90 Day Fiancé alum Geoffrey Paschel is headed to prison after being sentenced to 18 years behind bars for aggravated kidnapping, domestic assault and interference with emergency calls. So, what did the former reality star do to receive so much time behind bars?
It all began on June 9, 2019, when Sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call at Paschel’s Rocky Hill, Tennessee, home. His now ex-fiancée, Kristen Wilson, told authorities that Paschel had assaulted her.
In a statement from the Knox County District Attorney’s Office outlining their case, it read, “When they arrived, the victim told officers that she had been assaulted in her home by Paschel. Paschel grabbed the victim by the neck and slammed her head against the wall several times. She was also thrown to the ground and dragged.”
The D.A.’s office also claimed that “Paschel took the victim’s cell phone” and refused to allow her to leave the residence. After he fell asleep, Wilson was able to flee to a neighbor’s house.
The responding officers had “noted a large, raised bruise on the victim’s forehead along with bruises and abrasions on her back, arms, and the inside of her lip. She was also diagnosed with a concussion.” During his trial, Paschel testified that his ex-fiancée’s bruises were self-inflicted, but the jury did not believe him. After a two-day trial in October 2021, he was convicted on all charges and jailed until his February 3, 2022, sentencing.
Paschel had become familiar to TLC audiences from appearing on season 4 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, which followed couples who had an existing relationship online but had not yet met in person. Paschel had been romancing Varya Malina, and when the show aired in 2020 amid Paschel’s charges, some viewers wanted him removed from the show.
In response, he replied in a March 1, 2020, Instagram post, “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.”
He added, “With the path I chose, it cannot EVER be reversed. 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.”
Paschel and Malina got engaged at the end of their season, and she steadfastly stood by him throughout his charges and trial. She even shared an Instagram video on the eve of his sentencing picking out the perfect tie, jacket and pants for him to wear in the courtroom as Paschel learned his fate.