Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss has filed for divorce from his wife of five years, Laura Kaeppeler. In court documents filed on July 7, Fleiss cited irreconcilable differences for the split, according to People. Fleiss is requesting joint legal and physical custody of their 4-year-old son Benjamin. According to the filings, Fleiss has a prenup with the 2012 Miss America. (Refinery29 has reached out to Fleiss' lawyer for comment.)
The couple were married in 2014 in a ceremony officiated by who else than Bachelor host Chris Harrison. In another Bach connection, Kaeppeler's ring was made by Neil Lane, the jeweler to the Bachelor and Bachelorette. As far as we know, no roses were involved in their courtship.
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This was Fleiss' second marriage. He was previously married to his high school sweetheart, Alexandra Vorbeck, for 24 years. The two dissolved their marriage in 2012.
In addition to creating one of the most talked-about reality TV franchises, Fleiss has gotten a reputation as one of The Bachelor's biggest trolls. He's tweeted that The Bachelor was going to take place in Mar-a-Lago and has made fun of previous Bachelorette contestants. Most recently, Fleiss was feuding with Ellen Pompeo and Kelly Ripa after the Live! with Kelly and Ryan host called his franchise "disgusting."
"Easy, @KellyRipa... #TheBachelor franchise pays your salary!" he tweeted, which the Grey's Anatomy star took umbrage with. "Okay @fleissmeister... that’s some handle bro! Your show does NOT pay @KellyRipa salary," Pompeo tweeted. "Also we don’t attack successful women on our network and men certainly cannot take credit for their success."
He has not yet tweeted about the split.