Alexis Bellino Responds to Claims About Shannon Beador’s DUI Arrest

Bravo / YouTube Shannon Beador and Alexis Bellino

A former “Real Housewives of Orange County” star is speaking up.

Days after TMZ reported that Shannon Beador had been arrested and charged in a hit and run and DUI in Newport Beach, California, in the early hours of September 17, the outlet shared that Beador had been spotted hours earlier at A Restaurant near the scene of the car accident at the same time as her former RHOC co-star Alexis Bellino.

While the pair weren’t dining together, TMZ shared that a witness reported hearing Beador complaining about Bellino to nearby diners.

Here’s what Bellino had to say about Beador’s arrest:

Alexis Bellino Denies Interacting With Shannon Beador the Night Beador Was Arrested

Bellino shared a statement about her night out at A Restaurant with TMZ and said she knew Beador was in the restaurant but that the two didn’t share any words.

“When my girlfriends and I arrived for a fun night out together, it was soon brought to my attention that Shannon was also at the same restaurant,” Bellino told the outlet. “Shannon and I did not interact that night, but it greatly saddens me to learn that she may harbor negative feelings or resentment toward me, as I was not involved in Jim Bellino’s lawsuit against Shannon. From one single mother to another, I wish Shannon nothing but the best as I know she is facing trying times ahead.”

The lawsuit Bellino referred to was between her ex-husband, Jim Bellino, and Beador. In 2018, Jim Bellino sued Beador and her RHOC co-star Tamra Judge for defamation after they appeared on Heather MacDonald’s “Juicy Scoop” podcast earlier that year. According to People, Judge explained her theory that Jim Bellino was asking for spousal support from his wife in their divorce because “maybe he’s going to go to jail.”

MacDonald, who deleted that excerpt from her podcast episode, was also named in the suit (as well as Beador, who was a fellow guest on the episode), and Jim Bellino claimed the statement cost him $1 million in potential business.

People reported in 2020 that Beador had been cleared of the suit, with the case against her dismissed. Beador was also awarded $137,340.25 in legal fees, according to the outlet.

The lawsuit occurred around the same time as filming for RHOC season 14, in which Judge and Beador appeared as main cast members and Alexis Bellino appeared as a guest, having been off the show for years after appearing as a main cast member on seasons 5 through 8. Alexis Bellino and Beador never shared a season both as full-time Housewives.

Tamra Judge Spoke With Shannon Beador the Day After Her Arrest

Judge spoke about her conversation with Beador the day after Beador’s DUI arrest on the September 18 episode of her “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast, telling co-host and former RHOBH star Teddi Mellencamp that Beador didn’t bring up the arrest.

“I had a conference call with her on Sunday, she was very quiet, she said it had been a rough couple of days, and that’s all she told me,” Judge said in disbelief upon learning the news.

Judge added, “Her life is literally going to change forever. Do not drink and drive, do not, I don’t care if it’s a few drinks. I mean, this could have gone really bad. I don’t know how bad the accident was – she could have been really hurt. Someone in the house could have been hurt, someone could have died. Like, this is horrible.”

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