Alexis Bellino and John Janssen Respond to ‘Overwhelming’ Hate Following RHOC Return

The Real Housewives of Orange County couple is again having to defend their position. Alexis Bellino and John Janssen created a lot of controversy with his $75,000 lawsuit against Shannon Beador.

Now, Alexis and John are receiving a ton of backlash. The former blamed it on editing. A dual appearance on Watch What Happens Live didn’t seem to placate the masses. So perhaps an explanation of their position will.

Alexis Bellino wants to “close that door” on the RHOC season

“What’s so difficult is that it’s, like, we’re in a vortex where all of the hate is based on things that aren’t true,” John said. “And me having no voice has been very difficult.”

He added, “Then, Lex feels the responsibility to try and help me and then she gets criticized for that. It’s a tough no-win deal.”

Indeed, John has been non-existent on camera this season. Alexis functioned as his mouthpiece for most of the time. She told Us Weekly, they are “in a no-win situation.”

“It’s OK ’cause now it’s done,” Alexis said of the season ending. “We can close that door and open the door to the wedding.”

The duo premiered as a couple in late 2023. John proposed in August 2024, and the wedding is planned for the following summer.

Alexis “regrets” bringing up the videos from Shannon’s DUI night

All the RHOC drama between Alexis and Shannon was caught on camera for Season 18, which the former rejoined after leaving the series in 2013.

At one point, Alexis alluded to Ring footage that John had from the night of Shannon’s DUI. It was implied that they would be released at a damaging time. It seems that John and Alexis now have conflicting statements on the matter.

“I am the one that has the videos and nothing has ever come outta my mouth that I was ever gonna show them to anybody,” John stated Thursday. “That was never a possibility.”

Meanwhile, Alexis “regrets” bringing the videos up while filming.

“I thought I [spoke about the videos] off-camera. Like, you film for 12 hours and I was with my good girlfriends,” Alexis explained. “You think you do something and then it’s like, ‘Oh shoot, the cameras were rolling. I didn’t even remember that.’ I told friends about them off-camera, I thought. And so, it is what it is, but I don’t really have any regrets ’cause the truth is the truth and we have truth on our side.”

John thinks Shannon is getting sympathy “that she doesn’t deserve”

When asked if she has any “empathy” for Shannon, Alexis asked if “anyone [has] empathy” for her. She lost her dear mother Penelope earlier this year.

“What about me? I had to be on a show just lost my mom [and] wasn’t eating, wasn’t sleeping, was barely getting out of bed, filmed a show and still put on my big girl panties to go film with his ex-girlfriend, which is just as hard,” Alexis said. “I’m tired of hearing about that. I have sympathy for her, but at the same time it’s, like, I had to do a really fricking hard job and I got beat down the entire season.”

John chimed in to say that his ex-girlfriend is also “masterful at eliciting sympathy that she doesn’t deserve.” He added, “I know I’ll take heat for that, but it’s the truth.”

Catch The Real Housewives of Orange County Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.