Gina Kirschenheiter temporarily quit her role on The Real Housewives of Orange County during the show’s 14th season.
As Gina continues to navigate through her challenging co-parenting relationship with ex-husband Matt Kirschenheiter, she defended him despite his controversial arrest, insisting he is “not a monster.” But first, the Bravo reality star opened up about the moment she was “done” with the RHOC.
“I stormed out, I quit the show,” Gina revealed on the RHOC After Show. “I was very vulnerable in the moment.”
According to Gina, she was facing hardships after a DUI in January and a messy split from Matt, who she revealed cheated on her earlier this season, during their cast trip to Arizona.
“I was very upset and then Emily came in. Emily is there to console me but then she’s all like, ‘And now I feel like it’s tense between you and I.’ And I’m like, ‘What is happening right now and how did I end up here?’ I was like, ‘Emily, I’m so upset, like, I’m having such a hard time.’ And she’s like, ‘Well, what else happened?’ I’m like, ‘Does something else have to happen? Like a week ago I found a Valentine’s card that ripped my heart out of my body and I recently did a stint in jail,'” she recalled.
Throughout her hardships, Gina said Tamra Judge was there to support her and check in while Emily was constantly complaining about not being at the top of her priority list.
“Nobody is at the top of my priority list except me and my kids because I’m just doggy-paddling here. I’m trying to stay afloat and I need friends who, if I don’t respond to your text or I don’t call you, it’s okay,” Gina explained.
During another interview with People Now, Gina shared her thoughts on Matt, who was arrested and accused of assaulting her in June.
“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,” Gina said. “It’s an emotional time, and people make mistakes. He’s made a lot of them, obviously.”
Following Matt’s arrest, he and Gina have been co-parenting their three kids, Nicholas, 7, Sienna, 5, and Luca, 4, with the help of a court-ordered website where they are able to communicate. As RHOC fans may have heard, Gina was granted a temporary restraining order against Matt after he allegedly choked, dragged, and threatened to kill her in June.
“It’s good for us,” she said. “It’s actually helping us to stay in bounds and have a healthy relationship moving forward. I’m hopeful that in the future, things will get better and it won’t always be like this.”
In September, Matt plead not guilty to felony charges of domestic violence and false imprisonment. Around the same time, it was revealed that Gina had been granted primary physical custody of their kids with Matt seeing them on the weekends.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 14 airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
Photos Credit: Startraksphoto, Instagram
