What We Know About Home Improvement Star Zachery Ty Bryan's Recent Arrest

The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse.

Zachery Ty Bryan became a child star thanks to playing Brad Taylor, the oldest son of Tim "The Toolman" and Jill Taylor, on the popular '90s sitcom "Home Improvement." Some three decades later, here's what the "Home Improvement" star looks like today. The role has been the biggest one that Bryan has had to date. However, Bryan has gone from the star of a hit sitcom to being arrested twice for domestic violence. 

The actor's latest arrest was on July 28, 2023, in Eugene, Oregon. The police department in Eugene gave a statement to People with some details about the situation, saying they had "received report of a physical dispute between a male and adult female at a north Eugene residence. The dispute was reported to have occurred several hours prior and the suspect [Bryan] ... had left the location." 

Once Bryan was found, he was taken into Lane County Jail "on a charge of Assault in the Fourth Degree APA (Abuse Prevention Act)," according to the police. The woman involved in the assault has not been named at this time.

It's a bit of a dreadful deja vu with Zachery Ty Bryan's current arrest. Bryan was arrested in Eugene, Oregon in October 2020 for domestic violence against Johnnie Faye Cartwright, a woman he'd been having an affair with while he was married to his now ex-wife Carly Matros. The details of what happened per the police report sound pretty horrifying. "Bryan is reported to have assaulted the victim, impeded her breathing, and taken the victim's phone from her when she tried to call 911. The two have been in a relationship," the report read, according to Today.

Bryan pled guilty to two charges — menacing and assault in the fourth degree constituting domestic violence — and got three years of probation. Other charges included two additional charges of assault in the fourth degree as well as coercion, harassment, strangulation, and interference with making a report, but those were all dropped. As a part of his probation, he was to cut off contact with the victim and complete a violence intervention program. And while we don't yet know who the victim was in the 2023 assault case, it is possible it was Cartwright. The 2023 charge against Bryan mentions the Abuse Prevention Act, which issues restraining orders for victims of domestic violence.

Zachery Ty Bryan spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the 2020 assault case saying that it had been "blown out of proportion." Bryan and his girlfriend Johnnie Faye Cartwright had both been drunk, he explained, and Cartwright had bitten him during the fight and hurt herself to try and "ruin his career," according to the police report. "We didn't even really get that physical," Bryan said. "We got really loud. We were screaming." And of his charges, he didn't seem to think they actually applied to him, saying: "I could've fought it ... but that's more stress and drama. I got two misdemeanors and called it a day."

As for his TV dad's reaction to the assault and arrest, which Bryan referred to as a "wake-up call," Tim Allen said that Bryan was "a great kid who has grown into a complex man. [...] 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."

Bryan has also been arrested on DUI charges multiple times, most recently in 2020. Cartwright was also arrested in April 2021 after assaulting security guards at a Eugene bar; her sentence included two years of probation. Cartwright and Bryan got engaged in November 2021, and they have three children together, per Us Weekly.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.