Oakland County Jail Sheriff
’90 Day Fiance’ Star Ben Rathbun Arrested for Violating Probation on Drunk Driving Charges in Michigan
90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days. star Ben Rathbun was arrested for violating probation stemming from a previous drunk driving charge on Tuesday, March 15, In Touch can confirm.
The TLC personality, 53, was taken into custody at the Oakland County Jail after a bench warrant was placed for his arrest. He was booked at 12:21 a.m., according to online records viewed by In Touch. His bail was set at $10,000, which he has not yet posted and remains in custody.
The March 15 arrest on a warrant was in relation to a violation of probation stemming from his September 2020 arrest on one count of OWAI (operating while ability impaired) and one count of driving while license suspended/revoked/denied, according to court records viewed by In Touch. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of probation in January 2021. He was due in court in February for a violation hearing but since he didn’t appear, a bench warrant was issued. He is due back in court on March 21.
TMZ was first to report.
The Michigan native, who is a former pastor, made his debut on season 5 of TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé spinoff series. At the time of filming, he had been dating Mahogany Roca, a 24-year-old woman from Peru, for about three months. He planned to document their first in-person meeting, but he faced concerns from his friends and family that Mahogany might be a catfish because they had never video chatted.
Despite the speculation that Mahogany was not a real person, Rathbun still traveled to Peru. Their trip started on the wrong foot after Mahogany stood him up at the airport in Lima. The next morning, he decided to travel to her hometown of San Bartolo, where he invited her to meet him for dinner at a local restaurant. After keeping him waiting for more than an hour, Mahogany showed up and although fans were surprised to learn that she was not fake, she still stirred catfish rumors as she did not appear to look the same as she did in her photos on social media.
Mahogany admitted that part of the reason she was hesitant to meet Rathbun was because her parents questioned his intentions. In an effort to get in her parents’ good graces, Rathbun asked Mahogany to set up a meeting between them.
More red flags were raised when Mahogany invited him to her apartment, where they would meet with her mother and father. Rathbun recalled that Mahogany told him she lived with her parents and he did not believe the rental was hers because she didn’t have any photos of herself or her family displayed. He also caught Mahogany in another lie when her mother revealed that she is actually 22 years old, not 24.
However, Rathbun wasn’t the only one who had reservations about their relationship. During a romantic dinner date in the Peruvian desert town Huacachina, Mahogany asked Rathbun about his past relationships with his ex-wife and ex-fiancée. Mahogany “didn’t like” Rathbun’s responses because felt that he had placed the blame on his exes for the reason that the relationships ended, which she felt was “immature.”
On the Sunday, March 13 episode, Mahogany explained that after their conversation about Rathbun’s past, they retired to their separate hotel rooms. Later that night, Rathbun had sent her “lots of messages” explaining his love history more in-depth. In two of his messages, which were displayed on the screen, he seemed upset with Mahogany.
“My love for you grows stronger every day, but it seems that God has hardened your heart towards me,” read his message. “You fear who I am and my intentions. But there is no room in love for that. Therefore this is not love. But know this – I do love you. I always will.”
She didn’t respond because she said they made her feel “uncomfortable” and she felt it would be best for them to continue their conversation in person.
Mahogany also revealed that her parents had arrived at the same hotel she was staying with Rathbun in Huacachina the following morning, and she invited Rathbun to have breakfast with her parents. He refused to join them but asked her to tell her parents that he would like to speak with them privately.
In his confessional, Rathbun explained why he was upset. “I feel like she’s checked out,” he said.
It seems he has a change of heart because in the teaser for next week’s episode, Rathbun goes to Mahogany’s room and knocked on the door. “Despite how poorly this trip has gone, I’m still in this,” he told the cameras. “God placed her in my heat and as long as she’s there, I need to pursue this thing.”
To his surprise, a strange man answered the door of Mahogany’s hotel room. It looks like fans will just have to tune in to see what happens next.
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