Love Is Blind groom arrested for attempted murder after TV wife accuses him of domestic violence assault

Santiago Martínez has been arrested on multiple charges, including attempted murder, after his co-star wife Emily Ceco accused him of domestic violence.

Martínez allegedly assaulted Ceco during an argument in February. The pair, who met on the Argentine version of the show, were planning a second wedding and the alleged attack took place a week after she had celebrated her bachelorette party.

Martinez was taken into custody on Friday, (March 7), at his parents' home in the city of Ituzaingó, 22 miles west of Buenos Aires, and was also charged with unlawful deprivation of liberty and minor injuries.

A law enforcement source told Argentine newspaper La Nación that Martínez agreed that he and his wife had argued. “The accused acknowledged that the night Ceco said she had suffered gender violence there was an argument and he spoke of ‘shake-ups',” the official said.

The couple had been dating for a year and were married on the Love Is Blind Argentina before their separation was revealed on February 12 by Argentine-based Instagram account @realtimerating. At the time, Ceco briefly shut down her Instagram account and removed all posts about her marriage to Martínez.

The next day she appeared on a local morning TV show, where she had bruises on her left eye and arm which she said were the results of an attack by Martínez.

The couple had a civil marriage ceremony on Love Is Blind and were due to marry for a second time in a church. As part of her February 7 bachelorette party, she took a trip to the theatre with her mum, sisters, aunts and cousins, but Martínez supposedly did not approve of the play they went to see.

Ceco recalled being beaten by Martínez when she returned home and thinking that she would not survive. “I told him 'please don't hit me' and he said 'you're a b****’ and he punched me twice more”, told the hosts of the morning show. She went on: “I stood up and wanted to leave the room, but he pinned me against the door and pushed me onto the bed. . . then he started to choke me with my arms.”

At one point, Ceco said she struck Martínez in the genitals in a bid to stop the assault, but he overpowered her and continued with the violence against her. “He threw himself at me and started to choke me and covered my mouth so I wouldn't scream,” she said.

“I bit his hand so he would let me go and then he pushed my face against the bed and started hitting me on the head.” Ceco said she then begged her husband to stop as he covered her mouth and then chocked her.

Ceco, who spoke out on Love Is Blind about being the victim of an abusive partner in a previous relationship, said she was left traumatised by the incident and had problems sleeping before authorities apprehended Martínez.

“The fear will continue to be there, but knowing that he is in custody gives me a little peace of mind and security when I go out on the street,” Ceco told Telefe television moments after learning of the arrest. She added: “I was really afraid because I didn't know what he could do. Seeing the news about girls who made complaints and unfortunately lost their lives at the hands of these aggressors, obviously it hurts you and you know that you could end up being one of them. That is why the fact that he is behind bars today gives me a little peace and tranquility.”