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Shannon Beador claims she was dumped by her former boyfriend, John Janssen, after her DUI and hit-and-run arrest in September 2023 — even though fans were unaware that they were together at the time.
As the 60-year-old Real Housewives of Orange County star explained why she and John, 62, kept their reconciliation private following their initial split in November 2022 and revealed how he broke up with her, Shannon reflected on a near-breakdown she suffered amid filming on season 18, shared why she believes John is “coaching” his new girlfriend, Alexis Bellino, 47, and admitted she’s “finding humor” in having to co-exist with the two of them on the show.
“As I saw as soon as I saw that photograph of them at the Quiet Woman I knew, I knew she is going to be back on the show,” Shannon admitted during an August 14 interview with Entertainment Tonight. “I knew it in my gut [after the photo], but I didn’t officially find out until right before we filmed [in January]. I wasn’t happy about it.”
According to Shannon, John began dating Alexis about six weeks after they split for a second time.
“We both knew deep down it wasn’t going to work, and we didn’t want to admit [it],” she revealed of why their reunion was kept under wraps. “We just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but we kind of made a big deal out of it by saying we are not back together.”
“Two weeks after the DUI, he called me and said– he was supposed to take me back to [Vicki Gunvalson‘s house, where I was staying], and he said, ‘We are done. You’ve ruined my life by making it so public, and you’ve ruined my family’s lives for making it so public,’” Shannon recalled. “And I knew that our relationship had to be done anyways, so I accepted it and that was that.”
Although John claimed he didn’t like the spotlight, it wasn’t long before he went public with Alexis, another public figure whose now-ex-husband, Jim Bellino, once filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against Shannon that cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As RHOC fans may have seen, Alexis denied she was involved in the case, but Shannon teased, “Tune in.”
Speaking of lawsuits, Shannon was recently targeted with a $75,000 lawsuit from John, who claimed she owed him for a facelift he paid for (she claims the plastic surgery was a gift).
“I offered him the full amount because I know legal fees will surpass [$75K],” Shannon revealed. “He said, no, because he refused to sign a mutual non-disparagement agreement, which is industry standard in any settlement case. So, is it about money? Because if it was, you would have taken the money that you allege that I took from you.”
“In addition,” she added, “he has added a fraud component to the case, which is that I intentionally took money from him and that includes punitive damages.”
On the show, Shannon was recently seen calling John a “monster.” But during the interview on Wednesday, she suggested the comment was made due to their legal situation.
“I said that from today’s perspective, not from back then,” she noted.
As for John’s relationship with Alexis, Shannon suspected her castmate had only seen the good parts of John.
“There aren’t a lot of stories, there’s just details to tell,” Shannon explained. “At the beginning of my relationship with John, I paid for everything. Yes, I did. Not the entire relationship, but I did at the beginning. So, I don’t know what else to say. You know, that happens. Sometimes you have good times, sometimes you don’t.”
“I cared about John,” she went on. “At the beginning of our relationship … within two weeks, I was told a lot of the same things that Alexis was told. I mean, verbatim. So, I thought that this was my future husband, and when you are in hard times, you think about those good times. So it was always my hope that we would get back to that.”
Nearly one year after breaking up for good, Shannon said John has been “coaching” Alexis on the show, potentially giving her talking points to bring up with their castmates.
“Before I would film, especially last year’s reunion … ‘You need to say this, you need to do this,’” Shannon revealed.
She then signaled Gina Kirschenheiter, 40, who told her that while recalling a past run-in with John, who yelled at her at an event, to Alexis, Alexis defended John as if she had been present.
“On that night I said, ‘John, why were you so upset?’ He goes, ‘Well I couldn’t find the food, you know, the alcohol hit me, whatever,’” Shannon shared. “So, Gina said, ‘Alexis turned to me at the luncheon and said, he was hungry.’ I said, what? So, he had told Alexis that story, and her response was supposed to be, he was hungry.”
When Shannon was then asked about John’s appearance with Alexis on Carlos King‘s podcast, Reality With the King, where he suggested dating Shannon was like “[failing] every day,” she sarcastically replied, “It’s like, gosh, John! You’re such a good guy, you are such a good guy. You are trying all the time.”
John also said he only agreed to appear on RHOC because Shannon wouldn’t survive without the show.
“I would have to find something else to do … It would be a struggle,” Shannon confessed.
After noting that she wishes John and Alexis well, Shannon said she’s “excited” to travel to Mexico with Gizelle Bryant, 53, Ashley Darby, 36, and Luann de Lesseps, 59, for filming on their new Peacock dating series, which is tentatively titled Love Hotel.
“I think it’s going to be really fun, so I am really excited that they asked me to do it,” she said. “I mean, what else am I doing? My kids will all be back in school, and I don’t have anything else going on, so it will be fun. I am going to have fun with it. I am walking into it saying, this is just going to be fun.”
Regarding the remaining episodes of RHOC season 18, Shannon described them as a roller coaster.
“It’s beyond,” she stated. “I, for the first time in my life, thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I was told things — I was talking to my attorney off to the side, and I was told things with the girls that I couldn’t believe.”
Although she didn’t share specifics, Shannon said her emotional moment was prompted by John and their legal battle.
“More happens and, I want to make it clear that I do not want to be portrayed as a victim,” she added. “I am not. If anything, I have proven to myself that, in the last year, I am a survivor. I am not a victim.”
RHOC Live Viewing – This is also the live viewing thread for tonight’s new episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18, so feel free to comment and chat as the new season airs at 9/8c on Bravo.
