Jurors on Wednesday heard details of the lavish lifestyle former surgeon Michael Brown enjoyed - including a Memorial-area mansion, servants and luxury cars - before he was accused of assaulting his fourth wife last year.

Jurors were not present, however, when Rachel Brown, 36, testified she began dating former Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell five months after the alleged assault.

Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin told state District Judge Jim Wallace that Rachel Brown's relationships were relevant because she had painted herself as a "blameless, wronged woman."

But Wallace would not allow the evidence after clarifying the relationship began after the Aug. 13, 2010, fight for which DeGuerin's client faces felony charges of assault.

Outside of court, the attorney said he believes Rachel Brown and the major league baseball player were having an affair prior to the fight, and said there may be evidence of the liaison later in the trial.

"Stay tuned," DeGuerin said.

Bagwell has been subpoenaed in the trial, which is expected to last into next week, but he is not expected to testify.

When reached today, Erica Bagwell said she filed for divorce from her husband in September 2010.

"I did file for divorce a year ago," Erica told the Houston Chronicle. "It's just not been made public."

Earlier in the proceedings on Wednesday, DeGuerin catalogued the cars, household staff and property the couple own, which continues to cost Brown, 54, more than $100,000 a month.

How fight started

So long was the list that when DeGuerin began, "and then there's a lake house," the judge stopped him.

"I think we've gotten the flavor of that ice cream," Wallace said. "Let's move on."

A protective order prohibits Brown from going to his mansion, but he must continue to pay the bills.

Rachel Brown's testimony began with her description of a fight that erupted about 7 a.m. and ended after Brown twisted her arm behind her back.

"I felt like he was about to break it," Rachel Brown said. "I was in a lot of pain."

She said she confronted her husband after a "pocket dial" made unintentionally from his phone a day earlier left a message in which he seemed to be flirting with another woman.

The couple began yelling at each other, Rachel Brown said, and her husband became enraged. She said he chased her through their home, throwing heavy crystal vases and a humanitarian award at her.

"He picked up a vase, and threw it at my head," she said on the witness stand. "He threw two vases at me and threw one on the floor."

The altercation, witnessed by the couple's three children, was broken up by a bodyguard who had standing instructions to break up the couple's fights.

'I was scared to testify'

On the witness stand, Rachel Brown said she signed two affidavits recanting her story and requesting that prosecutors not go forward with the case after being advised by an attorney for Brown's business that doing so would keep her from testifying.

"I didn't want to drop the charges," she said. "I was scared to testify against him."

Her husband's attorneys scoffed at her story.

"You do read and write the English language fluently, don't you?" asked DeGuerin.

He questioned Rachel Brown about whether she had told friends as recently as Tuesday that she did not want to see the husband she is divorcing convicted. Brown responded that she did want him convicted.

Earlier case a factor

If a jury finds him guilty of assault, Michael Brown faces punishment ranging from probation to 10 years in prison, because he admitted to beating his third wife in 2002.

In 2006, Brown tested positive for cocaine and his medical license was revoked. His carpal tunnel clinic, the Brown Hand Center, continues to operate with other surgeons and has several locations across the Southwest.

The clinic is well-known in Houston for a series of television commercials in which Brown appears with Rachel and their children.

Chronicle reporter Jesus Ortiz contributed to this report.

brian.rogers@chron.com