad. I needed you to know that."

Hence, Sean only met Catherine's mom, sisters and grandmother on his visit to her hometown.

E! News has obtained a temporary restraining order petition that was filed by Catherine's mother, Cynthia, against her husband, Carey, back in 2001; the documents claim that over the course of several months Carey threatened to kill himself, broke items around the house and allegedly pushed Catherine's older sister, Monica.

In the court documents, Cynthia wrote that Carey had attempted suicide in November 2000 and then "threatened himself with a knife, yelling, 'How would you like my blood on your hands?'" on June 7, 2001.

He took a broom and beat it against the wall and left a butcher knife lodged in a buffet table, Cynthia wrote in the filing, adding that he then pushed her aside, knocking items out of her hands. Catherine's mom also noted in the paperwork that she was taking medication for high blood-pressure at the time.

She cited "verbal violence" and "verbal abuse" as reasons for the order of protection, and wrote that Carey had broken windows, dishes and chairs around the house.

In February 2001, Cynthia wrote in her petition, Carey pushed Monica "to cause her to fall."

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"I would like to help guarantee the safety of my children and myself and I fear drastic repercussions as a result of the statements I made today at the UW Medical Center Psych Ward," she stated in the filing. "I had requested for him to get long-term residential care and since the violence of last week is still fresh in their minds that he should not return to the house upon discharge."

Catherine's parents have remained estranged; though there have been reports that they divorced in 2002, no dissolution of marriage was ever filed in Washington's King County, where the Giudices have lived since 1992, per public records.

And despite the turmoil when she was a girl, Catherine told reporters in a conference call after The Bachelor finale that she plans to have her dad walk her down the aisle when she marries Sean this summer.

"I love him so much," she said. "I said a lot of personal things on the show, and I just want to reiterate the fact that he is a part of my life and I love him so much and I'm excited for him to be part of the wedding."

—Reporting by Tierney Bricker