Credit: Instagram
Braunwyn Windham-Burke and Sean Burke‘s divorce has officially been finalized.
Weeks after Sean went to court, requesting his support payments be lowered and spotlighting the many “personal vacations” the Real Housewives of Orange County alum, 45, had been taking, their marriage has reached an end, with the former couple being awarded 50/50 custody of their seven kids, including Bella, 23, Rowan, 21, Jacob, 17, twins Caden and Curren, 10, Koa, 8, and Hazel, 5.
PEOPLE confirmed the news on November 18, stating Sean had been ordered to pay Braunwyn $6,000 in child support and $5,000 in spousal support each month.
“Today feels like the first day of the rest of my life,” Braunwyn told the outlet after the November 17 ruling. “You know, you go your whole life with everyone telling you what you need to do to be happy. And it gets to a certain point where you say, ‘No, actually — this is what I want to do. I’m going to live for me.’ And I’m thrilled that at 45 years old, I get a second chance to live for me.”
One particular thing Braunwyn, who has been sober since January 2020, is looking forward to is her upcoming wedding to fiancée Jennifer Spinner, 39, who she’s been dating since last summer.
“I can finally walk down the aisle for real now,” she laughed. “I’m really excited to be able to start my next chapter.”
She’ll also be vacating the Tennessee home she and Jennifer were sharing with Sean.
“We moved out here and never really anticipated Sean would be moving in with us, but we tried the whole ‘bird nest parenting’ thing and it just isn’t working,” Braunwyn revealed. “So Jen and I are moving into our own home in December, and the kids will be moving back and forth. It’s within walking distance so it’ll just be better for everyone involved.”
As RHOC fans may recall, Braunwyn and Jennifer celebrated their love with a fake wedding in Las Vegas on Valentine’s Day of this year.
Following the finalization of her divorce, Braunwyn shared a statement from Germany, where she and Jennifer are celebrating the holidays.
“Cheers to the first day of the rest of our lives … I feel like I can finally breathe again,” Braunwyn wrote.
Weeks prior to the finalization, Sean, who was recently linked to The Hills alum Audrina Patridge, was in court, requesting extra time to make his child support payment. As Radar Online reported at the end of last month, he said in a declaration that his employer had been late on payroll, causing him a delay.
The company “has not paid any of the $26k monthly due on the 1st of Nov for Oct 1st, 2023. [The company] will be able to pay the $26k for Oct, and Nov 1st payment of $26k by Nov 1st,” he explained in court documents. “The delay in income is causing a delay in payments for child support and Alimony.”
He then signaled to Braunwyn’s vacations in Puerto Rico, Portugal, and Morocco.
“Over the last few months due to Braunwyn’s personal vacations and scheduled for November, she has only been in the home 1/3 of the time, instead of the 2/3 of the time that child support was based on,” he alleged of his ex-wife, who claimed she was broke and unable to care for their kids. “I have been in our primary home with all our children, without Braunwyn, for an average of 2/3 of the time, Since this is half of the time we based child support on, I ask that it be adjusted to $3,000 ($750 per child).”
Braunwyn and Sean were featured on The Real Housewives of Orange County season 13 through season 15.
