Sometimes it might take a couple of attempts before you reach happily ever after. Just ask Vicki Gunvalson or Tamra Judge (and possibly Emily Simpson). Real Housewives of Orange County star, Gina Kirschenheiter is now finding this out for herself. She was married to ex-husband Matt for seven years and the couple share three children. After relocating from Long Island to California with hopes of a better future, their relationship began to break down. Gina’s marriage suffered from Matt having an affair living separately while he held employment in Los Angeles.
Absence did not make the heart grow fonder in this case. Gina began to allude to marital dissent in Season 13 of RHOC. In April 2018, Gina filed for divorce, but according to her, they maintained a healthy outlook. Unfortunately, things took a violent turn for the worse in June of this year when Matt allegedly assaulted Gina in a drunken rage. Things quickly plummeted downhill for both parties in the aftermath of Matt’s arrest. Now Gina is trying to move on and recover from the trauma she faced. And Matt is trying to stay out of jail.
Cops put Matt behind bars on June 22 on accusations stemming from domestic violence. When he was released, no charges had been filed and he was not required to post bail. I’m no legal eagle, but I have to assume his bail was zero because he had no prior offenses.
Last week, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office officially charged Matt with felony domestic violence and false imprisonment. The two felony counts come with a 4-year prison term for the domestic charge and another 3 years tacked on for the false imprisonment count. So it looks like Matt could have a change of residence for up to 7 years.
RELATED: Gina Kirschenheiter’s Ex-Husband Matt Has Been Charged With Felony Domestic Violence & False Imprisonment
According to an interview with People, Matt has pleaded not guilty to both charges against him. Matt’s attorney, Ed Welbourn shared, “The charges are just that, they’re just allegations. These type of cases, domestic violence type cases when there are are no independent witnesses, it’s a 1:1 situation and it really comes down to a credibility call.” That’s cool and all but Gina apparently has photos of Matt’s suspected abuse. After the incident occurred, Gina sought and received a restraining order against her estranged husband. New visitation requirements for their children also had to be imposed.
Despite the seriousness of the charges Matt is facing, his lawyer seems pretty confident. The attorney said, “Matt is a great dad, always has been. He’s a hardworking guy, has always provided for them. He’s an incredibly good person, and he’s very respected in the community.” Of course, viewers cannot attest to Matt’s sterling reputation in the community because he was with his supposed girlfriend never on camera.
RELATED: Gina Kirschenheiter Wins Primary Custody Of Kids & $10K Monthly Support
Mr. Welbourn continued, “There’s also a divorce proceeding going on, [Matt] has unmonitored visitation — a decision that was made before this alleged incident. If Gina or the judge thought he was a danger, they would have not agreed to that. He’s not a violent person, he doesn’t have a history of that. He maintains his innocence and looks forward to the truth coming out and his day in court.” How many times do you have to put your hands on someone before you earn the label of “violent person”?
Even though Gina has previously shared she placed partial blame on filming RHOC to the demise of her marriage, she signed on for another season of the show. Hopefully, she won’t regret having the more dark moments of her life on camera. Perhaps Gina will use her experience as a source of inspiration for those in similar positions.
Matt and Gina are due back in front of a judge on October 10.
RELATED: Gina Kirschenheiter’s Ex-Husband Requests Spousal Support; Reveals Her Real Housewives Salary
TELL US- DO YOU THINK GINA SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE SHOW? DO YOU THINK MATT IS GUILTY? WILL HE DO ANY JAIL TIME?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
