Wow. Shannon Beador’s ex-boyfriend, John Janssen, is suing her for $75,000. That’s the amount he says she owes him. Seriously? Does he need the money to buy an engagement ring for Alexis Bellino?
“I offered to pay John the exact amount that he wanted,” Shannon said on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live on April 1. “He turned the deal down because he didn’t want to sign a mutual non-disparagement agreement, and that’s standard in most settlements. That’s where you say you’re not gonna talk badly about someone.”
Now Shannon’s legal counsel feels the best thing to do is to just let the case play out at trial. “It’s frustrating because now my hands are tied,” she says. “What am I supposed to do? Say, ‘Here’s all this money that you claim that I owe you, and go ahead. Say whatever you want about me.’ No. My attorney said I can’t let you do that, so I have to now go to trial.”
$75k for plastic surgery
Photo by: Astrid Stawiarz/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
On March 20, John sued Shannon for breach of oral contract and promissory fraud. The Real Housewives of Orange County star’s ex claims she borrowed $75,000 from him for two surgeries and never repaid it.
Court documents allege that Shannon asked John to loan her the money in 2022. He initially gave her $40,000 for a plastic surgery procedure, followed by an additional $35,000. John is claiming that Shannon never paid him back, even though he says she verbally agreed to pay him back with interest.
But Shannon claims that during their three-year relationship, she also gave John money.
“There were two times where he gave me money,” the mom of three said. “[But] there were many times where I paid for things … So you wanna go tit for tat? You want me to show the tens of thousands of dollars that I spent?”
“Let me be clear,” Shannon continued. “For the second half of our relationship, John paid for stuff. But at the beginning, I did. So when we traveled … John only bought me one airline ticket in our entire relationship. I always [paid] … I took him to New York four times in four months in our first six months of dating.”
Shannon says they never had any written agreement to pay each other back. It was just money they spent in a dating relationship.
“At the very beginning of the relationship, he said, ‘You’re my future. You’re my person,’” the Real for Real creator said. “That’s what he said, and … I felt this comfort with him right away. I thought we were going to be together forever.”
In January 2023, Shannon sadly announced her breakup with John, insisting they were still friends. But the following November, John and Alexis met at the Quiet Woman Restaurant in Corona Del Mar. They’ve been inseparable ever since.
Now Alexis is returning to RHOC for Season 18 (she was previously on Seasons 5 through 8), alongside Shannon. That won’t be awkward at all.
While she’s sad that John’s moved on with someone else, Shannon has no idea why he decided to sue her. “I really don’t know,” she says. “Is he spending a lot of money? I don’t know what he does for work anymore.”
“I want to move forward with my life [and] don’t want to think about John Janssen,” she adds.” “I’m in a really good place mentally and I want to keep going forward, not backward.”
When Us Weekly asked for comment from John’s attorney, his representation denied that John ever paid Shannon the $75,000 as a gift.
“[Ms.] Beador’s defense that Mr. Janssen paid her the $75,000 as a ‘gift’ is completely meritless, which their emails and text messages will show,” John’s attorneys said in a March 22 statement. “Mr. Janssen is saddened that Ms. Beador’s unwillingness to repay the loans made it necessary to file this lawsuit.”
But according to Shannon, she did offer to repay the $75,000. John just didn’t want to sign an NDA in exchange for the payoff. So he’d rather reserve the right to badmouth his ex? Nice guy. It should be interesting to see what the judge has to say.
Regardless of the personal opinions of Lisa Vanderpump, it could be agreed upon that she would give stellar business advice. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, who starred on the show for nine seasons, owns multiple restaurants in some of the trendiest locations in the USA.
The most recognizable is SUR Restaurant and Lounge in West Hollywood. It served as the backdrop for eleven seasons of the hit reality TV show Vanderpump Rules, in which Lisa is featured.
There’s also the recently opened Wolf by Vanderpump in Lake Tahoe, and soon to be opened, Pinky’s by Vanderpump. It will debut this summer in the Flamingo Hotel on the Las Vegas strip. And in honor of this new project, Lisa gave some much-needed business advice to fledgling restauranteurs.
Lisa shared what she thinks a successful restauranteur needs
Being a reality TV star certainly got Lisa and her businesses a lot of exposure. A fan base looking to dine out at her venues built since she joined RHOBH in 2010. But for the average restauranteur starting up, it’s not that easy. And Lisa advised loving what you do and growing a “thick skin.”
“The competition is so tough out there, it’s not for the faint-hearted,” she exclusively told The Entrepreneur. “You have to develop a thick skin. That’s very, very important.”
“I think that if you’re really doing something that you love, your passion for that is your motivation,” Lisa added.
The Vanderpump Rules matriarch likened the passion needed to play tennis.
“If you don’t like doing something, it’s like playing tennis. If you like playing tennis, you’re going to run for that ball just because you want to hit it,” Lisa explained. “But if you’re not motivated, you’re not excited by what you’re doing, then you don’t put the energy into it. Whereas the things I do, I’m excited. I don’t care how long I work, I don’t care how hard I work. I will get it done.”
Ultimately, it’s all about staying “focused,” Lisa stated. Certainly, willing investors also help.
“If things go wrong, you learn from it. There’s the good, the bad, and the ugly, and everything really, isn’t there,” she concluded. “Sometimes it’s overwhelming … If you really get going and get on it, you’ll be surprised by how much you can accomplish.”
Catch Vanderpump Rules Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – WOULD YOU TRUST LISA’S BUSINESS ADVICE? WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO HER COMMENTS? WHAT DO DO YOU THINK ABOUT LISA’S RESTAURANTS?
The pressure is being turned up on Deal or No Deal Island. The contestants were brought to the mysterious Banker’s tropical island. Right now the remaining eight guests are fighting to remain in the game. The last player standing will face the Banker and possibly take home up to $200 million.
Last time, contestants Amy McCoy and Aron Barbell obtained the Banker’s Bonus case during the excursion. But they ended up being the bottom two. Stephanie Mitchell and Boston Rob Mariano won immunity. So, Amy decided that she wanted to face the Banker. At The Temple, host Joe Manganiello had Aron open the case. Inside, it read that there would be no elimination.
The Banker’s assistants, Kamari Love and Ben Crofchick, joined Reality Tea writer Kim Stempel to discuss what it is like working on the show and what surprised them the most about the game.
Kamari and Ben share what they first thought about Deal or No Deal Island
Photo by: Monty Brinton/NBC
Kim Stempel: So, what I thought I would do is throw out these questions to both of you. What did you think when you first heard about the premise of Deal or No Deal Island?
Kamari Love: I just immediately thought it was the greatest idea because I feel like we took a lot of like the most popular game shows and combined them into one. You know, I feel like there’s a little bit of Deal or No Deal, a little bit of Survivor and we just threw them all together and made one mega-show which was like the coolest thing ever. So, very exciting.
Ben Crofchick: Well said. Well said. (laughs)
Kamari Love: That’s your answer? (laughs)
Ben Crofchick: Yeah.
Which excursions were the most frightening?
Photo by: Monty Brinton/NBC
Kim Stempel: Have there been any excursions that the players have gone on that you thought looked absolutely terrifying?
Ben Crofchick: There was a snake box that … it just aired last night if you watched, and that for me, I’m not a big fan of snakes. I know a lot of us aren’t. So, any idea of sticking my hand in a box that can potentially bite me is a little … a little fearful for me. So, that’s one I would have stayed … stayed far away from probably. I think Kamari would probably agree.
Kamari Love: Oh, yeah. That’s why we weren’t the contestants.
Ben Crofchick: Gotta stay back on that one!
Kamari Love: Yes!
Kim Stempel: I was terrified on my couch. I was like, ‘No way!’
Kamari Love: Right! They were brave!
Kim Stempel: Are there any excursions that you wish you could have participated in?
Kamari Love: I feel like the jet ski. I definitely wanted to do the jet ski when we were participating or helping with the challenge. When they took off I was a little [like] ‘Dang, take me with you.’ But it was super fun to watch them, too.
Ben Crofchick: I would have … I would have done the swing. The tree swing. I would have enjoyed that one. Like, heights aren’t my thing really either, but I would have tested myself on that one. That would have been fun.
Kamari Love: That’s a good one.
Kim Stempel: These challenges were amazing.
Ben Crofchick: Oh, yeah. They created them well, for sure.
Ben and Kamari dish on what really happens in The Temple
Photo by: Monty Brinton/NBC
Kim Stempel: What is the energy like when you’re shooting scenes in The Temple?
Kamari Love: Oh, man. It’s intense because everything’s up in the air, and you know Ben and I don’t know anything until it happens just like the contestants. So, it’s all just as much a surprise to us as it is to them.
So, you know, and Ben will agree, we have genuine reactions. You know, when people get voted off, we’re just as sad. You know, so we’re very much in the emotions with them.
Ben Crofchick: And it’s … it’s true, because you know us opening the case, we’re the first one to see the dollar amount as well. So, you know, we [are] being part of the show. We’re also fans of the show, so having to open a case that might be heartbreaking to someone is never … is never the easiest thing.
Kamari Love: No. It’s not.
Ben Crofchick: And, just so you know, we also have bats flying around, there’s howling monkeys in the trees. So, I mean, the vibes are everywhere and all over the place.
Kamari Love: Yes! We’re trying to be professional with the bugs crawling on our legs. We’re like, ‘Don’t move. Don’t move. Be cool.’
Ben Crofchick: A lot of emotions.
How Kamari and Ben feel about the contestants
Photo by: Monty Brinton/NBC
Kim Stempel: What would surprise viewers the most about the show?
Ben Crofchick: I would say, for it being, you know, Season 1, how smoothly everything went. I mean, we had such a smooth running for a Season 1 show. Yeah. And on an island that’s kind of unforgiving, and it’s new to everybody. I think for it to be kind of as flawless as it was, I don’t know. I think it might be unheard of how perfect it went. So, we were all very happy about that.
Kamari Love: Yes. Absolutely. And I love the mix of contestants that they chose, too. It was just such great different energies and different dynamics that came together. You really fall in love with all the contestants and I thought that they did a great job at that.
Kim Stempel: They did. They picked someone that everyone can root for.
Kamari Love: Yes. Absolutely.
Ben Crofchick: For sure.
Kim Stempel: Did you get to have a lot of interaction with the contestants?
Kamari Love: We did not, actually. We barely got to interact with them. Which was tough but also, you know. made it exciting for us as well. So, we got to get really cool with them kind of post [the] show but that was tough.
Ben Crofchick: Definitely.
What were Ben and Kamari’s favorite part of being on the show?
Photo by: Patrick Ecclesine/NBC
Kim Stempel: And what was your favorite part of being on Deal or No Deal Island?
Ben Crofchick: I mean, I think I can speak for me and Kamari on the fact that it’s just such a new show, and me and Kamari got to kind of be the first briefcase models to adapt to this brand-new show and be the first to open these brand new cases on a brand new island. That’s something we can take with us forever. So, I mean for me, it’s definitely … it’s been an honor.
Kamari Love: Absolutely. And we’re both from the South, so it was cool to bring some Southern roots to a new show [and] to a different island.
Ben Crofchick: That’s true. That’s true.
Kamari Love: Mixing it up. Keeping it sassy.
How Ben and Kamari felt about the original Deal or No Deal
Photo by: Monty Brinton/NBC
Kim Stempel: Ben, what did it feel like to be the first male model who is a series regular?
Ben Crofchick: I mean for me, growing up watching the show and knowing it’s always been just, you know, female briefcase models, when I started the modeling journey, I didn’t really think I’d be the first to do anything. You know, I just thought I’d kind of go with the flow of the modeling industry.
So, to be the first briefcase model on a show as iconic as Deal or No Deal [Island], it’s really just been an honor, and to do it with a team like NBC, you know, I’m thankful for it because they’ve just been so amazing and professional. So, I love it. I love that I get to do it, and I’m hoping for many more seasons to come.
Kim Stempel: I know. Fingers crossed! And Kamari, were you a fan of [the original] Deal or No Deal?
Kamari Love: Yes. Absolutely. I watched it back in junior high and high school, so when they had all the briefcase models, and Howie [Mandel] was doing his thing.
So, it was just the coolest thing ever when this opportunity came across, and, you know, to be able to … book it, is just such an honor because coming behind Claudia Jordan and Meghan Markle as the people who really created a career and like really paved the way for the future models is just huge. I honestly feel so honored and so grateful to have the opportunity.
What are Kamari and Ben’s future goals?
Photo by: Monty Brinton/NBC
Kim Stempel: Do you have any acting experience or aspirations?
Kamari Love: Yes. Absolutely. I plan on hopefully winning Oscars, truthfully. Acting is my main thing, but what I loved about Deal or No Deal [Island] was this was an opportunity for me to not be in character and for me to just be myself and present myself, which was such a plot twist for me. I never considered, you know, having an opportunity like this. So, it was truly a really great, random thing to have happen for me and [I’m] just running with it. I’m super excited to see where it goes from here.
Kim Stempel: What about you, Ben?
Ben Crofchick: I’ve had a few little acting moments throughout my career that’s kind of piqued my interest with it. So, being able to hop on Deal or No Deal [Island], same thing. Show some character and show my personality on camera. It’s definitely sparked more of an interest so it’s something I’m definitely looking forward to pursuing you know from here on out.
And Kamari’s definitely going to win an Oscar one day.
Kim Stempel: Yay!
Kamari Love: Thanks, Ben. Received!
This interview was edited for conciseness and clarity.
