Storage Wars Star Jarrod Schulz Just Got A Serious Charge
"Storage Wars" debuted on the reality TV scene back in 2010 on the A&E network. The show had success with millions of viewers being fascinated by the treasure trove that can be an abandoned storage unit. Each episode featured a location (or locations occasionally) where "abandoned" storage units were auctioned off to re-sellers — with a running tally of the unit's contents and the potential profit that could be earned after appraisals and valuation of the abandoned items Think a modern "Antiques Roadshow" but with pieces that are no longer wanted.
It wasn't just the contents of the lockers that had viewers hooked, though; it was the series' eccentric cast of characters, too. Some episodes featured different people or groups who were at the storage unit auctions, and one of those parties was couple Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante, dubbed "The Young Guns" for being the youngest auction bidders in the show's main cast, per TMZ. At the time of filming, the two owned a thrift store called Now and Then that was based in Orange, California, according to Online Storage Auctions. The pair was often featured on the show while looking for items to buy that they could resell at their second-hand shop.
While Jarrod and Brandi eventually closed their store and parted ways romantically, unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's been the end of the drama — and legal trouble — between them.
Jarrod Schulz is facing domestic violence charges
Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante often appeared on Storage Wars to purchase abandoned storage units, so they could resell the contents in their Then and Now thrift store. While Schulz and Passante split up in 2019, the relationship between the two of them hasn't exactly been smooth. By April 2021, there was a new, unsavory incident in their relationship.
Apparently, Jarrod and Brandi ran into each other at an Orange County bar and started a heated argument in April 2021. The exes, who have two children together, were yelling at each other, and when Brandi told Jarrod to leave, he didn't and instead pushed her twice, according to TMZ. Brandi ended up leaving the bar before the cops arrived to take Passante's statement and make a report.
There must have been enough evidence against Jarrod, however, because the Orange County District Attorney's office charged the "Storage Wars" guest star with one count of misdemeanor domestic violence battery. As of this writing, Jarrod has not yet commented on the charges. Though the incident seems to represent an escalation between the former couple, fans of "Storage Wars" already know that there has been trouble brewing for years.
Inside Jarrod and Brandi's breakup
While this interaction seems to be an escalation between the two, the split and ensuing drama between Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante didn't come as a surprise to true "Storage Wars" fans — there had been signs of trouble on the series for years. Jarrod and Brandi constantly bickered and disagreed on business decisions while filming the show. What may have just seemed like marital antics (though the two were never married) turned out to be indicative of their off-screen relationship. Audiences really were seeing the cracks in Jarrod and Brandi's relationship, which officially came to head — and end — a few years ago.
In June 2020, Brandi took to a Facebook Live interview with the Dad Diary and revealed that she and Jarrod had cut things off in 2018 just after filming the twelfth season of "Storage Wars." In the same interview, Brandi also disclosed that she's now a single mom to the two kids that she shares with Schulz. Even during the pandemic, she's been the sole caretaker of her two children. "I have them all the time, 24/7 they're here with me, so I have to navigate that," she told the Dad Diary (via People), but it's really nothing new for Brandi. "I did a lot of it on my own anyway, but it's the scary dad voice in the background that we're missing."
It looks like Brandi had been struggling in her relationship with Jarrod for quite some time before the public was ever aware.
Is a reconciliation possible between The Young Guns?
Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante broke up after filming season 12 of "Storage Wars," but some fans were still holding out hope for the future that the two can still have an amicable split. Jarrod and Brandi never married, even after starring in their own "Storage Wars" spin-off titled "Brandi & Jarrod: Married to the Job." Though the two didn't tie the knot, they continued to work together, and even did after their breakup in the latest season of "Storage Wars."
While the A&E TV show was originally on the air from 2010 to 2019, a thirteenth season of the program premiered in April 2021 featuring Jarrod and Brandi. The two are back to their usual activities, but now it's a bit different: they're now competing against one another and vying for what they think are the best storage units to bid on. Though Jarrod and Brandi constantly arm themselves with eye rolls and exasperated sighs, die-hard fans still hope that the two can have a good, platonic relationship in the near future.
Still, the former couple seems to be pretty clearly moving on. TV Show Ace reported that Jarrod was dating Rochel Beckman. Brandi, not so much. "I wasn't really allowed to have an identity for many, many years," she told the Spirit Talk YouTube channel (via People). "And so these last couple of years, I'm kind of coming into my own and figuring out who I am."