Kelly Bensimon, New "Real Housewife," Arrested For Assaulting Boyfriend

NEW YORK — A model who appears on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City" is facing charges that she punched an ex-boyfriend and left a bloody gash on his face.

Kelly Killoren Bensimon, 40, was arrested in Manhattan last week on a misdemeanor assault charge after her 30-year-old ex-boyfriend Nicholas Stefanov told police she assaulted him.

Killoren Bensimon surrendered Thursday, two days after the alleged assault. A misdemeanor complaint says she hit Stefanov with her fist in her apartment.

She was released without bail after her arraignment on a third-degree assault charge.

Her lawyer, Stephen Turano, didn't return a call for comment, but the Daily News quoted him as saying she denies the allegations. He called Stefanov "a jilted lover."

Stefanov told the Daily News that he still loves Killoren Bensimon. He said the pressure of being on the hit reality TV show caused her to snap and punch him during an argument.

He said she "had the courtesy to take her (engagement) ring off first," the News reported, adding she also returned it to him that night.

Stefanov's friends told the New York Post he went to his hometown of Pittsburgh because he was embarrassed to be seen in New York with a black eye and cut face.

Killoren Bensimon was married to French photographer Gilles Bensimon until 2006. They have two daughters, ages 10 and 8. She has modeled for Elle, Mademoiselle, Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar, and has edited several magazines.

Comments

[kellygrrrl]

Any Publicity is Good Publicity ... especially for a RealityTVho

[inorbit]

Was it on camera?

Will it be on the show??

*snarky laugh*

[johnnygoodwud]

set her up with chris brown. maybe he can handle this cougar.

[wrenchdevil]

this thread is worthless without video footage.

[GeorgeP922]

Wow censored for saying Plastic Surgery is bad, and this women is living proof?

sheesh.

[Smirk]

Good. If she punched him, she should be arrested. Domestic abuse isn't permissible just because the abuser is a female.

[prtypoison]

She was released without bail after her arraignment on a third-degree assault charge.

[SaucyB]

not the way to get her back: I LOVE HER, now arrest her!

[ideveloper]

The story doesn't specify who actually phoned the cops. Coulda been a witness.

[DawnLA]

why would you want someone back who punched you in the face?

[bazokbros]

I'm really to try grasp the concept of "The Real Housewives" shows. Are they supposed to highlight spoiled upper middle class/wealthy people or be a vehicle that makes people who live in similar communities aspire to live that lifestyle? Most of them seem like the snotty sorority and high school girls that were basically evil, but whose parents spoiled rotten that other kids wished were part of their clique.

[MajorKong]

I usually have to pay for that sort of thing.

[ChaiKat]

Why are there "girlfriends" on a show about "housewives?"

[happycat]

hahahahah. Good question. Have you been keeping up with the show? It looks like it's going to be good tonight.

[ChaiKat]

The only one I can even stand to watch is the Atlanta housewives. I love Nene, can't stand Kim. I haven't seen anything about when that one is coming back though.

[ElPerro]

Every one of the women on all three of those Housewives shows are despicable excuses for humanity. It's a very short leap from being verbally abusive to being phyically abusive, so this should surpirse no one.

[JZ735]

Right you are...all of them are tasteless s--ts...wh­o cares about them.

[Topfeeder]

Chris Brown.....­..........­.this one's for you.

[biskitdaddy]

He got for free what a some guys pay a lot of money for.

[playsindirt]

I think there's more man abuse going on than we acknowledge. Most men are raised to think they can't and shouldn't hit girls. I can remember when my 19-year-old son was a toddler, a little girl poked him in the eye with a stick and the mother did nothing; when he tried to smack her (a natural reflex, mind you) the same Mom went ballistic. There's a double standard for sure. Having said all that, I love the RHWNYC - I think they're a hoot and totally unaware of how moronic they appear to the rest of the world.

[winkwink]

I couldn't agree more. It's a double standard that continues to put women on a lesser plane. As for those crazy women on RHWNYC, I can't get enough. It's proof that not only does money not equal happiness, brains do not equal money.

[JZ735]

when he tried to smack her (a natural reflex, mind you)...


Hmmm...nat­ural reflex, eh?

[JJ30]

Maybe she needs to undergo Anger Management with Chris Brown. This is proff that domestic violence goes both ways.

[prtypoison]

Rihanna hit him first, double standard. This lady was released without bail after her arraignment on a third-degree assault charge.