Shannon Beador suggested Alexis Bellino might be behind her ex John Janssen’s decision to sue her for $75,000.
The “Real Housewives of Orange County” star opened up on SiriusXM’s “Jeff Lewis Live” on Monday about the five-figure lawsuit she’s facing over money Janssen allegedly lent her for a facelift and pointed out that Bellino is connected to it.
“Well, I’ve had two lawsuits. They’ve both had Bellino around it,” she said. “Interesting, isn’t it? A little bit.”
In 2019, Beador was awarded $138,000 in Bellino’s then-husband Jim Bellino’s defamation lawsuit against her after she had initially been dismissed from the $1 million defamation suit against her and co-star Tamra Judge.
Beador, 60, wouldn’t definitively say if she thought Alexis inspired Janssen to file the suit but acknowledged that it was “very coincidental.”
“I don’t know if she had anything to do with it or not,” Beador added. “I really don’t know.”
Janssen’s attorney, Edson McClellan, tells Page Six there is “no connection” between the lawsuit and Bellino.
“Mr. Janssen filed the lawsuit because it is apparently the only way he will be able to recover the money he loaned Ms. Beador,” McClellan says in a statement, adding that Beador is “shameful” for claiming Janssen’s loans were gifts.
“Ms. Beador has been bad-mouthing him on ‘RHOC’ for years, telling complete falsehoods, and Mr. Janssen doesn’t want to be accused of breaching a non-disparagement provision when he sets the record straight.”
The Bravolebrity also explained that she offered to pay Janssen the full amount but he “turned down the deal” because he didn’t want to sign a mutual non-disparagement agreement in which parties agree not to speak ill of each other.
“What am I supposed to do? Say, ‘Here’s all this money that you claim that I owe you and go ahead. Say whatever you want about me.’ No,” she added.
“My attorney said I can’t let you do that, so I have to now go to trial and, you know, that’s a lot.”
In Janssen’s lawsuit, obtained by Page Six, the insurance broker claimed she breached their oral contract and is committing promissory fraud by purposely not paying him back.
The documents alleged Beador would pay him back with interest, but after multiple alleged requests for repayment in 2023 and 2024, Janssen is now asking for the full $75,000 back, plus accrued interest, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.
The reality star, however, is arguing that the money was a gift.
Janssen and Beador’s former relationship developed before “RHOC” cameras at the beginning of 2019, but they broke up in November 2022 after filming Season 17. He’s been dating Bellino since the fall and have teased that an engagement could be coming.
