During a recent custody battle between Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly and his ex-wife, a forensic examiner reportedly testified that their young daughter witnessed O’Reilly physically abusing his wife. Although O’Reilly denies the allegations, the judge granted his ex-wife full custody of their children last month. While O’Reilly has denounced domestic abuse on his show “The O’Reilly Factor,” he has neglected to inform his audience of the accusations against him.
On November 2, 1996, Bill O’Reilly married Maureen McPhilmy and together they had two children, Madeline and Spencer. The couple separated in 2010 and finalized their divorce a year later. They initially agreed to share custody of their children, but McPhilmy returned to court in February 2012 seeking full custody of her children after O’Reilly allegedly violated conditions of the agreement.
According to a recent article in Gawker, a court-appointed forensic examiner testified at a closed hearing about an incident that O’Reilly’s daughter, Madeline, claimed to have witnessed. Roughly a year before her parent’s separation, Madeline reportedly saw her father grab her mother by the throat and drag her down a staircase while tightly gripping her neck. Madeline was nine years old at the time and believes her father did not know she was watching.
“All allegations against me in these circumstances are 100% false,” the Fox News host responded in a statement issued through his personal attorney, Fred Newman of Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, LLP. “I am going to respect the court-mandated confidentiality put in place to protect my children and will not comment any further.”
Three weeks ago, a Nassau County Supreme Court justice granted McPhilmy full custody of her children. McPhilmy decided to fight for full custody after discovering that O’Reilly had allegedly hired an independent child therapist named Lynne Kulakowski to perform virtually all of his parental duties.
While O’Reilly and McPhilmy were still married in 2004, former Fox producer Andrea Mackris filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against O’Reilly. Accused of verbally harassing Mackris and threatening her, O’Reilly settled with Mackris for an undisclosed amount on October 28, 2004.
After O’Reilly and McPhilmy separated in 2010, McPhilmy began dating a Nassau County Police detective named Jeffrey Gross. In a fit of jealous rage, O’Reilly reportedly used his influence to initiate an internal affairs investigation into Gross. After finalizing their divorce in September 2011, O’Reilly attempted to formally annul their marriage and have McPhilmy excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.
“You can’t be a real man if you don’t look out for your kids. They need you.” – Bill O’Reilly
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