NEED TO KNOW
- Johnnie Faye Cartwright, the fiancée of Zachery Ty Bryan, was seen by a judge on Dec. 1 regarding her Nov. 29 arrest for driving under the influence, reckless endangerment and more
- Bryan was also arrested that same day for assault four in violation of his probation from a prior domestic violence arrest
- Cartwright, who shares three kids with Bryan, pled not guilty on all charges and was granted a no contact order, according to court records
Zachery Ty Bryan’s fiancée Johnnie Faye Cartwright was arraigned on Monday, Dec. 1.
Two days after the Home Improvement alum, 44, and his soon-to-be wife were arrested in Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 29, Cartwright appeared before a judge. According to court records obtained by PEOPLE, she pleaded not guilty to one count of driving under the influence, two counts of recklessly endangering another person and three counts of reckless driving.
At the time of her arrest, jail records show that Cartwright was facing slightly different charges, including one count of driving under the influence, three counts of reckless endangerment and one count of reckless driving — which are all misdemeanors — along with a single count of felony attempted assault.
After her appearance in court, records indicate the assault and two counts of recklessly endangering were “cleared.” Booking records indicate she is still in jail.
At her hearing, Cartwright was appointed a public defender and the judge also granted her a domestic violence-related no contact order, seemingly stemming from Bryan’s arrest over the weekend.
Per his jail records, the actor was charged on Nov. 29 with assault four, which violated his probation from a prior domestic violence conviction. He is being held without bail and has a release date for Wednesday, Dec. 3.
The arresting agency, the Lane County Sheriff’s Department, detailed the incident in a Facebook post shortly before Cartwright’s court appearance, writing: “On November 29th at about 12:30 p.m., Lane County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of reckless endangering in the area of Big Fall Creek Road milepost 5, a popular camping area northeast of Lowell.”
“Deputies learned Zachery Ty Bryan, 44, of Eugene, was in a pickup truck with Johnnie Faye Cartwright, 32, of Eugene, and their three small children,” it continued. “They were driving together in the area. At some point Bryan got out of the pickup truck and began walking on Big Fall Creek Road. Cartwright then attempted to run over Bryan, crashing the truck with the children inside into the ditch. Bryan was able to move out of the way and avoid injury. No one inside the pickup was injured.”
“Deputies interviewed Bryan and Cartwright. Deputies observed signs both were impaired. Deputies also interviewed witnesses contacted on scene. Per a court order from a prior case, Bryan was not supposed to be in contact with Cartwright.”
The statement concluded: “After additional investigation, Cartwright was arrested for Attempted Assault in the 1st Degree, three counts of Recklessly Endangering, and DUII. Bryan was arrested for a probation violation on an original charge of Assault in the 4th Degree. The involved children were placed with a family member.”
Cartwright and Bryan have been engaged since November 2021 and share three children: daughter Kennedy, 3, and twins Parker and Sequoia, 2. The couple has faced several legal issues over the years.
In 2020, Bryan was arrested allegedly strangling his then-girlfriend at an Oregon home. The woman involved was Cartwright, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He later pleaded guilty to two domestic violence misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to 36 months of probation.
In 2023, Bryan was charged with fourth-degree felony assault, third-degree robbery and misdemeanor harassment. He ultimately pleaded guilty to felony assault in the fourth degree, constituting domestic violence, Lane County’s chief deputy district attorney Chris Parosa told PEOPLE at the time. Bryan was sentenced to seven days in jail.
Parosa explained that Bryan’s second count was dismissed as a term of a “negotiated resolution,” allowing him to receive a “downward dispositional departure to 36 months of supervised probation, 7 days jail, standard domestic violence conditions, no contact with the victim without the probation officer’s approval” instead of facing 19 to 20 months of jail time.
Local news outlet KEZI previously reported that his probation sentence does not expire until October 2026.
He was also arrested twice on DUI charges in 2024 — first in February and in October of that year. Then, in January 2025, Bryan was arrested again, facing charges of second-degree domestic violence from Myrtle Beach police in South Carolina.
In a police report obtained by PEOPLE, the arresting officer said a woman involved in the incident — Cartwright — “stated that she was assaulted” by Bryan and the two “live together and have children in common.”
She also told the officer that Bryan “choked her and punched her in the face multiple times,” and that there were “others” involved who were “inside the home during the incident.”
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Cartwright has previously shown her support for Bryan, saying in 2023 that she would “always want what’s best for the father of my children.”
“Trauma can bring struggles in many shapes and forms. It’s a horrible situation that’s going to be spun in so many ways. I’ve learned firsthand the truth will never align with what’s been put out there,” she told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. “I ask everyone to please be respectful of our privacy for the sake of the children and our families so the healing process can begin.”
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