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90 Day Fiancé star Ben Rathbun was arrested for failing to pay child support months after marrying his now-wife, Mahogany Roca, In Touch can confirm.
Ben, 53, was arrested on Friday, November 22, and charged with failing to pay child support in Macomb County, Michigan. The divorced father of four is currently being held at Oakland County Michigan jail, according to online records viewed by In Touch. 90 Day Fiancé blogger Shabooty was the first to report the news.
No trial date has been scheduled in the case, as Ben was held in civil contempt. “Civil contempt of court refers to disobedience of an order of the court which carries quasi-criminal penalties rather than direct criminal penalties. The goal of civil contempt of court charges is to persuade the party or person subject to the charges to comply with the court order(s). Unlike other civil penalties, however, civil contempt of court can result in jail time,” according to Cornell law.
The news comes nine months after Ben gave fans an update on his and Mahogany’s relationship on a February episode of 90 Day Diaries, where they revealed they tied the knot “a few months ago.”
“Our civil ceremony was just brilliant, I could not believe how beautiful it was,” Ben told cameras as a compilation of photos from the ocean-front nuptials displayed on screen. “But we are still planning on having a religious ceremony.”
Although they managed to make it down the aisle, Ben admitted that the transition to married life had been “really difficult,” and the couple was facing financial challenges.
“I’ve gone about six months without a really good job and bills have been piling up of course,” he explained. “Things are extremely tight now and I’m doing everything I can right now to pay all the bills and for my next trip to Peru.”
Viewers were first introduced to Ben and Mahogany — who share a 30-year age gap — during season 5 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, which aired from December 2021 to April 2022 on TLC. The pair dated three months online before the Michigan native traveled to Peru to meet Mahogany for the first time.
The relationship had a rocky start, with Mahogany failing to meet Ben at the airport when his flight arrived, and their first date being labeled “awkward” by fans. Ben also later learned from her parents that Mahogany was 22 even though she had previously told him she was 24.
“We have a very young relationship. It’s very new,” Ben told fans during the season’s tell-all in April 2022. “And she’s worried that I’m still not here for the right reasons. And it takes trust. There’s no replacement for trust, and there’s no replacement for time. You can’t substitute anything for that. No matter how much you love someone, so it’s going to take a while.”
Despite the bumps, the pair were able to work through all the differences and announced their engagement in August 2022. In a YouTube video titled “Looking for a RING!,” Ben and Mahogany documented the days leading up to Ben’s proposal and the South America native’s reaction after he popped the question at the same restaurant where they met in person for the first time.
“She came through that door right over there and here she is today,” the reality TV alum said, panning the camera to his girlfriend. “And what just happened, can you tell me what just happened?”
The Peru native held her left hand up to the camera to show off the diamond sparkler on her ring finger. “Can you look [at] this? Oh wow,” she said.
“I just asked her to be my wife, and she said …” Ben said, with Mahogany finishing his sentence and responding, “Yes.”
English (US) ·