Michelle Branch No Longer Charged With Allegedly Slapping Her Soon-to-Be Ex-Husband

On Wednesday, a Tennessee county judge dropped a domestic assault charge brought against singer Michelle Branch for allegedly slapping her husband, Patrick Carney. Court records show that Branch and Carney reached a settlement out of court.

Branch was arrested earlier this month, shortly after tweeting that Carney had cheated on her, just months after the birth of their second child together.

“To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family,” Branch, 39, told People on Aug. 11. “The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward.”

That same day, cops were called to Carney and Branch’s Nashville home to check on a possible domestic disturbance. Documents show that Branch admitted to slapping Carney “one to two times,” resulting in her arrest. Carney reportedly sustained no visible injuries. Branch was released from custody early because she was quite literally still breastfeeding her and Carney’s baby.

The timing of Branch’s arrest—in the early morning, roughly 30 minutes after her tweet about Carney’s behavior—fueled furious online speculation.

Neither Branch nor Carney have released public statements about the domestic assault charges nor their dismissal. The couple met at a Grammy’s party in 2015; their first child was born in August 2018, and they married in 2019. Carney’s first marriage—this was his third—also ended (at least partially) over infidelity by both spouses.

Branch, who won a Grammy for her collaboration with Santana on “The Game of Love,” is set to release a new album, The Trouble With Fever, next month, which is set to be accompanied with a nine-stop tour. Whether or not it will proceed as planned is unclear.