'Jersey Shore' Star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro Addresses Recent Domestic Violence Arrest

“Jersey Shore” star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro publicly addressed his domestic violence arrest in a recent Instagram post, seemingly referring to the incident as a “lesson.”

Ortiz-Magro wrote that he was “grateful for [his] real friends” and thanked them for their support in a message shared to his Instagram Story on Monday.

“I take all experiences as lessons. You learn who really cares about you when your [sic] down and out and than [sic] you see who doesn't! But I guess they call it the weeding process,” he continued. “Thank you to my real friends who haven't left my side and haven't betrayed me.”

He went on to say that his friends make him feel “blessed” and have saved him from “drowning.”

Ortiz-Magro, 35, was arrested in Los Angeles, California on Thursday morning for suspicion of intimate partner violence with injuries and with prior incidents, according to a PEOPLE report. He was released from custody that same day after posting $100,000 bail.

Last week’s arrest came on the heels of another legal battle for Ortiz-Magro. The “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” star was placed on probation for 36 months in May 2020 after pleading no contest to domestic battery and resisting arrest, TMZ reports. A judge also ordered him to complete a 52-week domestic violence program, serve 30 days of community service, and donate $20,000 to a women’s shelter.

Ortiz-Magro’s earlier case stemmed from a violent 2019 incident involving his then-partner and mother of his child, Jen Harley. Police were called to an Airbnb the couple were renting in Los Angeles in October 2019 after an argument between the pair reportedly turned physical, with Ortiz-Magro allegedly hitting Harley, who then ran out of the house, according to a TMZ report. Ortiz-Magro is alleged to have chased after Harley with a knife while carrying their 20-month-old daughter before dropping the knife and locking himself and the child in the home. Upon the arrival of police, Ortiz-Magro allegedly refused to open the door, prompting police to force their way inside and use their tasers on Ortiz-Magro in order to arrest him, the outlet reports.

Ortiz-Magro was initially charged with felony kidnapping, but that charge was dropped; he was then charged with domestic violence, child endangerment, brandishing a weapon, resisting arrest, making criminal threats, and false imprisonment, USA TODAY reports. To those charges, he initially pleaded not guilty before reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

Harley was granted a three-year order of protection after the 2019 incident, according to TMZ. As part of his plea deal, Ortiz-Magro was ordered to honor that order and keep his interactions with his co-parent peaceful, the outlet reports.

Ortiz-Magro’s current partner, Saffire Matos, seemed to address her partner’s arrest in a recent Instagram post asking for privacy and criticizing the spread of what she called “misleading information,” Page Six reports.

“Ronnie and I are fine. There is a lot of misleading information floating around out there,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “With anybody who reached out with concern I appreciate it with all my heart, but everything that’s being portrayed out there are not facts. I don’t think it’s fair that people are using false accusations to gain attention. Please leave Ron and I alone. You don’t know what someone is going through at the end of the day.”

She went on to caution her followers, “Don’t believe everything you hear or read online.”

In response to news of Ortiz-Magro’s recent arrest, his attorney told PEOPLE that they are still looking into it.

“We have just learned of the new allegations against Ronnie and need some additional time to further investigate,” that statement reads. “As such, we will not be making any other statements at this time.”