Almost two months before Fox News anchor Julie Banderas’ unexpected announcement of her imminent divorce on live TV, her soon-to-be ex-husband allegedly put a steak knife to her throat in an argument over mashed potatoes, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.
Andrew Sansone, 55, was arrested and charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon for the incident at their home in the Hamptons on December 14, according to papers filed in Southampton town court. He allegedly became enraged after she ate mashed potatoes that he had prepared for their three children.
The Fox anchor claimed he grabbed a knife from the kitchen and pointed the blade at her neck. The police report says she feared for her life. Their children, ages 6, 10 and 12, were reportedly elsewhere in the house at the time.
Five days after the incident, Banderas called police, and her husband of 14 years was led out of the home by officers while the children were off at school. A judge granted a restraining order prohibiting him from having further contact with his wife, but he retains the right to visit the children through curbside pickups.
During a February 9 broadcast of “Gutfeld!” Banderas announced the coming divorce, not divulging the details of her husband’s arrest.
Host Greg Gutfeld asked the reporter if she was getting anything for Valentine’s Day.
“F–k Valentine’s Day!” Banderas exclaimed, calling it stupid. “Even when I was married, I didn’t get s–t for Valentine’s Day.”
“Wait,” Gutfeld interjected, “you’re no longer married?”
“Well, I’m getting a divorce,” she responded, “I’m going to go ahead and say it right here for the very first time.”
Banderas had teased the announcement on her Twitter account earlier in the day, writing, “Tune into @Gutfeldfox tonight at 11pm ET. I have a little announcement at the end of the show. (During the Valentines Day segment ironically)”
Although the fight was allegedly triggered by Banderas eating potatoes, reports say that the couple had been fighting earlier in the day, reportedly over money, a common issue while the two battled over their pending divorce and child custody issues, one source told the Daily Mail.
Sansone is pursuing primary custody of their children, as well as financial support from Banderas, who has had more financial success than her husband.
Banderas joined the Fox News Channel in 2005, and serves as a substitute weekday anchor on Outnumbered. She was awarded the “Outstanding Single Newscast’ Emmy for her coverage of the Republican National Convention in 2004. Sansone, a financial advisor, filed for divorce in March 2022.
Sources told the Daily Mail that the two had something of a rocky relationship, even before the divorce filings.
“They were always fighting,” one source said. “He would often speak to her in a very demeaning way, just really trying to make Julie feel like s**t for who she was as a person, as a mother, in her career.”
“I’ve seen it numerous times,” the source continued. “It was never physical. It was more him berating her. He was jealous of her and would frequently put her down.”
Another source told the Daily Mail, “There was constant fighting between the two of them. It was a lot of putdowns from him to her, a lot of demeaning comments. She would be quite careful. She’d mentioned that the children were there, tell him to not to raise his voice, to take it easy, change the subject or go into another room.”
Although the two continued to live together following the divorce filings, they reportedly argued more often as their divorce proceedings continued.
“They had a rocky relationship before,” the first source said. “Julie is extremely tough, mentally, and never let anything get to her, just plowing through whatever happened. But after he filed the divorce papers, it got especially awkward. He was making her feel very uncomfortable in her own home.”
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