James Argent’s girlfriend, Nicoline Artursson, has been seen for the first time since his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence in Spain. The former TOWIE star, 37, allegedly attacked his model girlfriend while they were holidaying together.
He was arrested on May 5. Argent was taken into custody and reportedly given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to complete a “resocialisation course in the field of gender violence.” The reality TV star was also given a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting Ms Artursson. In the Court of Violence Against Women in Fuengirola, Argent confessed to “mistreating” Artursson. Shocked onlookers told the Mirror they were “frightened” by what unfolded and said they “heard an aggressive man yelling” and “throwing objects from the terrace of a nearby house”.
It is understood by the Mirror that Nicoline’s mother arrived at the scene to support her daughter and police escorted them both to a hospital, reports the Mirror.
Nicoline has since been spotted for the first time since news of Argent’s arrest broke. She kept her head down as she walked alongside her mum in Spain.
The model, who was previously crowned Miss Sweden, looked down at her phone as she walked down the street carrying a plastic shopping bag. She was dressed casually in a white T-shirt and a pair of black capri trousers, shielding her eyes with a large pair of sunglasses.
Argent and Artursson crossed paths in Marbella last summer and made their relationship public in September.
One onlooker admitted to being “frightened” by the shouts, telling The Mirror: “We were frightened by his shouts. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.” They claimed Artursson appeared to be “physically and emotionally devastated” by what happened.
A source close to Arg told The Sun he was “remorseful” about the attack but insisted “he never meant any harm.”
The Guardia Civil confirmed the arrest to The Mirror when approached, saying: “We can confirm Mr Argent was arrested by ‘Policia Local’ of Mijas for an alleged crime of domestic violence on 5th May.”
Arg shot to fame as one of the original stars of The Only Way Is Essex and was on screens from 2010 to 2018. In the subsequent years, the singer turned reality TV star appeared on shows such as Celebrity Super Spa, The Jump, Sugar Free Farm, and Celebs Go Dating.
Arg was suspended from TOWIE back in October 2014 after failing a drug test. Following a rehab stint, he made a comeback to the show. His struggle with drug addiction has seen him seek support from treatment centres numerous times.
He previously spoke about Artursson to OK! as he said: “I was walking to my gig at Elliott Wright’s restaurant in Marbella. All of a sudden I see this woman coming towards me.”
He went on to recall: “I was like, ‘Wow, she’s beautiful.’ She was just in her gym clothes, wearing no make-up. She’d actually just fed a stray cat.”
He added: “To have her beside me is like a dream. She’s absolutely beautiful. She’s a combination of Julia Roberts and Claudia Schiffer. What I love about Nicoline is, even though she’s very humble, she’s very classy.”