Shannon Beador addressed what didn’t air on the current season of the Real Housewives of Orange County, her drama with Tamra Judge and Alexis Bellino, and her past relationship with Alexis’ boyfriend John Janssen – who’s currently suing her.
Following their breakup, John claimed he lent Shannon $75,000 to cover her plastic surgery, but Shannon failed to pay him back. In the current season of the show, she’s forced to film with Alexis, John’s girlfriend, and Tamra, who was once Shannon’s friend but seemingly turned after Shannon’s DUI.
On Scheana Shay’s Scheananigans podcast, Shannon named Peggy Sulahian as the ‘Housewife’ who bored her the most, but claimed Tamra is the biggest ‘chore’ and ‘horror.’ She also called Tamra the pettiest.
Though Shannon wants less of Alexis on the show, she wants alum Gretchen Rossi to return.
Shannon indicated that she previously didn’t like Gretchen “because Tamra didn’t,” and Shannon wanted to be a good friend to Tamra.
But she recently had a sit-down conversation with Gretchen, which was “really nice.”
“And I thought, ‘gosh she’s really a sweet girl. I can’t believe I didn’t even try to pursue any sort of friendship with her,'” she explained.
Host Scheana said that – at the last BravoCon, when Vicki was given an award by her former castmates – Alexis went “off script” to suggest that she herself was the ‘only woman [on stage] who hasn’t slept with Slade Smiley‘ – Gretchen’s husband.
“I had no idea Gretchen was going to be there, it was a surprise,” Scheana recalled. “So I’m talking to her after and I’m like, ‘Wait so that was not planned?’ And she was like no. She was very offended by it … So later that night at the afterparty, I see Alexis and she’s like, ‘Oh my god hi I’m Alexis!’ I’m like, ‘You’re the one who said something really rude about my friend’s husband on stage.’ And she was just like, ‘Uh…'”
According to Scheana, she then said ‘nice to meet you’ and immediately “walked away.”
Shannon then claimed that Tamra was “seething” at BravoCon to see Gretchen and Alexis on stage, but Tamra and Alexis “made up at that afterparty.”
Shannon later confronted Tamra about posting photos with Alexis, with Shannon reminding Tamra that she “sent us a letter” during her ex-husband Jim‘s past lawsuit.
“[Tamra] said, ‘I think Jim made her do it,'” recalled Shannon. “But you know that’s part of our season, because she told me to dig that letter up, so we’ll see if I was able to dig.'”
Shannon said she would “absolutely not” be open to a friendship with Alexis in the future. According to Shannon, she first learned of their relationship when someone called her, letting her know of a photo of them together.
“The minute that I got that call, I knew they were going to be dating,” said Shannon. “I just knew it.”
Shannon claimed that after her own breakup with John, they ended up “get[ting] back together,” but they “didn’t admit it” because, as she now believes, they both “knew deep down” that it wasn’t “going to work” because there was “too much blood spilled.”
The star said John would love-bomb her by sending flowers every few days, with notes that said things like ‘thinking of your beautiful smile.'”
“Slowly he would leave his clothes [at my place],” she added. “And when covid hit … he really only had to bring a few more items of clothes because everything was basically at my house … If I look back now, we should have ended things a year in.”
Shannon said John would claim he didn’t like the show, but she “felt like he enjoyed it,” and he liked to “go out and be noticed.”
“Like he used to say, ‘I’m so proud to have you on my arm,'” she said. “He’s clearly [love bombing] again [with Alexis].”
The star also said she believes John pursued a relationship with Alexis to maintain a spot on this platform.
Shannon claimed that, before they broke up, John suggested that Shannon cut her hair to be more “age appropriate,” because long hair with extensions “looks phony.”
“And then he would say, ‘why do these girls dress so provocatively, you know, like they really should cover up and be conservative,'” she added. “I feel like I don’t even know him.”
She also claimed she found out John was suing her “through People Magazine.”
“They gave People a copy of the complaint,” she said. “He never asked me for the money back … and I offered him payment in full, because the attorney’s fees are going to go way over $75,000 … And he said no. And so clearly it’s not about money … He wouldn’t sign a non-disparagement agreement, which is standard when you settle with someone. So clearly he wants to disparage me or hurt me.”
She also called it “odd” that Shannon’s one other lawsuit was with Alexis’ “ex-husband,” and addressed how John “added a fraud claim” to his own lawsuit, claiming she “intentionally took money from him, and [he’s now] asking for punitive damages.”
“Emily tells me — you know, cause she’s an attorney — like she says it’s so suspect that he did this during filming,” said Shannon, who wondered why he didn’t ask for the money when they broke up.
Shannon shared that the recent dinner fight with Tamra and Alexis was the “worst day of filming in my 10 years on the show.”
The star said Alexis claimed at the time that Shannon wasn’t a good girlfriend because she would never sleep at John’s house.
“I said to her, ‘I had three kids under the age of 18. So yeah, I was going to sleep at my house,'” said Shannon. “I remember Tamra saying ‘Oh now you’re mom-shaming her?’ It’s like, no. I have young kids.”
Shannon praised castmate Gina for being the most supportive throughout the ordeal.
Regarding castmates’ reactions to her DUI, Shannon said Tamra isn’t coming from “a place of caring,” but is “all for show.”
Shannon claimed that Tamra labelling her an alcoholic is “defamatory.” The star explained that she’ll still go out and have a few drinks, but if it becomes a “problem,” she’ll address it.
Reflecting on her relationship with John, Shannon said John is a “drinker,” and they “went out all the time.”
She revealed that the ‘Tres Amigas’ – the comedy show comprised of herself, Tamra and Vicki – is “done” for good, and there isn’t a chance of them getting back together, though Vicki and Shannon will still be touring. After the DUI, Shannon wanted to remove an alcohol song and video from the comedy show, but Tamra told them to put it back in – despite Tamra’s later claims that Shannon’s DUI was the reason she quit the show.
Shannon then recalled that, after Tamra commented on a photo of John and Alexis together, Shannon asked her about it – and Tamra told her to “grow the f**k up.”
“We had nasty text exchanges and then she’s like, ‘Have another drink.’ Just like horrible things,” she said.
But then a month later, after John and Alexis became official, Tamra said she felt “bad” that Shannon was going through Christmas dealing with the “Alexis and John stuff,” according to Shannon.
“[She has] selective memory of how things happened,” said the star, who shared that Shannon hasn’t reached out to her since filming. “With Tamra, it’s all about the show … She’s just so opinionated about me, she doesn’t know anything. Like you’re kind of obsessed.”
Shannon said they never had a “conversation” about her drinking before the season started, despite Tamra’s suggestions.
