Real Housewives of Orange County alum Noella Bergener is being called “unreasonable” by her ex-husband James Bergener. Apparently, the one-and-done Housewife is making it difficult for her ex to see their son. He’s asked the court to step in on his behalf.
Noella and James began dating in 2015 and welcomed their son James Michael Bergener, Jr., via surrogate in 2019. They married in 2020 and moved to Puerto Rico.
But that’s when things got complicated.
Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Dueling divorces
When James and Noella split in 2021, he filed for divorce in Puerto Rico, where they lived and owned a home. But Noella, who had moved to Orange County to join the cast of RHOC, filed a separate request for divorce in California. My first thought was that California’s community property laws played a part in her decision. But my friend Google tells me that Puerto Rico also has community property laws in place. So who knows?
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, James, a well-known personal injury lawyer, asked the court to dismiss Noella’s California divorce case. In turn, Noella tried to have the Puerto Rico case dismissed.
The Puerto Rico case was finalized in 2022. James and Noella reached an agreement that all property issues would be handled in the Puerto Rico case, while issues related to their son would be handled in California.
As part of the California case, Noella pleaded for support, to which she’s entitled as the mother of their son. At the time, she said, “I can’t afford rent, and we had to move in with my boyfriend.” Eventually, the former couple agreed that James would pay her $25,000 per month in support.
California case throws a spanner in the custody works
For some reason, Noella never dismissed her California divorce case despite the marriage being already terminated in Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, the open case in California has prevented the couple from resolving outstanding issues of custody and parenting time.
His lawyer explained, “Mr. Bergener cannot open a separate child custody case in California. He tried … This Court rejected his petition because the California divorce action has not yet been dismissed.”
Since his efforts to reach any agreement with Noella are at an “impasse, he needs court intervention to ensure frequent, continuing, and reasonable contact” with his son. “Without court intervention, Mr. Bergener fears he and the child will continue to suffer from [Noella’s] unreasonable parenting time restrictions and mandates.”
Noella has yet to respond to James’ recent motion.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
