In her first public statement since the fatal shooting of her ex-husband Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, Jessica Pretti has come forward with a deeply personal and disturbing account that paints a radically different picture of the 37-year-old ICU nurse the public thought they knew.

Speaking exclusively to local media outlets from a private location, Jessica — who shares two young children with Alex — said the couple had been completely estranged for more than two years following their divorce in late 2023.

“The marriage broke down when he became deeply involved in protests,” she explained, her voice steady but heavy with emotion. “He grew obsessed with extremist advocacy circles. Whenever his past activism was brought up — even casually — he would become extremely agitated, almost paranoid. It wasn’t the Alex I married anymore. The person I knew slowly disappeared.”

Jessica described how what began as passionate support for immigrant rights and healthcare equity eventually morphed into something much darker. “He started talking about ‘direct action,’ ‘revolution,’ ‘sacrificing for the cause’ in ways that frightened me. He would disappear for days, come back emotionally exhausted, angry at the system, angry at me for not understanding. Eventually I had to protect myself and the children. We cut off all contact except for court-ordered co-parenting communication.”

The most unsettling revelation came when Jessica addressed the question everyone is asking: who was the real Alex Pretti?

“He was not the kind of person you think,” she said quietly. “Everyone sees the compassionate nurse, the gentle father, the man who wanted to help others. And that part was real… but there was another side. A side that was buried very deep. A family secret from his childhood that he never fully dealt with — something involving violence and betrayal that left scars he never let anyone see. I believe that wound silently shaped so many of his decisions, especially in the last few years.”

Jessica declined to elaborate on the exact nature of the “family secret,” citing the privacy of their children, but made it clear she believes this unresolved trauma played a significant role in the escalating radicalization that ultimately placed Alex in the path of tragedy.

The statement has sent shockwaves through both the activist community that once embraced Alex and the medical professionals who worked alongside him. Colleagues at the hospital where he worked described him as “consistently kind, calm under pressure, always the one who stayed late to comfort families.” Many expressed disbelief that the man they knew could have become involved in the kind of high-risk activism that led to his confrontation with federal agents.

Meanwhile, the ongoing federal investigation into the shooting has taken on new layers of complexity. Body-worn camera footage shows Alex moving toward officers while armed, ignoring repeated commands to stop. No clear frame shows him reaching for his weapon, but agents maintain they acted on a perceived imminent threat in a volatile protest environment.

Jessica concluded her interview with a plea: “I want people to remember that behind every headline is a real human being — flawed, hurting, complicated. Alex was all of those things. He was not a monster. He was a man who lost his way. And now my children have lost their father forever.”

As Minneapolis continues to grapple with the shooting’s aftermath and calls for independent review grow louder, Jessica Pretti’s words have forced a painful reckoning: the public face Alex showed the world may have hidden a much more troubled, more fragile man than anyone realized.

For a family already shattered by violence, the truth — whatever its full shape — offers no comfort, only more questions about how a life once dedicated to healing could end in such devastating circumstances.