Ariana Grande, in December at the BB&T Center in Sunrise (Mike Jachles photo)
Is mental illness in the genes of pop star Ariana Grande?
If you believe documents pertaining to her parents’ nasty divorce obtained by Gossip Extra, the family of the tiny singer of Bang Bang and Problem may have a history of emotional problems that led to the institutionalization of Grande’s paternal grandmother!
What’s more, the Palm Beach County court paperwork hints at a history of domestic violence in her dad’s side of the family.
It’s yet another exclusive from South Florida’s gossip website: In a motion made by the then nine-year-old Grande’s mother Joan in her 2002 divorce from Ariana’s dad, Joan requested protection from Judge Peter Blanc because she feared that then-husband Edward Butera would harm her and Ariana.
Also claiming that web-designer Butera was stalking Joan, the motion asked that Butera stay more than 500 feet from his wife’s house and office in Boca Raton, and that the judge order a psychological evaluation. To add insult to injury, Joan offered to pay for the eval!
Ariana Grande and mom Joan
After the divorce was filed, Edward showed up at the family’s fancy Fieldbrook Estates development, and allegedly raised hell when a security guard prevented him from entering the development.
Butera, according to the paperwork, wanted to go to the family’s $1.2 million-home to have it appraised for a sale.
The guard testified he was “extremely frightened” of Butera’s demeanor when she told Butera that Joan didn’t want him in the area.
One reason he couldn’t get in, according to the paperwork, was that Joan worried he’d kidnap former Nickelodeon star Ariana.
In court documents, Joan said she believed web designer Butera was having “some type of a mental breakdown” at the time of the divorce and accused him of “irrational” behavior.
“The husband’s mother and sisters have suffered from severe emotional problems,” the document reads, “to the point that the husband’s mother was institutionalized.
“The husband’s brother was arrested for domestic violence, and his sister has been medicated virtually her entire adult life for emotional instability.
“The wife is extremely concerned that the husband remove the child (Ariana) from the jurisdiction of this court,” the document ads.
Note: Although police showed up in the family’s neighborhood, according to the motion, Butera was not arrested nor charged with a crime!
Edward Butera and Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande has managed to keep herself relatively controversy free. In an era of Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, Grande has gone the wholesome ingenue route.
But stories about diva demands, short temper and controlling handlers on photo shoots and on red carpet situations started popping up.
Three of the five lawyers involved in the case declined comment about the divorce case. Edward Butera and the singer’s publicist have yet to return calls.
The bitter divorce was final in August 2003, according to records, after more than 300 motions and filings.
According to the settlement, Joan and Edward shared Ariana’s custody until her 18th birthday. It also ordered Ariana’s official name to be “Grande-Butera.”
