Kelsey Fitzsimmons and her fiancé spent almost every Sunday night with her mom and stepdad.

After Fitzsimmons gave birth to her son in February, Lauren and Will Page hosted “Sunday funday,” where the family, including Page’s kids from a previous marriage, would gather for dinner.

“We would have a full house, and this went on for a while,” Will Page told MassLive in an interview Monday evening. But the Pages began to notice some tension between Fitzsimmons and her fiancé, and the couple missed several Sundays in a row, which struck them as odd. “Something’s not right here.”

Not long after those visits stopped, everything changed for Fitzsimmons and her family.

On the last weekend in June, Fitzsimmons and her fiancé went to Maine for a bachelorette party ahead of their wedding, which was scheduled for this month, a date that has since come and gone. On the night of June 28, Fitzsimmons’ fiancé claims, she got drunk and assaulted him, hitting him three times with her fist.

The next day, according to Fitzsimmons’ fiancé, she sent him disturbing text messages, including one where she said she was “going far away for a long time and that neither she nor the minor child was okay,” according to a court filing.

On June 30, as both Fitzsimmons and her mother tell it, the couple were supposed to meet on the North Andover Common to reconcile. But Fitzsimmons’ fiancé never showed up.

Instead, he obtained an emergency restraining order at Essex Probate and Family Court based on an affidavit he submitted, where he claimed Fitzsimmons had threatened the life of their son and repeatedly assaulted him.

In a filing supporting his bid for full custody of the son, the fiancé claimed Fitzsimmons had behaved erratically in the past. He accused Fitzsimmons of punching herself in the stomach while pregnant on a trip to Croatia last October and claimed she threatened to kill herself on multiple occasions.

Tim Bradl, a lawyer representing Fitzsimmons in the criminal case, said after a court appearance that the affidavit was full of “self-serving allegations.”

“Her whole world was taken away from her because a guy went to the probate court [and] filled out a piece of paper,” he said.

From Fitzsimmons’ perspective, she’s left with more questions than answers about her fiancé’s actions.

“Why, Mom? Why would he do all that?” Lauren Page recalled her daughter asking.

When police arrived at Fitzsimmons’ home to serve her the restraining order, an officer shot her in the chest.

What led up to the shooting is at the heart of the criminal case pending against Fitzsimmons in Essex Superior Court: did she, as police say, point her weapon at an officer and try to fire it, or did she attempt to take her own life, as she has claimed?

Fitzsimmons is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. A grand jury took a “wrecking ball” to the case, Bradl said, when it declined to indict Fitzsimmons on a charge of armed assault with intent to murder.

Family speaks out

It’s been a difficult four months since the shooting for Fitzsimmons’ family, as she spent months in a Boston hospital before being moved to the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee.

“It’s been no real highs this year,” Will Page said. “It’s all lows. Kelsey is feeling it worse than we are, but we’re getting beat down just as bad.”

The Pages have filed a petition for visitation rights with their grandson, who they haven’t seen since the night in June when Fitzsimmons was shot. In the last four months, they’ve received just two photos of the boy.

That’s been particularly hard for Lauren Page, who said she barely went a day without seeing him before the incident, frequently stopping at Fitzsimmons’ home on her way back from work.

“I couldn’t go more than two days without seeing the babes,” she said. “Kelsey would feel better knowing that he’s with us, because we spent so much time with him.”

“I’m mad,” added Will Page.

Still, they are buoyed by the growing support for Fitzsimmons online.

A Facebook group titled “Justice for Kelsey Fitzsimmons – Official Group” has amassed more than 3,000 members. At the last court hearing in the case, about a dozen supporters showed up wearing purple, some with T-shirts calling for justice for Fitzsimmons.

Posts in the group mostly urge Fitzsimmons to stay strong, while others work to organize fundraisers or events to help support her.

Support for Fitzsimmons grew after a hearing in September, where a judge reversed her order granting Fitzsimmons’ release and sent her back to jail, after finding she could not comply with court-ordered alcohol testing.

“It’s keeping her going 100%,” Lauren Page said about the public support for her daughter. “She’s getting letters from all over the world that she reads at night, and it helps her to know that this is a bigger fight.”

Released on bail, then back to jail

Fitzsimmons did spend about 48 hours at home in between her two stints in jail.

For at least one night, there was a glimpse of what life was like before. Fitzsimmons requested a certain meal, which her parents were happy to provide.

“We sat down … and we had a family dinner,” Will Page said, adding that his two children, who are teenagers, and Fitzsimmons’ father attended. “We just had a regular dinner, and just was a great night.”

They witnessed first-hand the difficulties Fitzsimmons had with completing testing using a SCRAM device, which tests for alcohol with the user blowing into a tube.

Fitzsimmons almost passed out once and was left with severe pain after attempting to complete the tests.

While probation did not consider the issues with the test a violation, a judge decided Fitzsimmons could not be out of jail unless she could complete the tests.

Her family believed it would be a relatively straightforward day in court — so much so that Will Page didn’t even attend. But instead of returning home, Fitzsimmons left the courtroom in handcuffs. She and her lawyers have fought her detention in every avenue available: first asking the judge to reconsider her order, then appealing to a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and now, the full bench.

It’s been disappointment after disappointment, the family said.

“Always in the back of your head, you’re hopeful that somebody’s going to see through what’s going on and be like, ‘This girl needs to go home and get the help that she needs,’” Lauren Page said, adding that her daughter isn’t receiving any mental health treatment in jail.

A spokesperson for the Hampden County Sheriff’s office told MassLive that every woman at the jail has “access to a full range of medical and mental health services through our on-site, full-time medical and mental health departments.”

“We take great pride in providing every individual with the care, treatment, and dignity they deserve,” the spokesperson, Robert Rizzuto, said.

After the birth of her son, Fitzsimmons was diagnosed with postpartum depression. In March, she was sectioned at Lawrence General Hospital after police responded to her home and found her distraught.

The Pages declined to answer questions about what Fitzsimmons was like after giving birth. But they said treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital was hugely beneficial to her depression.

Fitzsimmons was set to return to work as a police officer on July 4 after being cleared by a doctor. It was a job she loved and one that represented the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

“It was just something that she had a thing for, a passion for … to help the community, to help the people in the community, and be a part of that,” Lauren Page said.

It’s difficult for either Will or Lauren Page to look forward, with Fitzsimmons still in jail and so much uncertainty still ahead. Still, they remain hopeful that this latest step, appealing to the full Supreme Judicial Court, could bring Fitzsimmons home for the holidays.

No trial date has been set for the 28-year-old, though it appears she could face a jury as soon as January.

• Read more: Postpartum struggles, restraining order and shooting: What to know about Mass. police officer shot by colleague

“It’s just normal family stuff that we hope to get back to,” Lauren Page said.

SPRINGFIELD — A former middle school teacher accused of sexually assaulting two of his students scored a win Thursday, after a judge allowed a motion to suppress much of the evidence in the case.

Robert Gayle, a former teacher at STEM Middle Academy on Alton Street in Springfield, stands accused of raping two students, one of whom said he repeatedly assaulted her in a closet.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Tracy Duncan allowed a motion to suppress evidence recovered from Gayle’s home and electronic devices. Duncan found that there was not probable cause for one search, and that negated subsequent ones.

“The court finds and rules the first search warrant was not supported by the requisite cause, and therefore, the evidence seized under that warrant must be suppressed,” Duncan’s ruling reads.

Based on that, Duncan ruled that subsequent searches were rendered moot.

Gayle, who was 60 at the time he was arrested in 2023, is a U.S. Navy veteran and longtime teacher. He was first accused of sexually assaulting one student. Another girl came forward and leveled similar accusations of assault.

In May of 2023, one alleged victim came home with a “hickey” on her neck. The child’s mother immediately contacted administrators at the school, according to court records. The child reported Gayle had pulled her into a closet in his classroom and kissed her.

“Mr. Gayle grabbed her sweater pocket, pulled her in and started kissing the left side of her neck,” court records say.

The alleged victim initially denied that Gayle was kissed her, but later disclosed that he did.

“She lied to cover up for him but was caught,” Duncan ruled.

The Hampden District Attorney’s office has 30 days to appeal the decision.

“My client is very happy with the judge’s decision and we look forward to continuing this fight in court,” defense attorney Daniel D. Kelly said.

Gayle was released on bail shortly after his arrest.

Brigitte Bardot is reminding the world she is still alive after rumors of her demise spread following a recent hospitalization.

The French actress, 91, released a statement Wednesday confirming she is not dead after online reports claimed that she died in the South of France.

“I don’t know who is the idiot who put out this fake news tonight about my disappearance, but know that I am doing well and that I don’t have the intention to bow out,” Bardot wrote, via translation, on X Oct. 22.

Rumors of Bardot’s death circulated after Aqababe — a massively popular French influencer who shares celebrity news in his home country — said the actress had died, Daily Mail reported.

“According to my exclusive information, Brigitte Bardot died today,” Aqababe wrote on social media, per Daily Mail.

“Her coffin was ordered in Saint-Paul-de-Jarrat in the 09 (Ariège) department,” he continued. “An icon has passed away, leaving behind an unforgettable legacy and an eternal imprint on the hearts of the French.”

Bardot’s death rumors also came after the film star was recently hospitalized in late September. French newspaper Var-Matin confirmed on Oct. 17 that the pop culture icon had been recovering for weeks at a private hospital in the southeastern city of Toulon, France, after a surgery for a “serious illness,” E! News reported while citing the outlet.

However, a spokesperson for Bardot confirmed to the Daily Mail that she has since returned home “and is now resting.”

Bardot is an actress, model, singer and animal rights activist. She was a fashion icon and sex symbol in the ‘50s and ‘60s thanks to her smoky eyes, “Bardot neckline” and roles in films like “Contempt,” “…And God Created Woman” and “Love on a Pillow” before retiring from acting in 1973. She also released several albums, notably collaborating with Serge Gainsbourg and recording songs like “Harley Davidson,” “Bubble gum” and ”Je t’aime… moi non plus.“

A new documentary about her life and activism, titled simply “Bardot,” was released earlier this year.