Since Noella Bergener joined Real Housewives of Orange County, her marriage took a public tumble. On a recent episode, she revealed that her husband James had left her and her son, and he is now living in Puerto Rico.
James, however, recently fired back in the press and claimed Noella was lying. The battle of the exes is far from over, and both sides are pointing fingers.
James recently shared a video on Instagram explaining his version of the story. He claimed his “divorce from Noella was granted December 8 here in Puerto Rico. It is something I never wish I had to do. I have always been supportive of Noella and all that she has wanted to accomplish. Her dream was always to be on the show.”
He said Noella was “vetted” by producers years ago, but she “changed” as the season approached. “Our sole focus became the show. We rarely spoke and when we did, it end up in fights,” he said. “She retained an attorney and then shortly thereafter, my attorney reached out to me and said, ‘Noella is filing for separation.’ I had to leave.”
James called their relationship an “unhealthy” one, alleging it involved “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.” He stated, “I lost almost everything, including myself… I lost sight of who I was and who I am.”
He also claimed that “Noella chose the show over me and the family. I love Noella but I do not know who she is anymore.” Since the couple separated, James became “healthy and happy,” and he is focusing “on being a better person.”
When it comes to claims that he abandoned his two-year-old son, who has autism, James stated, “I have not abandoned him. Since separating from Noella, I’ve paid nearly $100,000 in housing. I’ve paid over $50,000 in household goods and supplies for him. Over $15,000 in child care and therapy. I continue to support my son and always will.”
Noella reposted the video in order to debunk his claims. “Today my ex called me for the first time in 5 months,” she wrote in the caption. “He asked for my help with his PR. I said of course. I told him to stop holding up support, get his son a gift for Xmas & that I was going to use my settlement to buy a home for our family and I’d publicly thank him. Hours later he posted this.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CX5J3u6DDzZ/
She expressed, “I don’t know why this is happening I was very protective of him during filming and focused solely on my journey. Aforementioned receipts. Know they are real, criminal & horrifying to relive so for the sake of our son don’t ever want them to see the light of day.”
The first “lie” Noella addressed was James’ claim that she chose the show over their marriage. “James wanted me on the show to promote his brand,” explained the Bravo star. “He was my biggest cheerleader throughout the process. Only after his background check revealed he had lied to me for years about his tax debts did he hesitate. At this point, 4 days before filming, it was too late to pull out and frankly the show was the only thing keeping him honest.”
She then confronted the statement that he filed for divorce because she was filing for separation: “I retained an attorney with his blessing. He paid the retainer! What James was telling me about his partner’s indictment, financial divorce from his ex & his tax debts didn’t make sense to me. I wanted a 3rd party to confirm he was being truthful. He wasn’t but I still did not file.”
Noella said James did not pay support. “James cut my cc’s when he left and emptied my savings,” she revealed. “He cut my Venmo & PayPal which I use to pay our son’s therapists. I have to send him invoices which he often pays late resulting in our son not getting treatment that week. I have a cc number on Instacart & Amazon. That is how my family has made it these past months. He has not paid rent and we’re in fear of eviction every day.”
The next “lie” was his claim that they are divorced: “James fraudulently filed for divorce in Puerto Rico due to his tax scheme. It is under appeal since he lied multiple times in his testimony and jurisdiction is in California where we’re residents and were married.”
Noella ended the post with a dig at James’ parenting, saying, “James has been in & out of OC multiple times in the past 5 months shooting a commercial, getting Botox & going out but hasn’t seen his son once. Seriously.”
The final emoji of the post was a broken heart.