Fact check: Did Jeremy Renner really threaten to kill his wife?

It’s not often that we run into someone whose favorite Avenger is Hawkeye. Sure, we all understand he’s an important member of the team, but generally speaking, Hawkeye stans make up a small fraction of MCU enthusiasts. And there’s a good chance those numbers would decrease even more if most of those people knew about the allegations against Jeremy Renner coming from his ex-wife.

Jeremy Renner was a well-known actor even before he became the live-action face of Hawkeye, but The Avengers franchise certainly catapulted him to another level of stardom. He’s since risen to prominence as a singer, TV personality, and promotor of the balanced bike lifestyle. And, like most stars, the man has his fair share of skeletal allegations in the closet. The bitter feud between Jeremy Renner & his ex-wife was brought to the public eye a couple of years ago and it’s never really gone away.

Love gone sour

The marriage between Jeremy Renner & Sonni Pacheco burned bright and burned out all throughout 2014. The couple got married in January and filed for divorce in December, citing “irreconcilable differences”. Renner and Pacheco share a daughter, Ava – the main reason for the enduring conflict between them. To say things have gotten ugly during the custody battle is an understatement.

Don’t believe us? In 2019, Sonni Pacheco filed custody documents where she accused Jeremy Renner of trying to kill her and also trying to kill himself. Renner was also accused of rampant drug use and irresponsible parenting when the actor had Ava with him. TMZ obtained court documents detailing the allegations.

The disturbing charges were just the latest development in a contentious fight between Jeremy Renner & his ex-wife. Pacheco has also claimed Renner kept falling behind on child support payments (over half a million dollars!) despite making that sweet Avengers money. We’ll get to Hawkeye’s response in a moment, but first, let’s go over that “Jeremy Renner tried to kill his ex-wife” thing.

Gunplay

The story of Jeremy Renner sticking a loaded gun in his mouth comes courtesy of a former friend of his, artist Lily Faget. In June 2020, In Touch published an exclusive conversation with Faget where she opened up about her fears for Pacheco & Ava’s wellbeing. According to Faget, she witnessed Renner’s dangerous, violent behavior first-hand, when she took him home after a night out, back in November 2018.

Lily Faget claims she just wanted to make sure her friend was okay before leaving him for the night, but she ended up getting more than she bargained for. An intoxicated Jeremy Renner pulled out a gun from a safe, cocked it, and wove it around in despair before putting the barrel in his mouth and threatening to kill himself.

Lily Faget told In Touch that the situation escalated when Ava’s nanny came out – making Faget realize Ava was home – and confronted the actor, prompting him to shoot the gun into the ceiling. Eventually, Faget was able to calm Jeremy Renner down and he put the gun down. The night ended without further incident, but that had been enough to give Lily Faget nightmares for years.

Shooting Back

Jeremy Renner, of course, denies Lily Faget’s version of the story – a story which has been used as proof that his explosive, reckless behavior makes him a danger for his ex-wife & daughter. In a declaration in court about the 2018 shooting incident, Renner claimed Faget was under the influence that night, and gave his own, less scandalous version of the events.

As for his ex-wife, Jeremy Renner says she’s a toxic influence in their daughter’s life. The actor has accused Sonni Pacheco of having psychological issues and exposing Ava to “dark, graphic, sexual material on a daily basis.” The actor also accused his ex of being “obsessed with his sex life” and sharing nude photos of him with their lawyers & custody evaluators with the purpose of causing him “extreme embarrassment.”

Regarding child support payments, Jeremy Renner has accused his ex-wife of misappropriating nearly $50,000 of their daughter’s trust fund. Pacheco denied the allegations.

Short answer: there is no verified evidence that Jeremy Renner threatened to kill his wife, and no criminal charges were ever filed against him for such a claim. What did happen is more complicated—and largely rooted in a contentious custody dispute that played out in court filings and the press.

Where the allegation came from

The claim traces back to 2019, during a bitter custody battle between Renner and his ex-wife, Sonni Pacheco. In legal filings submitted as part of that dispute, Pacheco alleged that Renner had exhibited threatening behavior, including claims that he once threatened to kill her and himself. These statements appeared in court documents, not in criminal complaints or police reports resulting in charges.

Importantly, allegations in custody filings are not findings of fact. They represent one party’s claims, typically made to influence custody determinations. Courts routinely treat such statements as unproven unless corroborated by evidence.

Was there corroboration?

No publicly available evidence has substantiated the allegation.

There were:

No criminal charges
No arrest
No restraining order granted based on a finding of violence
No conviction or plea

Renner categorically denied the allegations through his legal team, calling them false and defamatory. His attorneys stated that the claims were designed to gain leverage in the custody case and emphasized that Renner had passed drug tests and complied with court-ordered evaluations.

What did the court decide?

The court did not rule that Renner had threatened Pacheco or posed a danger to her. Custody determinations ultimately involved shared custody arrangements, which would be highly unlikely if a court believed a credible, imminent threat had been proven.

Family courts are conservative when it comes to safety. If a judge had found credible evidence of a death threat, especially involving a public figure, the outcome would have been far more severe.

Why the rumor persists

The phrase “threatened to kill his wife” spread rapidly because:

It was quoted from court filings, not summarized with context
Headlines collapsed “alleged” into “did”
Celebrity custody cases attract sensational coverage
Social media amplified the most extreme phrasing

Once the allegation circulated, denials and legal nuance traveled far more slowly than the initial claim.

The difference between allegations and facts

This case is a textbook example of how allegations become internet “truths.” A claim made under oath is still a claim. Courts require evidence, corroboration, and findings. None of those resulted in a legal determination that Renner made a credible death threat.

That distinction matters—not just for celebrities, but for anyone involved in family court proceedings, where accusations can be strategically deployed and publicly misunderstood.

What we can say with certainty

The allegation originated in custody litigation
Renner denied the claim
No criminal case resulted
No court finding confirmed the allegation
No law enforcement action validated it

Why responsible framing matters

It is accurate to say: Renner’s ex-wife alleged he made a threat during a custody dispute.
It is not accurate to state as fact that Jeremy Renner threatened to kill his wife.

Conflating the two erases due process and turns unresolved legal conflict into permanent reputational damage.

Bottom line

As of 2026, there is no verified evidence that Jeremy Renner threatened to kill his wife. The claim remains an unproven allegation, denied by Renner, never adjudicated as fact, and unsupported by criminal proceedings.