Zachery Ty Bryan, the former child star who played the eldest son on the hit 1990s sitcom Home Improvement, is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A California judge has slapped the 43-year-old actor with a five-year restraining order, forcing him to keep his distance from an ex-girlfriend who claims he punched her in the head and threatened to end her life. The order, granted on November 12, 2025, comes amid a string of legal woes that have painted Bryan as a far cry from the wholesome tool-time teen fans remember. While no criminal charges have been filed in this latest incident, the allegations—detailed in court documents obtained by TMZ—echo a troubling pattern that’s left family, friends and former co-stars shaking their heads.

The drama unfolded over the summer in what started as a three-month romance gone horribly sour. According to the ex-girlfriend’s sworn statement, the trouble began on July 3 when things escalated from playful to perilous. She described biting Bryan’s nipple in jest during an intimate moment, only for him to retaliate with a vicious punch to her right temple. “It hurt so bad,” she wrote in the filing, adding that the blow left her reeling and fearing for her safety. Days later, the couple’s shared dog became collateral damage in another blowup. Bryan allegedly locked himself in a room with the pet, then punched the door so forcefully it splintered from the frame. But the most chilling claim? He reportedly sprayed the dog in the face with bleach back in June, an act of cruelty that has animal lovers up in arms.

The threats, however, sealed the deal for the restraining order. In a heated verbal spat shortly after the punching incident, Bryan allegedly warned her, “Shut the f*** up or I’m gonna shut you up,” before escalating to a direct death threat: promising to end her life if she didn’t back down. The woman, whose identity remains protected, told the court she dated Bryan for just three months but endured a barrage of emotional and physical torment. She claimed he isolated her from friends, monitored her phone and unleashed jealous rages that left her walking on eggshells. “I am in fear for my life,” she concluded in her petition, a plea that Judge [redacted] in Los Angeles County Superior Court took seriously enough to mandate Bryan stay at least 100 yards away—from her home, workplace, car and even their shared pet—until September 29, 2030. Violating the order could land him in contempt charges, jail time or steeper fines, especially given his rap sheet.

Bryan’s camp hasn’t been silent. In a raw interview with TMZ just days after the order dropped, the actor opened up about the “painful wake-up call” that’s rocked his world. “Being thrust into the spotlight at nine years old brought pressures I wasn’t equipped to handle,” he admitted, pinning much of his turmoil on the scars of early fame and a long battle with addiction. “That’s no justification for my choices as an adult, but it’s part of the story.” Bryan, who skyrocketed to stardom as Brad Taylor on Home Improvement—the ABC powerhouse that ran from 1991 to 1999 and turned Tim Allen into a comedy icon—says the gig’s demands left him ill-prepared for life’s curveballs. Post-show, he dabbled in producing and even snagged roles in flicks like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, but whispers of substance issues and volatility dogged him for years. “I’ve hit rock bottom more times than I can count,” he told the outlet, vowing to seek therapy and rebuild. His attorney, reached by Daily Mail, echoed the remorse but stressed no charges mean no guilt: “Zachery is committed to positive change and respects the court’s decision.”

This isn’t Bryan’s first dance with the law—or the bottle, for that matter. The Oregon native’s troubles trace back to at least 2020, when cops hauled him off for allegedly strangling an ex-girlfriend in Eugene, Oregon. He pleaded guilty to felony menacing and misdemeanor assault, dodging jail with probation and anger management classes. Fast-forward to 2023: Bryan was pinched in Texas for DUI and weed possession, followed by a chaotic 2024 that saw him booted from an Indiana Walmart for “disorderly conduct” and another DUI bust in Oklahoma. But the real gut-punch came on New Year’s Day 2025, when Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, authorities arrested him for allegedly punching and choking yet another woman, then threatening to kill her. That case, still pending, mirrors the current saga in eerie detail—threats, blows and a victim too scared to stay silent.

The Home Improvement connection adds a layer of irony that’s not lost on fans. Bryan was the golden boy of the Taylor clan, dishing out teenage angst alongside Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Noah Smith under Tim Allen’s gruff guidance. The show, a family staple that blended slapstick with life lessons, grossed over $1 billion in syndication and launched Allen’s movie career. Allen himself, now 72 and starring in Last Man Standing, broke his silence on X last week, posting a cryptic message: “Heard about Zachery. Heartbreaking. Kid needed help then, needs it now. Prayers up.” It’s a far cry from the on-set camaraderie that once defined the cast, but insiders say Allen’s been quietly supportive, even offering to foot rehab bills in the past.

Experts aren’t shocked by the downward spiral. Child star advocates like Paul Petersen, founder of A Minor Consideration, point to a toxic brew: Hollywood’s pressure cooker, absent parental oversight and easy access to vices. “Zachery’s story is textbook,” Petersen told Fox News. “Fame at 10 warps your wiring. Without intervention, it festers into rage.” Stats back him up— a 2023 study by the Geena Davis Institute found former child actors are 2.5 times more likely to face substance abuse, with domestic violence rates spiking in those without post-fame support networks. Bryan’s not alone; think Macaulay Culkin or Lindsay Lohan, survivors who clawed back from the brink. But for Bryan, the path forward looks steeper: with the restraining order hanging like a sword, he’s barred from contact and must surrender any firearms—a standard clause that hits hard in gun-friendly America.

The ex-girlfriend’s side paints a bleaker picture, one that women’s rights groups are amplifying. The National Domestic Violence Hotline reported a 15% uptick in calls from celebrity-adjacent victims last year, citing high-profile cases like Bryan’s as deterrents to silence. “Threats like ‘I’m gonna shut you up’ aren’t idle—they’re lifelines to abusers,” said hotline director Katie Ray Jones in a statement to PennLive. The woman’s claims extend beyond the punches: she alleges Bryan weaponized their dog, using it as a pawn in tantrums, and once locked her out in the rain during a meltdown. No kids are mentioned in the filing, but the shared pet adds emotional stakes, with the order granting her sole custody of the animal. Animal welfare orgs like PETA have piled on, demanding an investigation into the bleach incident as potential cruelty.

As Bryan hunkers down—last spotted looking gaunt in paparazzi shots outside an L.A. courthouse—the entertainment world watches warily. His reps hint at a memoir in the works, a tell-all that could humanize the headlines or fan the flames. For now, the five-year leash is a forced timeout, one that could either break him or be the reset he claims to crave. Tim Allen’s co-star Patricia Richardson, who played Jill Taylor, weighed in via Instagram: “Violence solves nothing. Get help, Zachery—for you and everyone you’ve hurt.” It’s a maternal nudge from a show that preached family first, now reckoning with one of its own gone astray. In Tinseltown, where redemption arcs are scripted, Bryan’s unfiltered sequel is anyone’s guess. Will he tool up for a comeback, or keep hammering away at old demons? Only time—and maybe a judge—will tell.