During the third installment of The Real Housewives of Orange County season 14 reunion, Gina Kirschenheiter broke down to the other women and host Andy Cohen about the alleged domestic abuse incident that occurred between Gina and her husband in June 2019.
Gina joined the Real Housewives cast at the beginning of season 13, and while her parents & her three children were often featured on the show, her husband Matt was noticeably absent. Matt has never appeared on the show - supposedly his work wouldn’t allow him to - which viewers and the fellow housewives took as a sign of marital troubles, which proved to be true. Gina revealed on the show that Matt had an extramarital affair, Gina herself got a DUI and the couple was separated for the majority of Gina’s time on the series, but the final straw was an alleged abuse incident that occurred in June. The couple divorced shortly after the incident and Matt was charged with domestic abuse, but now Gina has opened up about the incident.
On Thursday’s reunion episode, Gina broke down in tears while talking about the violent incident where Matt allegedly choked her, hit her, dragged her, and threatened to kill her (via People). The housewife recounted, “He just was like a different person.” The 35-year-old said she was “really scared” as it was happening, and she “ran out of the house” to ring her neighbor’s doorbell for help but Matt “dragged [her] back in the house.” Gina said that “a lot of the neighbors heard” and many of them called the cops, who showed up and arrested Matt. While in tears the housewife again said: “it was really scary.” Her ex-husband has since been charged with two felonies related to domestic abuse and is facing four years imprisonment if found guilty, though he has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In the past when talking about her situation with ex-husband, Gina has often talked about the sympathy she still feels for Matt — and this time was no different. The housewife said to reunion host Andy Cohen that Matt “immediately” apologized for the incident the day after his arrest, and that she does “feel bad” for him because “I feel like he cracks.” She attributed some of his temper to the Real Housewives franchise, saying that “he knew at this point that I had shared a lot of this on the show, and it’s not an excuse, but it’s really hard.” The mom-of-three continued, telling everyone, “There is a part of my heart that feels bad for Matt because he wasn’t really a part of this to begin with and he’s not a monster.” She reiterated that despite their troubles, there is no custody battle surrounding their three children. Gina says she would “never keep the kids from him. He’s a really good dad.”
Throughout the seasons, Gina has always tried to prioritize her children and do whats best for them despite her divorce from their father, Matt’s affair, Gina’s DUI, and the domestic abuse incident that occurred. While the fellow housewives have never been shy about sharing their opinions surrounding Gina and her marriage, they were also there when she needed them to be, which was shown this season after Gina told them about Matt’s affair. When the incident in question happened, filming had just wrapped weeks prior for season 14 so while the aftermath wasn’t featured, it’s likely viewers will learn more about it when The Real Housewives of Orange County returns for season 15.
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Source: People
