Shannon Beador is "finding humor" in having to exist in the same orbit at her ex, John Janssen, thanks to her new-ish co-star on The Real Housewives of Orange County, Alexis Bellino.
Alexis starred on the Bravo hit from season 5 through season 8; Shannon joined the show in season 9, meaning the two never shared screentime until season 18, when Alexis rejoined the show (as "just a friend," Shannon makes clear) and brought her new boyfriend, John, along with her.
"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 says, referencing a photo of Alexis, John and a group of friends squeezed into a booth at the RHOC-famous restaurant that went viral across fan accounts. That Kodak moment came just six weeks or so after Shannon says she and John broke up for good, after months of claiming they had taken a step back to just being friends.
"We both knew deep down it wasn't going to work, and we didn't want to admit, you know?" Shannon explains of denying she and John reconciled after they publicly announced a split. "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."
Everything changed with Shannon's Sept. 2023 arrest for DUI. She says John broke up with her roughly 10 days after she crashed her car into a residential building, an accident she pleaded no contest to and is currently serving three years probation for, alongside community service. "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...' and I knew that our relationship had to be done anyways, so I accepted it and that was that."
Cue Shannon's surprise, though, when John started seeing another public figure, whose profile was recently re-upped into Housewives fans' consciousness with a surprise appearance at BravoCon in Las Vegas. It seems that's also where the ball maybe got rolling on Alexis' return to the show.
Alexis Bellino and John Janssen started dating in late 2023.
"I knew it in my gut [after the photo], but I didn't officially find out until right before we filmed [in January]," she adds. "I wasn't happy about it. No, I wasn't."
Shannon and Alexis faced off almost immediately, getting into a heated confrontation in the season premiere over John and a years-old defamation lawsuit Alexis' ex-husband, Jim Bellino, filed against Shannon, from which she claims to have lost upwards of $300K. Shannon's adamant Alexis was involved in the suit ("Tune in," she teases of a would-be reveal), while Alexis has denied having anything to do with it. Shannon's now facing a new legal battle against John, who is suing her for $75K he claims he loaned her for a face lift and other expenses. Shannon's maintained it was a gift, and that there was never any agreement to pay him back.
"I offered him the full amount because I know legal fees will surpass [$75K]," Shannon says. "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, he has added a fraud component to the case, which is that I intentionally took money from him and that includes punitive damages."
Shannon calls it "suspect" that Alexis is tied to the two men who have taken her to court, adding an extra layer of distrust between them. Alexis has jumped to John's defense, telling the other women in the circle (and therefore the audience) that Shannon has lied repeatedly about John and misrepresented his character. Shannon's gone as far as labeling him a "monster" on the show, a comment she now says was taken out of context.
"I said that from today's perspective, not from back then," she explains, meaning she currently feels like he's a "monster" due to their ongoing legal situation. However, she believes Alexis -- who's proclaimed she will marry John just a couple months into seeing one another -- has yet to truly meet the man Shannon dated for four years, a time she says was full of peaks and valleys.
"There aren't a lot of stories, there's just details to tell," Shannon says. "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."
Shannon Beador and John Janssen pose together backstage at BravoCon 2022.
"I cared about John," she adds. "In 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."
On last week's episode, Shannon accused John of "coaching" Alexis, after Alexis threatened to provide "receipts" about the $75K lawsuit. Shannon believes John is feeding Alexis information and giving her talking points, because, she claims, he used to do as much for her.
"Before I would film, especially last year's reunion, I mean, that was just... my head was spinning," Shannon shares. "'You need to say this, you need to do this...'"
Shannon says something Gina Kirschenheiter shared with her also proves her "coaching" theory. Gina told Shannon that when she attempted to explain her own history with John (he once yelled at her at a party), Alexis spoke as if she had been there and defended his actions.
"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 recalls of information Alexis wouldn't have had. "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."
As these dueling points of view play out on RHOC, Alexis and John gave a joint interview to reality TV producer Carlos King on his Reality With the King podcast. When asked what it was like to date Shannon, John replied with, "What's it like to fail every day? Every day to fail at everything. That is what it felt like to date her."
"It's like, gosh, John! You're such a good guy, you are such a good guy," Shannon repeats sarcastically. "You are trying all the time."
John also said he doesn't think Shannon could survive without the show. She takes that to mean financially, to which she agrees.
"I would have to find something else to do," she admits. "It would be a struggle."
After this interview, Shannon doesn't have anything more to say about John and Alexis other than that she wishes them well.
"I mean, putting John aside, if she was not dating John, I would have the same conversation with her," Shannon says. "She started the ball rolling. Yes, her name is not on court documents, but she's [Jim Bellino's] ex-wife, and I lost a lot of money and I didn't do anything wrong."
Shannon's off to (hopefully) find a new love of her own, joining Peacock's tentatively titled Love Hotel, a dating show she'll soon film in Mexico alongside fellow single Housewives stars Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby and Luann de Lesseps.
"You know what? I am excited about that," she blushes. "I think it's going to be really fun, so I am really excited that they asked me to do it. ... 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."
Shannon Beador poses for her 'The Real Housewives of Orange County' season 18 cast portrait.
Before that, though, there's a lot more of season 18 to watch and, from what Shannon says, it's a dramatic roller coaster.
"Oh, it's beyond," she quips. "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."
Shannon is referencing a trailer-making moment, in which she appears to hyperventilate while on a cast trip. It all has to to do with John and the legal battle; even worse, she says that near-nervous breakdown isn't her low of the season.
"More happens and, I want to make it clear that I do not want to be portrayed as a victim," she says. "I am not. If anything, I have proven to myself that, in the last year, I am a survivor. I am not a victim."
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo; episodes stream next day on Peacock.
RELATED CONTENT:
