California Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula missed a month of work from the Capitol while in rehab for alcohol and marijuana, according to court documents in a divorce sought by his wife, Elizabeth.

She filed for divorce in January, citing irreconcilable differences, and is seeking more than $27,000 a month in spousal and child support.

“Recognizing that I was having difficulty dealing with the stress of my occupation and the demands made on me, I voluntarily entered an inpatient rehabilitation program on Jan. 7, 2026. The program was designed to provide me with the skills necessary to cope with that stress,” Arambula, D-Fresno, declared in a court document.

He said he successfully completed the program Feb. 6. He called the program “extremely beneficial.”

His office on Thursday confirmed his absence from work.

“Assemblymember Arambula was on approved medical leave during January and then returned to work in Sacramento and Fresno. He is fully engaged in work — authoring legislation, attending meetings and events, and interacting with constituents,” an office spokesperson told GV Wire.

Messages sent directly to Arambula were not returned.

Arambula is running for Fresno City Council District 3 — representing southwest and downtown Fresno — in the June 2 primary. He has served in Assembly District 31 since 2016.

Others who have qualified or intend to run for the seat include Fresno Unified trustee Keshia Thomas; former West Park School District trustee Fernando Alvarez; caseworker Jalen Swank; and businesspeople Charles Montoya, Larry Burrus, and Anji Brown.

The deadline to file for the seat is Friday afternoon.

Rehab and Divorce

Arambula wrote in court documents that his wife visited him in rehab and said she was supportive. However, she filed for divorce after the visit and moved out of the home. He also claimed his wife will not allow him to see his children, and that one transferred high schools without his knowledge, according to his court declaration.

“Elizabeth is attempting to use my voluntary rehabilitation as an excuse to keep the children from me,” Arambula wrote. He agreed to drug testing, using Soberlink and attending AA meetings.

In her declaration to the court, Elizabeth Arambula mentioned her husband’s time in rehabilitation. The Arambulas were married Jan. 22, 2011, and have three girls — ages 14, 13 and 10. She filed for divorce Jan. 26.

She is proposing joint custody of the children and a court order requiring Arambula to stay away from alcohol and marijuana and submit to drug testing. In court documents, Arambula expressed concerns about visitation rights with his children.

“This will have a substantial detrimental effect on the children. It is important that they be with me and see that their father loves them, cares for them, and is doing well. If I am not allowed time with them, I fear that it will undermine our parent-child relationship,” he wrote.

The Arambulas are scheduled to meet in court March 17 to discuss the matter before Judge Mary Vasquez.

Dependency Struggles

In a court declaration, Elizabeth Arambula said she has “covered for Respondent’s struggles with alcohol, marijuana and (video) gaming, concealing them from our children, family, friends and his professional circle.”

“His dependency issues have worsened over time. I used to drive Respondent to work because of his sobriety issues; government drivers would bring him home. He rarely drove our daughters for the same reason,” she wrote.

Elizabeth Arambula also said her husband “cannot detach from video games or cope without smoking or drinking.”

She alleged her husband spent $4,700 in December 2025 on one mobile game alone.

“When his gaming was interrupted, he became angry and irritable. On a typical day, he spent much of his time using his THC pen, drinking whiskey and playing games on his iPad, taking a few meetings scattered throughout,” she wrote.

Elizabeth Arambula said her husband checked himself into rehab “only because I was serious about divorce. He used his time there to cancel my accounts and strip me of financial security rather than work on his recovery.”

Elizabeth Arambula had doubts about her husband’s sobriety when he exited rehab. She cited witnessing him through a Ring camera on Feb. 11 “handing a vape pen, which he uses exclusively to smoke marijuana, to a friend on our front porch.”

A message left for Elizabeth Arambula through her attorney by GV Wire was not returned.

Elizabeth Arambula’s Additional Allegations

Elizabeth Arambula said she only had $1,600 to her name when she filed for divorce. She has spent the marriage raising the children and supporting her husband’s political career, she told the court.

She said her husband “drained our accounts of nearly $1 million, canceled my credit cards, and refuses to provide any support” since Jan. 21, the day after she met with a divorce lawyer.

She also accused her husband of “spending lavishly” on furniture for the children and vacations and demanding she vacate the home. She accused him of taking control of the home’s alarm system while still in rehab.

“Respondent’s behavior has been unpredictable. Not only is he using coercive control to bring me back into the relationship, but he simultaneously sent me a $4,000 chandelier and an extravagant bouquet of flowers,” Elizabeth Arambula said.

In court documents, Elizabeth Arambula expressed concern about the effect of the divorce on their children.

“Our daughters are caught in the middle, relaying his messages to me and asking how to respond. I have told them to respond with kind words and love,” Elizabeth Arambula wrote.

She is asking the court to place conditions on her husband, including sobriety monitoring.

“It would not be uncharacteristic of Respondent to back out of the informal implementation of protections. Respondent has advised me he does not believe he needs to be monitored in any way, citing that he has 43 days of sobriety. In fact, he claims that I am the individual with a substance abuse problem,” Elizabeth Arambula wrote.

She said she moved into a rental with her family’s help. She is relying on her family for support.

Elizabeth Arambula estimated the marital assets at $919,000 in her court filing.

Tax records submitted to the court showed $1.275 million in family income for 2024. Joaquin Arambula earned a legislator’s salary of $128,215 that year while also reporting more than $1 million in capital gains, which are defined as profit from a sale or an investment above the original purchase price.

Elizabeth Arambula also asked that the records be sealed, referencing when Arambula was acquitted of child abuse in 2019.

“The publicity surrounding those charges was traumatic for our entire family, particularly our children. Our daughters were subjected to media coverage, public commentary, and scrutiny that no child should have to endure. We cannot go through this again,” she said.