In May 2015, court transcripts from O’Reilly's custody trial with ex-wife Maureen McPhilmy revealed signs of domestic violence within the household—O’Reilly's daughter testified to a forensic examiner that she witnessed O’Reilly choking McPhilmy and dragging her down the stairs of their home by her neck, apparently unaware that the daughter was watching. In light of the allegation, O’Reilly issued a statement through his attorney describing the account as "100% false" and declined to comment further in order “to respect the court-mandated confidentiality put in place to protect [his] children”. In February 2016, O'Reilly lost a bid for custody of both of his children.