90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days star Geoffrey Paschel has responded to protestors who want him kicked off the TLC spinoff's fourth season due to his criminal past and the alarming abuse charges against him.
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As of March 6, the petition had nearly 2,800 signatures.
Days after the petition was posted, Geoffrey, 41, took to Instagram and issued a lengthy statement on why he chose to appear on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days despite his "checkered" past.
"I have been repeatedly asked why I would EVER want to be on a show (the best show FYI) where my life would be put in front of everyone to pick apart—especially with my checkered past. Well, guys, it is MY past. It is MY life. It is MY choice. If we were all the same: thought the same, looked the same, or acted the same, how lame would that be?" Geoffrey wrote.
"My closed-up life was the only way I knew to live. I hid so much about myself—whether it be my age, my history, or even my relationships. What crazier, whacked up way could I have done it any better than blasting out there? With the path I chose, it cannot EVER be reversed."
Multiple women have made numerous accusations against Geoffrey, who has been married four times and is also currently facing charges he attacked a former live-in girlfriend in 2019.
Last month, Geoffrey appeared in court in Tennessee and pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated kidnapping, domestic assault, interference with emergency calls and vandalism.
The charges relate to a June 2019 incident in which the alleged victim -- Geoffrey's then-girlfriend, a 30-year-old woman he lived with who has not been identified by name -- accused him of physically attacking her in the home they had shared, according to the Knox News Sentinel.
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Geoffrey, however, insists his ex-girlfriend has made the allegations to sabotage his ongoing custody battle involving a different woman, Geoffrey's estranged fourth wife (the couple is not formally divorced yet).
According to the petition Geoffrey's ex-girlfriend filed when seeking an order of protection, Geoffrey "repeatedly bashed/slammed my head into the hardwood floors of my home," the Knox News Sentinel reported.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW"He dragged me through the house by my hair and continued throwing my body into walls and furniture. I know this because of blood on my walls, furniture, etc."
Geoffrey also allegedly disabled the ex-girlfriend's phone before she took off to a neighbor's house and called the police from there.
Geoffrey was reportedly arrested that night, and the woman sought medical treatment at a local hospital, where she was told she had suffered a concussion.
In addition, Geoffrey is also reportedly accused of "pushing, hitting, choking" and verbally threatening the woman on four other occasions dating back to September 2018.
The current criminal charges are merely the most recent disturbing allegations in Geoffrey's personal history.
In her 2005 divorce documents, Geoffrey's second ex-wife -- whom he married in 1998 and had two sons with -- claimed he "repeatedly raped" and assaulted her during their marriage, according to Starcasm.
After obtaining an order of protection against Geoffrey, Geoffrey's second ex-wife also reportedly filed court papers alleging he had "assaulted" and tried to "choke [her] to death."
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In the Instagram statement Geoffrey posted this week, he continued, "Everything about me is out there for the world to see, whether it is true or fantasy. I can never go back, and honestly, I would not have it any different."
"I have realized who my 'people' are and, opposingly, who only want to hold me down and set me back. Luckily, I NOW have a strong support system via mostly complete strangers who have lifted me up SO high and have shared their love."
He concluded in his Instagram post, "Here is to finding MY light and new beginning at the other end of the tunnel! When things no longer work, find YOUR tunnel! See you tonight as I start my new quest to the other side of the world... I love you guys-always do YOU!"
Geoffrey also added the following hashtags: #90dayfiance #90dayfiancebeforethe90days #beforethe90days #mountains #nature #beard #knoxvilletennessee #knoxville #knoxvilletn #beyourself #journey #missingyou #always #kazhempaschel #cayvanpaschel #geoffreypaschel.
This past week's 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days episode featured Geoffrey acknowledging he has a criminal history, but not providing very many details.
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Geoffrey shared with viewers that he grew up very poor and dealt drugs when he was young in order to make money. According to Geoffrey, he was eventually arrested and sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Starcasm reported Geoffrey served three years in federal prison between 2000 and 2003.
In 2013, Geoffrey was also reportedly charged with felony larceny for an incident in which he and a friend attempted to steal more than $500 worth of lights from a Home Depot store.
He eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail, but he appears to have actually served nearly all that time on supervised probation.
In 2014, Geoffrey was also arrested on theft and battery charges in Florida, according to Starcasm, which reported that, in addition to his second wife, Geoffrey's third and fourth wives have also accused him of abuse in legal filings.
In court documents, Geoffrey's estranged fourth wife Brittany -- who was reportedly 19 when they began dating in 2014 -- claimed he "strangled, slammed and punched" her several times, restricted her access to automobiles, and even "abandoned Brittany in a hotel room" when she was in heavy labor with their second child.
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The couple reportedly separated in 2013, less than two years after the birth of their only child, and finalized their divorce in 2014.
Geoffrey, who has billed him as a landlord from Knoxville, TN on the TLC show, was just shown flying to Russia and meeting his new love Varya, 30, in person for the first time on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days' fourth season after a five-month romance.
Before his trip, Geoffrey was shown raising three children -- two adults boys and a four-year-old son Cayvan -- from two previous relationships.
Geoffrey said it was hard to trust women since he had so many failed marriages, so he changed up his dating style and met Varya on an international dating website.
Geoffrey apparently loved Varya's look, personality and ambition, and so their connection grew exponentially in a short time. He was hoping for the best because he wasn't sure he'd make it through another heartbreak after losing a newborn son named Kazhem.
Geoffrey claimed he needed to determine whether Varya's intentions were pure but there was a chance he might leave Russia an engaged man. His family and friends, however, didn't want to see him rushing into another relationship.
But Geoffrey hadn't been honest with Varya about his criminal past, and he worried she wouldn't accept him once she learned the truth.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY KNOW? (PHOTOS)
Once the pair reunited in the airport in Moscow, Geoffrey gushed, "It was like an angel was standing there. She is real and it's not something I had just built up in my head. She's just as beautiful as I thought she was. She is everything and more."
But their first interactions were a little awkward with "uncomfortable silences," according to Varya.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
