'RHOC' Secret Divorce Shocker: Gina Kirschenheiter Called Off Split Before Hubby's Domestic Violence Charges
Dec. 11 2019, Published 4:18 p.m. ET
Real Housewives of Orange County star Gina Kirschenheiter had decided to reunite with husband Matt and call off their divorce, just weeks before accusing him of domestic violence.
On the Tuesday, December 10 episode of the show — which was filmed in May — Gina, 35, confessed to her mother that she and Matt, 35, were giving their marriage another try despite his cheating scandal.
“Ultimately, we decided not to get divorced,” she said. “I feel like this is the first time that Matt is actually in the fight for his family.”
The stars share daughter Sienna, 5, and sons Nicholas, 7, and Luca, 4.
“We sort of both get it where we feel more connected now than we ever have,” Gina added. “I’ve been through a lot with him. I’m going to embrace this and I’m going to try this because this is my family.”
RadarOnline.com readers know the former couple started dating in college and married in 2010. For the last few years, Gina lived with their kids in their Coto de Caza home, while Matt lived full time in Los Angeles — where he worked — and commuted to the family home on weekends.
During their long-distance relationship, Matt got involved in an affair. His infidelity caused his initial split from Gina in April 2018. At the time, they filed for divorce following 11 years together.
On RHOC, Gina assured her mom that Matt had truly changed after his affair, and finally realized the importance of family. Sadly, just one month later, on June 22, she called the cops on her husband, claiming he had choked, dragged, thrown and threatened to kill her. The abuse allegedly occurred during a fight in their home, while their three kids were sleeping in the next room. Matt was arrested for domestic violence and Gina was given a temporary restraining order against him.
In September, Matt pleaded not guilty to two felony charges related to the alleged incident. If convicted, he would face up to four years in prison for domestic violence, and an additional three for false imprisonment after Gina claimed he dragged her back into the house when she fled looking for help.
Gina and Matt’s divorce is back on, though the two are still working through the terms. This August, they also settled their custody agreement, with Gina getting primary physical custody of their kids. Though she was initially supposed to get $10,000 a month for child support from Matt, he recently said his domestic violence arrest caused him to be fired from his job, so he can no longer afford to pay Gina that amount.
Despite the drama, the exes are getting along well. “There is actually no custody battle, there really is not,” Gina told PEOPLE this September. “Even with things going on with Matt, as they are now, he actually has more custody than he’s ever had because he’s not employed anymore, so he’s around.”
The RHOC star has since moved on with boyfriend Travis Mullen.