After what feels like a lifetime of patiently waiting, the 18th season of The Real Housewives of Orange County has finally arrived! And, as we all expected, the star of the show is one Shannon Storms Beador, Archie’s mom, first of her name, perpetual problem child we can’t help but love. Don’t get me wrong — Shannon’s much-publicized DUI was probably one of the biggest Housewives disappointments of all time. As Shannon herself has said, she’s an Uber girl and she knows better. Luckily no one was hurt and I have to believe Shannon when she says she’s doing everything in her power to Tyra Banks-style learn from this! That being said, the other half of Shannon’s drama this season has arrived in the form of an outspoken self-tanned, blonde extention-ed package that is Alexis Bellino.
In case you somehow haven’t heard Alexis screaming it from the rooftops yet, Jesus Jugs (she’s now reclaimed the title) is dating Shannon’s ex-boyfriend, John Janssen. Excuse me, Johhny J, as Alexis lovingly calls him with heart emojis shooting out of her retinas. John’s new relationship came as a shock to everyone, Shannon included, only made worse when it was announced after ten seasons away Alexis would be brought back into the RHOC mix, seemingly with the sole purpose of stirring shit up with Shannon re: “stealing her boyfriend”. Yet as an unbiased journalist with a capital J, I pride myself on asking the hard questions, which has led me here: is Alexis Bellino dating Shannon Beador’s ex breaking the unspoken girl code? Let’s explore both sides of the girl’s girl argument, for science.
How did Alexis and John Janssen meet?
Alexis and John met at the restaurant and bar The Quiet Woman just weeks after his breakup with Shannon. In explaining this picture-perfect meet cute in her confessional, Alexis immediately goes on the defense by clarifying Shannon Beador does not own the restaurant, though Shannon has famously frequented the OC watering hole on and off camera for years now (it’s the location of her infamous clap back “that’s not my plate you fucking bitch!”). The truth is Shannon doesn’t own The Quiet Woman, but is it not a little odd that was the first sentence to come out of Alexis’ mouth unprovoked? Alexis goes on to explain that Johnny J walked over to her booth and it was basically love at first sight. They tried and failed to deny their connection but ultimately decided love was love and have been together ever since.
What is girl code when it comes to dating an acquaintance’s ex?
What I find very curious about this love story is Alexis’ emphasis on the fact that she and John felt they shouldn’t be together at first, Romeo and Juliet style. It begs the obvious question: why not? Maybe because the guy just got out of a very public relationship with Alexis’ acquaintance/coworker/party named in a prolonged lawsuit by her then-husband Jim Bellino? If fans suspected before the season started that John and Alexis were getting off on the fact that they knew their relationship would hurt Shannon and garner a lot of public attention because of Shannon, Alexis’ own words basically confirm that. I highly doubt they stay up all night chanting Shannon’s name around a fire or whatever, but the quickness with which Alexis tossed out her zinger that she “stole” Shannon’s man at Heather’s housewarming makes it pretty evident Shannon has been living in Alexis’ head rent-free before they even spoke (P.S. real betches know a man is never stolen, he goes willingly). Alexis’ defensiveness comes off like she wanted beef with Shannon not only because it gives her a storyline for her much-anticipated, long thirsted-for comeback, but because Alexis loves being the cheerleader who landed the quarterback over her classmate. Just like it seems like a pretty safe bet to say Tamra made up with her high-key enemy Alexis to get back at Shannon after their latest falling out, John surely would have known how bad it would look for him to go after Alexis, another blonde, thin OC Housewife 13 years young than his ex.
If anyone owed Shannon more, it’s the man she spent years in a relationship with, who promised her a future that he ultimately didn’t deliver. While it’s, shall we say, a bit weird Alexis was more than willing to play a part in all of this, it’s not exactly criminal. She and Shannon were never pals. But where Alexis breaks girl code is not leading with kindness given the fact that she knows she’s putting Shannon in an uncomfy situation, even if totally by circumstance. Why be so aggressive, as if Shannon did something to her by having dated John first? Why go public with someone else’s sloppy seconds and essentially taunt them in the tabloids for weeks? Alexis obvi thinks she’s won by snatching John from Shannon’s clutches. Even though I tend to agree with Emily’s candid opinion on that man, there’s no need regardless to be a sore winner.
