The Valley star Jesse Lally’s loan stunned not only viewers but some cast members. During Season 3 of The Valley, Jesse and his ex, Michelle Saniei, were still navigating their divorce. And instead of fighting over the $300,000 loan repayment in court, Michelle was willing to do whatever it took to get a divorce.
Michelle Saniei offered to take on half of the debt for her ex-husband
Michelle’s marriage to Jesse was tumultuous towards the end. “Like Jesse didn’t give me a voice,” she previously stated. “It was whatever he wanted, and that was it.”
During a recent episode of The Valley, Michelle opened up about the loan. “When I asked for a divorce, he’s like, ‘By the way, I got a $300,000 loan, and you have to pay half because you were married to me,’” Michelle said. In the end, Michelle asked Jesse to sign papers making her responsible for half of the $300,000 loan, hoping it would move their divorce forward.
During The Valley After Show, the cast discussed Jesse’s financial decision. “He told me he was getting a small COVID loan,” Michelle stated. “I think I thought it was like $10,000.”
Then Jesse weighed in on the financial elephant in the room. “We took out a loan during COVID when everything shut down,” he explained. “It was a low-interest SBA small business loan for our business.” Jesse added that they “used it to market a $65 million sale for some travel stuff and some other business expenses.”
However, Michelle begged to differ. “It wasn’t business. He took his mom, dad, and brother to a UK trip with us, and I think he spent over $100,000 on that trip,” she said. “Was he gone for three months? A $100,000 in three weeks?” co-star Janet Caperna remarked. “I’m getting hives.”
For Jesse, the loan was no big deal. “It was like there were certain aspects of life that I wanted to kind of live,” he explained, noting his lifestyle wasn’t “extravagant.”
The Valley airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF JESSE TAKING OUT THE LOAN? WERE YOU SURPRISED MICHELLE IS PAYING HALF?
