Shannon Beador is struggling to cope with her November 2022 split from John Janssen.
While appearing on the radio show of longtime friend Jeff Lewis on Thursday, just one day after the former couple confirmed they are no longer together, the Real Housewives of Orange County star admitted she had a hard day on Wednesday when the news broke and explained why she was “blindsided” by the split.
“I don’t want to start to cry but yesterday was a really hard day for me and I couldn’t stop crying,” Shannon shared on Jeff Lewis Live on January 12.
“I know how difficult it was,” Jeff replied.
According to Jeff, he and Shannon have a lot in common, including their birthday, and they often go to one another for relationship advice. As he explained, he and Shannon are looking for the “same thing” in a partner, which is why he suspected that she and John wouldn’t go the distance — and proclaimed such on Watch What Happens Live.
“I knew that you were suffering. I knew that you weren’t completely happy so that’s why I was questioning whether or not there would be a future,” Jeff noted.
And while Shannon understood where Jeff was coming from when he made the comment, she wasn’t happy he did — and neither was John.
“He was upset, and so, of course, I’m going to advocate on behalf of my relationship because I have never loved anyone close to as much as I love John so I wanted the entire time for everything to work out,” she noted. “I just had the biggest hope.”
Although Jeff had his doubts, he never told Shannon to break up with John, who she began dating in 2019. After all, he felt that if he voiced his concerns, it could ultimately jeopardize their friendship.
“They could reconnect six months from now. I don’t wanna be that friend that gets pushed out,” he said as Shannon shot down the idea of a reunion.
“It’s over, Jeff. So I will say that the last time I spoke to John was beginning of December so I’ve never gone for this amount of time not speaking to him. It’s a big deal,” she confirmed.
Jeff went on to praise John for the way he treated the RHOC cast member, noting that he was “very good” to her, was affectionate with her, and acted “caring and doting and protective.”
As for the timing in which John chose to end their relationship (just one week after Shannon wrapped production on season 17), Shannon recalled their summary dinner at the end of filming.
“It was great. John and I filmed together. I got teary-eyed with the words that he was saying and I thought, ‘We’re gonna get there,’” she admitted.
“Now he wasn’t specific, but from what I remember he said that he wants to take the relationship to the next level, which to me, I thought engagement,” Jeff replied, asking, “Did you think the same thing at the time?”
“I just thought, whatever the next step is, we’re gonna take it and I remember tearing up and I remember saying very kind things to him back. So for that reason, that’s why I felt blindsided,” Shannon explained.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 is expected to premiere on Bravo sometime in the coming months.