The wife of the Wisconsin man who tried to fake his own death in a kayak accident before fleeing overseas to be with his mistress filed for separation Wednesday, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.Â
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, is thought to have carried out the elaborate stunt to be with his mistress in Eastern Europe, spending four months in the former Soviet republic of Georgia before returning to America.
His wife Emily, 44, filed for a legal separation, the day after the father-of-three landed back on US soil.
Court records seen by DailyMail.com confirm that Emily, who lives in Watertown, Wisconsin, lodged the documents in Dodge County almost immediately after his return.
‘The marriage is irretrievably broken,’ Emily said in her petition.Â
Borgwardt handed himself in at Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, after going missing on August 12.
Lawyers for Borgwardt’s wife declined to comment on the separation filing when contacted by DailyMail.com.Â
Documents filed in Dodge County Circuit Court state Borgwardt’s wife wants full custody of their three teenaged children.
Ryan Borgwardt’s wife Emily, 44, filed for a legal separation or annulment, the day after the father-of-three landed back on US soil
Borgwardt was seen shuffling into court in handcuffs following his dramatic return to the US on Wednesday. His return comes four months after he was initially thought to have drowned in Green Lake while out kayaking
The couple, who married in 2002, have not yet entered into any written agreement regarding financial support and custody of the children, two sons aged 17 and 15 and a 13-year-old daughter.Â
Borgwardt is listed as having an unknown address in the petition, despite telling Green Lake County Court yesterday his address was the property in Watertown which he owns with his wife.
Emily is listed as working at Trinity St. Luke’s Lutheran School, while her estranged husband is ‘self employed’.
She is requesting that the children remain in her care, and that her estranged husband pay child support.
The documents also show that she is asking for property and debt division, as well as Bordwardt to contribute to her costs and attorney fees.
Both parties are banned from harassing each other and removing the children from Wisconsin for more than 90 days without the consent of the other parent or court.
A court hearing in the case has been scheduled for April 2025.Â
Authorities spent 54 days looking for Borgwardt before announcing on November 8 that they didn’t believe he had drowned in the lake, but rather had faked his own death.
Authorities learned in October that Borgwardt had crossed the border into Canada a few days after his disappearance and had been communicating with a Uzbek woman, leaving behind his wife Emily and kids
Court records seen by DailyMail.com confirm that Emily, who lives in Watertown, Wisconsin, filed for legal separation in Dodge County almost immediately after her estranged husband’s return
Boorgwardt was led handcuffed into the Green Lake County Court sporting an orange prison jumpsuit on Wednesday, four months after he initially vanished.
He was charged with obstruction related to the massive $35,000 manhunt which was launched following his disappearance on August 11.
Borgwardt stood largely mute during the hearing, except to tell the court he would represent himself.Â
A judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf and set bond at $500 for the misdemeanor obstruction charge, which Borgwardt only has to pay if he violates the conditions of his release from jail.Â
Police learned in October the Wisconsin man had crossed the border into Canada a few days after his disappearance and had been communicating with a Uzbek woman.
After establishing contact with him on a ‘near daily basis’, they were eventually able to persuade him to come home, saying he had voluntarily returned, ‘for his family’.
Police have not released details of where he was staying or who he was with while he was missing.
They confirmed he flew back into an international airport in the US of his own volition.Â
At a press conference on Wednesday, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll would only state that Borgwardt faces, ‘a number of charges’, including ‘obstruction’.
The criminal complaint states that Borgwardt exposed his affair after he performed a back up of his electronic devices which sent a picture of his mistress to a laptop he had left at home
He refused to confirm whether Borgwardt has been in contact with his wife of 22 years since his return.Â
Authorities revealed that the former school janitor deliberately flipped his kayak and dumped his phone and belongings in the water before paddling to safety on an inflatable boat and e-biking more than 50miles to Madison overnight.Â
Borgwardt had been talking to a woman in Uzbekistan before he obtained a new passport and a $375,000 life insurance policy in January.
They managed to establish contact and in November, Borgwardt – who had not contacted his family since his disappearance – sent a video in which he showed off his apartment, telling officers: ‘I am safe, secure, no problems.’
But the same cannot be said for his heartbroken family, who are also being supported by the Sheriff’s Office.
‘They are doing okay, that’s probably the best thing you could say,’ Green Lake Chief Deputy Sheriff Matthew Vande Kolk said last month.
‘I can’t compare their situation to anything I have ever experienced in law enforcement before, I don’t have any reference.’
Borgwardt told authorities that he faked his death because of ‘personal matters,’ Podoll said.
He also told them that he picked Green Lake for his master plan because it’s the deepest in Wisconsin.
The scheme was elaborately planned, with Borgwardt even leaving his original passport at home when he vanished.Â
Police said he tried to cover his tracks by removing his laptop’s hard drive and wiping his search history clean.
Before his disappearance, he changed all the email addresses linked to his bank accounts and moved money to a foreign bank account.
