Wife Beats Up TV "Survivor"

12/17 UPDATE: Charmaine Heidik agrees to attend counseling in return for dismissal of spousal abuse charge.

Despite snakes, monsoons, and food-stealing monkeys, the beach where CBS's "Survivor: Thailand" was filmed may have been safer than the California home of one of the reality TV show's final four contestants. That's because the wife of castaway Brian Heidik was arrested last month and charged with spousal abuse.

Charmaine Heidik was busted by cops on November 17 following an altercation in the couple's suburban Los Angeles home, according to these police and court records.

The 30-year-old woman, who spent two days in prison before being released on her own recognizance, allegedly punched her husband in the nose. A bloodied Heidik then called 911, but he refused medical treatment when officers arrived.

Charmaine told cops that the dispute began when she returned home and found Brian "passed out drunk" on the living room couch, while the couple's young son was crying on the floor. Brian replied that there had been "four additional domestic violence occurences between them during the past year" and that he planned to file for divorce.

At her arraignment last month, Heidik was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from her 34-year-old husband and to not "own, use or possess any dangerous or deadly weapons." A Superior Court judge also granted Charmaine a one-time visit---in the company of a sheriff's deputy--to her former Quartz Hill residence to pick up belongings.

Charmaine, who, like her husband, has starred in a variety of soft-core pornos, made an appearance on last Thursday's (12/5) episode of "Survivor," which was taped five months ago. She was one of several family members allowed a brief on-camera reunion with their contestant-relatives.

Heidik, whose trial is scheduled for December 16, faces a maximum of a year in jail if she's convicted of the misdemeanor corporal injury to spouse charge. (5 pages)