Shannon Beador is making some new revelations about her relationship with ex-boyfriend John Janssen. The Real Housewives of Orange County star is changing her story from prior versions.
Contrary to what she previously said about their timeline, she and John had actually reconciled before her September 2023 DUI hit-and-run arrest. Following John’s calling off their relationship in late 2022, leaving Shannon “blindsided,” they rekindled a friendship months later.
By March 2023, the friendship had reverted to a sexual relationship, which continued for about six months. Even though they told everyone they were no longer a couple, they were secretly back together, says Shannon.
Differing views of the situation
“For about six months, he dated someone else, and I dated someone else but after that, we reconnected,” Shannon remembers. “I think deep down, he and I both knew that it was never going to work … So, I wouldn’t say we were back together publicly, but we were together privately, for about six months.”
But John has a different story. “Several months after our breakup, I attempted a friendship with Shannon,” he tells People. “There was never an intent to rekindle our relationship. Any suggestion that we were back together as a couple is a mischaracterization of the situation.”
Shannon was unsure of their relationship since he’d “blindsided” her before. “I’m not sure what he was really in it for,” she says. “But at the same time, he moved very quickly with me and told me that he loved me right away, that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.”
According to Shannon, they were together the whole summer, even while she was traveling with her RHOC co-stars Tamra Judge and Vicki Gunvalson as part of their Tres Amigas Tour. But the reconciliation didn’t last.
Don’t drink and drive
On September 17, Shannon was arrested in Newport Beach after crashing her car into a private home and leaving the scene, with her dog Archie in the backseat. Her blood alcohol was .24 (three times the legal limit).
She now claims she was leaving John’s house after an argument. In anger, she gunned the engine and dramatically peeled out, but the streets were wet, and she lost control of her car. The mom of three was later sentenced to three years of probation, along with an order to complete 40 hours of community service and a nine-month alcohol program.
Though John supported Shannon through the immediate aftermath of the DUI, she says he called her not long after and ended things. He claimed she had brought too much negative attention to him and his family.
“It wasn’t a good time,” the Real for Real founder recalls. But things were about to get worse.
Just a few weeks later, John bumped into returning RHOC co-star Alexis Bellino in the Quiet Woman, and they’ve been together ever since.
Shannon is taking some time for herself and isn’t ready to date again. “I haven’t given up on love at all,” she confesses. “I still have the dream to be in a partnership with somebody … I’ve [never] really had that. So we’ll see.”
Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
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