After only three months of marriage, Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi (reality star of Bravo network’s “Shahs of Sunset”) requested a restraining order against her husband, Shalom Yeroushalmi. The “Bravolebrity” married Yeroushalmi in a surprise wedding only a month after he proposed on a giant billboard in Times Square. The honeymoon ended when Gharachedaghi filed her restraining order accusing him of harassing her via calls, emails, and texts, and of stalking her. She also alleges that he has contacted TMZ and E! News in an attempt to spread negative stories about her.

After their most recent attempt at reconciliation failed, Gharachedaghi’s ex parte restraining order request asked that Yeroushalmi be ordered to stay fifty yards away from her and her two cats, Romeo, and Malaika, and that he be prohibited from contacting the press or any social media outlets to offer information on her or her family.

California appellate courts have only recently begun addressing the issue of harassment and whether it constitutes domestic violence as defined by the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA).

Pursuant to Family Code §6203(b), conduct that may be restrained is not limited to physical actions. A variety of actions can be prevented, including the disclosure of personal information:

•  In Re: Marriage of Nadkarni (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 1483: Restraining order was granted on the grounds that restrained party had accessed the email account of the protected party and disseminated her emails.
• In Re: Evilsizor v. Sweeney (2015) 237 Cal. App. 4th 1416: The restrained party downloaded the protected party’s phone contents and disseminated them and this was “abuse” under the DVPA.
• In Re: Burquet v. Brumbaugh (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 1140: In this case, the restrained party was texting and emailing the protected party over her objection and came to her home at least once.

In Gharachedaghi’s case, the court denied her request for a temporary restraining order pending a hearing, which happens frequently in the case law, but the court did set a hearing to receive evidence and hear Gharachedaghi’s request. A restraining order for the cats aside, based on the new case law, Gharachedaghi may be able to obtain an order restraining Shalom from his alleged harassing behavior if her testimony and evidence is credible. Given the history of this couple, it is a coin flip whether the sun has set on their relationship or if they will reconcile before the judge has a chance to rule.

About the authors
Sarah Van Voorhis and Ariel Sosna, both Certified Family Law Specialists, are founding partners of Van Voorhis & Sosna. Follow them on Twitter at @VanVoorhisSosna.