Chad Johnson entered a not guilty plea today in his misdemeanor battery case for the alleged attack on wife Evelyn Lozada.
Johnson was charged with domestic battery yesterday in the Broward County Courthouse. The plea was entered by Johnson’s attorney. Johnson was not in the courtroom.
Lozada has filed for divorce from Johnson after she said he headbutted her during an argument that started after she found a condom receipt in his car.
According to sources, Johnson is refusing to sign the divorce papers to allow Lozada to be free from him.
Johnson doesn’t want to give Lozada a divorce because he wants her back. He even got a picture of her face tattooed on his right leg and he was seen last week sporting his wedding ring and a t-shirt that said “I just want to love you.”
Sources close to the couple told TMZ that the unemployed football star desperately wants to stay married.
After Johnson assaulted Lozada in the head butt heard around the world, she filed for divorce three days later. Lozada had to receive stitches on her forehead while Johnson was arrested for the bloody assault. He was released on $2,500 bail but is still awaiting charges.
Apparently under Florida law a divorce can be finalized with a judge’s approval without Johnson’s signature.
In an appearance on Iyanla Vanzant’s new show on the OWN network, “Fix My Life,” that will be airing later in the month, Lozada seems to allude to earlier domestic abuse incidents with Johnson.
“I can ignore a push and a shove, but when he messes with my image [points to her face] oh now we got a problem,” Lozada tells Vanzant.
Lozada told “Nightline” that she still loves her husband “more than anything,” but she is “afraid” of him and believes he “needs to get help.”
“It’s the hardest thing in the world to walk away from someone that you really love,” Lozada told “Nightline” in an exclusive interview. “But you have to walk away because I have to protect myself.”
