Shannon Beador is sharing the real reason behind her sudden split from John Janssen.
While also opening up about her recent reunion with David Beador, Tamra Judge‘s claims that she ghosted her after being fired, Shannon spoke of her breakup and played a game of cast superlatives with her Real Housewives of Orange County castmates.
During an interview with E! News earlier this week, Shannon threw some shade at Emily Simpson and Gina Kirschenheiter, noting that the two were most likely to get on Andy Cohen‘s nerves at the reunion because “they don’t know when to stop talking,” and labeling Emily as the “biggest pot stirrer.”
She also said that Gina was most in need of a “better storyline” before stating that Tamra is both the “most improved” cast member and the one who “drank too much on camera.” As for Heather Dubrow, Shannon said “Fancy Pants” was the “best dressed” and butted heads the most during the season.
“When I started the show, there just was a certain vibe that it had, and I feel as though we’re back to that vibe,” Shannon teased of season 17.
Following Heather’s return to RHOC in 2021, Tamra rejoined the show in 2022. And, due to their years-long feud, Shannon wasn’t thrilled.
“I wasn’t happy because we hadn’t spoken in two and a half years. I wasn’t looking forward to it. I just knew that, I wasn’t afraid or anything, but I knew we were gonna have some awkward and intense conversations, which we did,” she explained.
After her 2020 exit from the show, Tamra accused Shannon of ghosting her. However, according to Shannon, she has proof that never happened.
“I do have 150 screenshots of conversations between this two-month period that she says I ghosted her,” Shannon revealed, “There were times where maybe I didn’t get back to her right away because we were filming during that time.”
Although Tamra and Shannon have given different accounts of why their feud began, Shannon said they got to a place during filming where they were able to “see each other’s side” and get to a better place.
Looking back at her weekend pic with David, the father of her daughter Sophie, 21, and twins Stella and Adeline, 18, Shannon said she didn’t see it coming.
“I haven’t had a conversation with him for almost five years. If he hears my voice he hangs up when he’s talking to the kids,” she shared. “So I was doing an interview with Tamra and Taylor at The Quiet Woman. He walked in, and said, ‘I’m not leaving your side until you take a picture with me, and I can show it to the kids.’ And you know what? The kids were ecstatic about it. Sophie FaceTimed me and said, ‘Are you really standing next to each other?’”
Shannon then said that “for the sake of [her] kids,” she hopes she and David will one day be on speaking terms.
One person she is on speaking terms with is John, despite being blindsided by their split.
“We didn’t speak for about six months, but we’re on friendly terms right now, and I’d rather not be living in anger,” Shannon explained of their dynamic. “We’re both not seeing anyone, but we talked about it; If either of us gets into a relationship, we probably won’t be close anymore… We’re not getting back together.”
“It was just a lot of bickering. There was no major [moment like], ‘Oh my God, you’ve got to walk away!’” Shannon revealed to Page Six of the reason behind their November 2022 split. “It was just the bickering, bickering, bickering. And that’s not a way for anybody to live. We couldn’t get past it.”
Although Shannon and John parted ways a week after filming wrapped on season 17, they agreed not to go public with the breakup until January.
“Because it was the holidays, and I wasn’t ready to deal with it,” Shannon noted. “I needed to let it sink in before people knew.”
After coming to terms with the end of her relationship with John, Shannon began dating another man, but their romance didn’t work out.
“I did come back, and I got introduced to a person, and I didn’t want to go, but we went to dinner, and we ended up dating for four months. And it was good. We’re not right for each other, but I had a good time,” she revealed, adding that she’s “not ready to be serious with anyone right now.”
And once she is ready, Shannon hopes to find someone with a “kind heart” who will accept her role on the RHOC.
“I would like to be with someone who thinks it’s really cute that I’m on the show, and if he needs to show up one time or two [for filming], then he’s great with that. But it’s just kinda the silly cut thing that [I’m] doing, like, ‘You go do that, sweetie,’” she shared.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.