Kriti Mehrotra
With iHeartPodcasts’ ‘Love Trapped’ delving deep into the way a casual fling turned into a paternity nightmare for ‘The Bachelor’ season 26 star Clayton Echard, we get a podcast unlike any other. That’s because it chronicles all the alleged cons of Laura Michelle Owens, a reported entrepreneur, equestrian, and real estate investor, whose supposed medical history is quite complex. It includes her claims of several lost pregnancies, genetic illnesses, cancer, autism, and more, for which she has allegedly never been able to offer concrete proof to authorities or the court.
Laura Owens’ Legal Troubles Date Back to At Least 2016
Although Laura Owens was born in 1990 in California, she has long been calling Arizona home. One of the two daughters of former anchor Jan Owens and former radio legend Ronn Owens reportedly grew up enveloped in affection, comfort, and support at every step of the way, resulting in her developing a kind of confidence that enabled her to unapologetically pursue her dreams. It thus comes as no surprise that the girl who first got on a horse at the tender age of 8 and immediately fell in love with riding has since evolved into a professional competitive equestrian.
In fact, as per records, not only does Laura compete at the national level, but she was also once affiliated with Blenheim EquiSports and is well-known in the community for training elite animals. She proudly does the latter under the banner of Quartet Farms LLC, a for-profit organization she co-owns and co-manages alongside her beloved mother, focusing on show or investment ponies. As if that’s not enough, she has even served as a co-host of the ‘Nobody Told Me!’ self-help podcast and co-founded the Keybacker real estate investment company with her sister, Sarah Navarro.
Long before Laura ever stepped into the world of real estate in the late 2010s, though, she faced legal troubles from a renowned sports management brand, Sweetnam Enterprises, based in Florida. They sued her in March 2016 for allegedly misrepresenting material facts about a small pony they’d acquired from her for $55,000, in terms of its experience as well as its registration. However, in the end, both parties chose to settle the matter out of court in August of the same year, following which Sweetnam dropped their case with the stipulation of never bringing it up again.
Laura Owens Has Been Accused of Faking Pregnancies With At Least Three Different Men
While some reports indicate Laura Owens first began introducing alleged fake pregnancies in her relationships or situationships in 2014, more substantiated records on the same date back to at least 2017. That’s when she had a brief liaison with a man named Michael Marraccini, following which she allegedly lied about being with child as well as having cancer in the hope he would become serious about her. Yet, by the time late 2018 rolled around, their bond had become so twisted that he ended up filing a police report, in response to which she filed for a restraining order, which was granted.
Then, in July 2021, Laura went on a dinner date with a man named Greg Gillespie before they reportedly slept together just once, only for her to claim she was pregnant with his twins 11 days later. According to records, he soon came to believe they weren’t the right fit, but then he received a text message from his former date about the pregnancy and how he could decide what the next step should be. She allegedly told him he could choose whether or not she had an abortion, but only if he agreed to be in a committed, monogamous, serious relationship with her with long-term intentions. What followed were severe claims of abortion coercion, drugging, and sexual assault against Greg by Laura, all of which culminated in lengthy legal proceedings that eventually acquitted the former.
However, Laura was granted a protective order against Greg – he had applied for one against her too, but it never went into effect because it wasn’t successfully served even after multiple attempts. Then, in summer 2023, the aspiring real estate investor/equestrian filed a paternity claim against reality star turned realtor Clayton Echard, alleging she was pregnant with his twins after a night together. The former ‘Bachelor’ has always vehemently maintained that such a thing couldn’t even be possible, as their fling did not involve actual intercourse – he claims there was consensual oral sex, but that’s it. She ultimately dropped her claim in May 2024, saying she had suffered a miscarriage, but Clayton refused to let the matter go and filed a civil lawsuit to ensure the paternity case went to trial.
Laura Owens is Currently Facing 14 Criminal Felony Charges
During the civil paternity proceedings, the evidence presented made it clear that Laura had faked her pregnancy, as a result of which she was ordered to pay Clayton a total of $200,0000. The judge concluded that she had altered old ultrasound images to fit her needs, changed pregnancy test results, faked a pregnancy video, provided false testimony, and lied under oath multiple times. With her own ever-changing statements being a crucial factor, a Superior Court judge later also referred the case to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to determine whether criminal proceedings were necessary. In the end, on May 6, 2025, Laura was arrested on 7 criminal charges in connection with her case with Clayton: four counts of perjury, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of fraud.
Months later, on November 5, 2025, Laura was indicted on 7 additional criminal charges related to her allegations against Greg. They are: two counts of forgery, one count of perjury, one count of fraudulent schemes & artifices, and one count of theft by extortion/accusation of crime. We should mention that the 35-year-old has since made bail, but she filed for bankruptcy on December 8, 2025, a day before she was to start making her payments to Clayton for the nearly $200,000 she owes him. Her motion was dismissed with prejudice on May 14, 2026, meaning she can not file for bankruptcy again for at least a year.
It’s also imperative to note that Laura has reportedly been offered a plea agreement on the criminal charges against her, but it’s unclear whether she will accept it or not. Until then, she remains scheduled to stand trial in late July 2026, with the prosecutors’ belief that she used the legal system to coerce men into relationships and exploit them for money. However, it appears as if the now 36-year-old resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, who still leads a relatively normal life as an entrepreneur and equestrian as of writing, maintains her innocence. In fact, in a statement she released in November 2025, she penned she has autism and also accused Clayton of domestic violence before adding she “will defend myself, fully and relentlessly, through every step of this process.”
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