Home Improvement Alum Zachery Ty Bryan Defends Domestic Abuse Charges, Plagiarizing Armie Hammer's Divorce Statement, & More!

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

Home Improvement alum Zachery Ty Bryan is sharing his story.

The former child star was arrested back in September 2020 in Oregon and charged with felony strangulation, felony coercion, and several misdemeanors. At the time, he was accused of punching, slapping, and choking girlfriend Johnnie Faye Cartwright. And now, in a new long form piece published by the Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, the actor known best for playing eldest son Brad on the long-running ’90s sitcom is trying to get his side of the story out. But frankly he’s not making things much better for himself here…

The domestic violence allegations involving him and Cartwright are only part of the story. Bryan briefly discussed his surprising divorce — and the fact he brazenly copied Armie Hammer‘s previous divorce statement nearly word for word — as well as his suspect cryptocurrency activities, as well.

In September of 2020, the former sitcom star announced his split from ex-wife Carly Matros — and quickly got caught copying Armie’s announcement, which had come just three months earlier. Bryan’s divorce statement went like this:

“Almost fourteen years as best friends, soulmates, partners and then parents. It has been an incredible journey, but together, we’ve decided to turn the page and move on from our marriage. As we enter into this next chapter, our children and relationship as co-parents and dear friends will remain our priority. We understand this news lends itself to public dialogue, but in the interest of our children and our family, we’re asking for privacy, compassion and love during this time.”

That, as social media users quickly noted, was a nearly 100% plagiarized repeat of Hammer’s July 2020 statement regarding his divorce from Elizabeth Chambers. The only difference was that Chambers and Hammer had been together for 13 years — not 14, as had Bryan and Matros — and thus the small year edit. Here’s Armie’s for comparison:

“Thirteen years as best friends, soulmates, partners and then parents. It has been an incredible journey, but together, we’ve decided to turn the page and move on from our marriage. As we enter into this next chapter, our children and relationship as co-parents and dear friends will remain our priority. We understand this news lends itself to public dialogue, but in the interest of our children and our family, we’re asking for privacy, compassion and love during this time.”

Speaking this week to THR about it, Bryan explained that he copied and pasted the statement because he was otherwise at a loss for words in how to announce he and the wife of his children were splitting up:

“[I did it] because I literally did not know what to say, and he was literally going through the same thing as I was. I don’t know Armie but I remember thinking that his statement was perfectly said, probably written by a publicist, so I thought, ‘let’s go.'”

Hmmm…

We appreciate being dumbstruck by a heartbreaking event. But you can’t just steal someone else’s words and pass them off as your own. Of course, he didn’t yet know the source of his statement was about to be accused of rape, abuse, and cannibalism fantasies. Not the best homework to cheat off of, as it turns out…

Zachery reflected on his marital problems with Matros, too. The ex-star admitted he was “not being a faithful husband” while married to her and parenting their four children. He added:

“I thought I would be able to go out and do whatever I wanted, have fun, come home and be a family man with my kids. That’s not how the real world works.”

At least he knows now? But that was just the tip of the iceberg for Bryan.

Just weeks after the duplicate divorce announcement, the 41-year-old star was arrested in Oregon and charged with strangling and striking Cartwright. Eventually, as the case wound through court, the felony charges and several of the misdemeanors against him were dropped. Bryan later pleaded guilty to menacing and fourth-degree assault. For that, he was given three years probation and required to complete a domestic violence intervention program.

Since then, according to THR, Bryan and Cartwright have welcomed three children — including twins — and gotten engaged with plans to marry soon. According to the embattled actor, the 2020 domestic violence incident was not indicative of them or their relationship. And he blames the media for how his arrest “got so blown out of proportion” after it happened. Yeah, you know how we exaggerate things like that with words like “arrested” and “charged” and “domestic violence.”

The former television star told the outlet that Cartwright was angry with Bryan for having not left his now-ex-wife Matros sooner, and that’s what led to the disturbance:

“We didn’t even really get that physical. We got really loud. We were screaming and because we were in a townhome that had [thin walls], everybody could hear. Johnnie was, at the time, just really upset about my situation. At the end of the day, [the police] throw a bunch of counts at you because they ultimately want you to plead to something. I could’ve fought it … but that’s more stress and drama. I got two misdemeanors and called it a day.”

Wow. So much for taking accountability for his actions with this interview! This whole thing he’s just defending himself!

He called the arrest and subsequent legal battle a “learning experience,” and admitted to his “issue with drinking.” But, as the THR report notes, Bryan “came short of calling himself an alcoholic.” The actor told the news org that his drinking days started early, while he was still a teenager starring on Home Improvement:

“Dude, I started drinking when I was 14. Back then, I was going to nightclubs and they would just let me in because I was the kid from Home Improvement. I try to stay away from [alcohol]. I’ve just kind of disengaged. I’ve got my routine, I’m not going out and getting lit, and that takes away a lot of problems.”

The THR feature also notes some cryptocurrency controversies Bryan is allegedly involved with, too. The actor was a relatively earlier investor in Bitcoin, and supposedly made millions of dollars in that realm.

But the article reports he also took money from investors — including other actors as well as women he met on dating apps like Tinder and Bumble — before allegedly splitting with the cash and not providing any crypto assets in return. Whoa!

Travis Aaron Wade, most notable for his role in War Of The Worlds, spoke to THR about Bryan’s allegedly shady business activities. He claimed Bryan talked up a crypto project called Producers Market and allegedly faked “famous” contacts in his phone to impress Wade and other potential investors:

“He told us that it was going to be a huge company and that he brought in Tom Brady as one of the investors. He would be dating someone, a random girl that he met on Bumble or Tinder, and he would save their name as someone famous so that when his phone would ring, it would pop up as Angelina Jolie or whatever.”

WTF?!

Wade also said Bryan claimed to be a cousin of country music superstar Luke Bryan in an apparent bid to further ingratiate investors to his supposed connections. Wade — who said he did not invest any money with the former child star — lamented about his friend:

“The guy has two sides. His dark is dark, but his light is really light. It’s sad because you really do fall in love with him. He’s a great guy. But I see it as my responsibility to not let other people get taken advantage of.”

Yeah…

Bryan denied the crypto scam allegations to THR. He told the outlet he is “in the same boat” as the investors waiting to get their money back, and said:

“This was not me running some shady scam deal or something. That’s just not me.”

The feature quotes several people who have known Bryan for years, too.

One of them is his only sibling, sister Ciri Bryan. She called her brother “a wonderful person and a great man” — but even she had to add that he seems to have “torched” his life away in recent years:

“He threw everything that he worked so hard for and just torched it in all aspects of his life. I feel like he 100 percent knows the difference between right and wrong but, with addiction, that goes out the window. He got in way over his head, and it’s going to be really hard for him to admit that, but if he’s able to jump over that hoop, then he can do the hard work [it requires] in paying back the money he took from people and regaining trust.”

Ouch! And Home Improvement star Tim Allen is quoted in the piece, too.

Of course, the 70-year-old sitcom legend had his own run-ins with the law years ago. In his 20s, Allen was arrested for cocaine possession and eventually served two years in prison on trafficking charges. Since then, he has built a massively successful comedy career and led the sitcom Still Standing in addition to his ’90s work with Bryan. So Allen could have a unique perspective on the former star’s issues, right?

Reflecting on the ex-child star he saw growing up on set, the Toy Story alum told THR:

“I don’t know what’s going on with him. Zach is a great kid who has grown into a complex man. All you can do is step aside and let somebody go through their process. At a certain point, he deviated from the guy I know to somebody who is reacting to situations that I had nothing to do with and can’t control. I don’t know what happens when people get corrupted. You just don’t know.”

Damn.

As for Bryan and Cartwright, it appears as though life is moving forward. Bryan first announced their engagement in late 2021 on his private Instagram account, which the outlet notes is now disabled. They’ve been building a family, too. They had a daughter in spring 2022, per Bryan, and then had twins in May 2023 — the sitcom alum’s fifth, sixth, and seventh children along with the four he shares with ex-wife Matros. Whew.

You can read the full THR piece at the link HERE. Reactions, Perezcious readers?

If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, help is available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA provides at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.

[Image via Guillermo Proano/WENN/Avalon]