Sluben said a "bitter" ex-girlfriend is attempting to ruin his reputation.
Abc40 weatherman Rick Sluben says a "bitter" ex-girlfriend is trying to hurt his reputation. SPRINGFIELD — Popular Western Massachusetts weatherman Rick Sluben claims a former girlfriend who got a judge to renew a restraining order against him has been stalking him, sending letters to his current girlfriend and to the Springfield TV station where the meteorologist has worked since 2011.
"We have some history," Sluben said in a telephone interview Sunday afternoon, claiming the ex-girlfriend is still "bitter" over their breakup about 10 months ago.
"My side of the story needs to be told," said Sluben, an abc40 meteorologist known for his easy on-air delivery. "I think she's just bitter."
MassLive/The Republican on Saturday attempted to reach Sluben, who has an unlisted phone number, but Sluben contacted the newspaper Sunday to tell his version of events.
Sluben, 45, said the former girlfriend, 41, has sent one letter to his current girlfriend's place of work and two letters to abc40, the East Springfield-based TV station where he's an "emergency fill-in" meteorologist, according to station manager Jim Tortora.
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported Saturday that a Warren woman filed a request to have a restraining order renewed against Sluben after the original one-year order expired April 19. Sluben, of Chicopee, claims the incident stems from a recent email exchange between him and the woman, with Sluben requesting her to stop harassing him and his current girlfriend.
"It was an unpleasant email exchange," he said, referring to the back-and-forth between him and the Warren woman, whom he identified by name to MassLive/The Republican. "We have some history," he said.
Sluben said he unsuccessfully attempted to get a judge to issue a no-harassment order against the former girlfriend last week. "The judge told me to keep track of all these letters," said Sluben, who couldn't recall the judge's name.
The letters to abc40 were designed to trash his reputation, according to the meteorologist. "I call it 'stalking,'" Sluben said of the Warren woman's letters.
"I've been done with her for ten months," he said. "I think this was her intent – to tar and feather me. ... This latest incident was me telling her to stop."
Sluben said he was unsure about a 2004 restraining order taken out against him by another woman, which is cited in the Telegram & Gazette report. He said it must have been related to his divorce from his ex-wife. "I had a divorce custody battle that was drawn out," Sluben said.
An online profile on abc40's website indicates Sluben joined the station in February 2011, following "a short hiatus from the broadcast industry." Sluben had previously worked at WWLP-22News for several years and now works as a teacher in Springfield, he said.
Tortora said to the best of his recollection Sluben hadn't appeared on-air at abc40 since Christmas week, but Sluben said he delivered the weather for the TV station as recently as March.