Roseanne Arnold Petitions for Divorce a Second Time

The saga of the stormy marriage of show business couple Roseanne and Tom Arnold took another twist Friday when the actress refiled for divorce, 22 days after she dropped a previous divorce proceeding against her husband and recanted claims that he emotionally and physically abused her.

Arnold, star of ABC’s top-rated “Roseanne” series, again cited irreconcilable differences in her Los Angeles Superior Court divorce petition. She also asks that the court not require her to pay alimony.

The actress was in Europe and unavailable for comment, said Pat Kingsley, her publicist. Tom Arnold on Friday was taping a segment of his CBS series, “Tom,” but had no comment on the filing, said David Brokaw, his spokesman.

The development again seemed to shock the Hollywood community and those close to the couple, especially because it came so soon after Roseanne Arnold’s withdrawal of her original divorce petition and was filed by a different attorney than the first time around.

In that April 18 filing, Arnold said she was a victim of “battered wife syndrome,” maintaining that her husband had abused her throughout their four-year marriage. She stated that her husband “hit me, struck me, has thrown objects at me, pinched me and verbally abused me. He also has pushed me against walls, while he screams and shouts at me, drowning out any possible pleas that I might make for him to stop.”

In the days that followed the first filing, Tom Arnold repeatedly denied the accusations in several interviews, but acknowledged a strain in their relationship because of their respective heavy work schedules. He also denied rumors that the split had anything to do with a rumored affair with his assistant, Kim Silva. Arnold said he wanted a “healthy” reconciliation with his wife.

Three days after Roseanne Arnold filed the first petition, she retracted the action, dropped the abuse charges and publicly apologized to her husband and Silva “for letting outsiders, nasty gossip and lies finally break me down and leave me reeling. Tom never hurt my children, and often our fights in the past have led to physical action, which we both are learning to control.”

Just as they said last time around, many in the entertainment industry speculated that the would-be split is another of the Arnolds’ infamous publicity stunts.

“Tom” is struggling in the ratings and is not expected to be renewed for the fall season. “Roseanne” is still one of television’s highest-rated programs, but fell below “Home Improvement” as television’s most popular show.

Earlier this month, the couple spent time in the Midwest. However, Roseanne Arnold recently left for Europe after her husband returned to Los Angeles.