Life after the show

Parvati Shallow's restraining order was dissolved in 24 days

The temporary restraining order Parvati Shallow obtained on August 27, 2021 was dissolved at a hearing on September 20, 2021, when her request was dismissed. No court made a finding of abuse. John Fincher denied the allegations, saying he had no physical contact with her on the date in question.

Disputed The filing dates and the court's disposition are documented. The conduct alleged in the request was denied, was never tried, and no court made any finding about it.

Parvati Shallow Parvati Shallow John Fincher John Fincher

What the record shows

  • Confirmed Shallow and Fincher married in 2017. She filed for divorce in August 2021. Reality TV World gives the filing date as August 24; other outlets say August 21, and the discrepancy is unresolved.
  • Confirmed On August 27, 2021 Shallow asked a court for a domestic violence restraining order. A temporary order was granted. It required Fincher to stay 100 yards away and temporarily suspended his visitation with their young daughter.
  • Disputed Shallow's request alleged that Fincher had been "physically and verbally aggressive" on multiple occasions, and described an August 20 argument in which she said he made a remark about her killing herself, grabbed her arm and took her phone.
  • Disputed Fincher denied the allegations. In a statement he said: "I did not hit, kick, push or in any other way have any physical contact with Parvati at any time on August 20, 2021."
  • Confirmed At a hearing on September 20, 2021 the request was dismissed and the temporary orders were dissolved, according to court records obtained by People. No longer-term order issued and no court made a finding of abuse.
  • Unverified No custody order has been read here. Fincher's attorney Joy Dracup Stanley told People that he retains shared legal and physical custody of their daughter. That is the attorney's characterisation, not a document reviewed for this page.
  • Unverified No final divorce judgment or decree date has been located. Shallow has said publicly that the divorce was done by 2023.

The sequence, with dates

Parvati Shallow and John Fincher married in 2017. In August 2021 she filed for divorce; Reality TV World reports the filing date as August 24, while other outlets say August 21, and nothing located here settles which is right. On August 27, 2021 she filed a separate request for a domestic violence restraining order, and a temporary order was granted. Its terms required Fincher to stay 100 yards away and suspended his visitation with their young daughter while it was in force.

The order lasted 24 days. At a hearing on September 20, 2021 the request was dismissed and the temporary orders were dissolved. People reported the disposition from court records. A California family law firm writing about the case in October 2021 describes the same September 20 dismissal.

That ending is the part that falls out of most retellings. A page or a post that mentions the restraining order and stops there leaves a reader with the impression of a finding that was never made.

What was alleged, and what Fincher said

Shallow's request alleged that Fincher had been physically and verbally aggressive on multiple occasions. It described an argument on August 20, 2021 in which she said he made a remark about her killing herself, then grabbed her arm and took her phone from her. Those are the allegations as she put them to the court.

Fincher denied them. In a statement given at the time he said he did not hit, kick, push or have any other physical contact with Shallow at any point on August 20, 2021. His denial carries the same weight here as the allegation, because neither was tested. The case did not reach a trial on the merits and no evidence was weighed to a finding.

Both accounts stand where they were left in September 2021. Nothing on this page should be read as saying either one is true.

What a dismissal does and does not mean

A temporary restraining order is granted on one side's papers, before the other side is heard. It is a holding measure, not a conclusion. When the matter came up for hearing on September 20, 2021 the request was dismissed and the temporary terms fell away with it.

A dismissal is not a ruling that the allegations were false. No judge announced that. Fincher's side has characterised the outcome in stronger terms than the record supports, and this page does not adopt that framing either. What the record supports is narrow and it is the whole story: an order was issued temporarily, it was dissolved, and the court reached no finding about the conduct alleged.

Custody and the divorce

Fincher's attorney, Joy Dracup Stanley, told People after the hearing that he retains shared legal and physical custody of the couple's daughter. That is a statement from counsel. No custody order or parenting plan has been read for this page, so treat the custody arrangement as attributed rather than established.

The divorce itself is also unresolved on the record here. No final judgment or decree date could be located. Shallow has spoken publicly about the divorce as finished by 2023, which is her account of when it ended rather than a docket entry.

Their daughter was a small child through all of this and is not named on this page.

People in this story

Questions people ask

Did Parvati Shallow get a restraining order against John Fincher?
She obtained a temporary one on August 27, 2021. It was dissolved on September 20, 2021, when her request was dismissed at a hearing. No longer-term order was issued.
Did any court make a finding against John Fincher?
No. The request was dismissed and the temporary orders were dissolved without a finding of abuse. He denied the allegations, saying he had no physical contact with Shallow on the date named in the filing.
What did the request allege?
Shallow alleged that Fincher had been physically and verbally aggressive on multiple occasions, and described an August 20, 2021 argument. Fincher denied it. The allegations were never tested at a trial on the merits.
When did Parvati Shallow and John Fincher divorce?
She filed in August 2021; outlets differ on whether it was August 21 or August 24. No final judgment date has been located. Shallow has said publicly that the divorce was done by 2023.
Who has custody of their daughter?
Fincher's attorney told People that he retains shared legal and physical custody. That is the attorney's statement. No custody order has been reviewed for this page.
What seasons did each of them play?
Parvati Shallow played Cook Islands, Micronesia, Heroes vs. Villains and Winners at War, winning Micronesia. John Fincher played Survivor: Samoa, where he finished ninth.

Sources

Checked on 2026-07-26. If something here is wrong or out of date, we want to know: get in touch.