How Alexis Bellino’s RHOC Return Actually Helped Shannon Beador

Alexis Bellino and Shannon Beador are not friendly this season on Real Housewives of Orange County. I get both sides, but I also think that the return of Alexis created many positive narratives for Shannon, which helped Shannon navigate RHOC Season 18 with minimal showings of hatred from the fans.

Alexis and Shannon will likely never be close friends. We all know where each lady stands. This friendship is a bust.

But that is fine, as this season of life is not the time for Shannon to make new BFFs. And even if it were, she likely would not pick someone who held info on her unaired problematic antics. But, frenemies or enemies, the return of Alexis aided Shannon this season on RHOC. And I will explain my thoughts on this matter now.

Alexis Bellino’s presence distracted us from Shannon Beador’s DUI and subsequent behaviors on RHOC

Shannon is getting sued by someone that Alexis loves. Again. But in both of these messy civil matters, Alexis has no teeth in the game, or so she states. However, Alexis is bringing up this uncomfortable matter on RHOC, and the results have been disastrous.

Alexis also revealed a lot of awful tea about Shannon following her DUI arrest last year. She is adamant that Shannon is the problem on multiple issues. And guess what? The viewers turned on Alexis for her versions of truth-telling, as she was doing the most towards someone who comes across as being at their lowest.

When I look at Shannon this season on RHOC, I can resonate with her deep levels of pain and fear. That said, Shannon has been miserable since her first season. Watching a semi-drowning woman as a form of escapism is not fun, especially when this woman keeps getting hammered by her peers. But Shannon makes her own choices and essentially puts herself in these situations. Therefore, for many of us, our attentions and heated comments this season have turned on Alexis, not on Shannon, the one who made the horrid decision to drive drunk in the first place.

I have been in the comments. People are big mad at Alexis. Meanwhile, there seems to be zero anger towards Shannon, who is still ordering drinks on air, as if she did not almost just kill herself after mixing liquor with her license. DUIs are serious matters, and if Alexis had not arrived to poke the bear in her miscalculated manners, Shannon might have gotten a lot of heat, not compassion, from the viewers this season on RHOC.

Alexis Bellino keeps John Janssen’s name in the chats on RHOC, giving the viewers a villain to focus on

It is finally time to talk about John Janssen. When John was with Shannon, Shannon claimed she paid for everything during their first two years of dating. Yet she still loved the guy, but as the viewers got to know John, many felt torn on how they felt about her man. These conflicting feelings arose during each of their arguments, and as Shannon was the one we all knew the best, many of us sided with her, not him, throughout their relationship.

John called off their relationship in 2022, allegedly blindsiding Shannon. However, they started a friendship that turned intimate only a few months later. On the night of her DUI, she was at his place, but they got into a heated argument. Shannon then gunned her engine and dramatically peeled away, but the streets were wet (and she was drunk), causing her to lose control of her vehicle.

Alexis dropped a bombshell on RHOC Season 18, revealing that John had Ring Camera footage from that night. This recording could ruin her life, Alexis revealed, as it showed Shannon allegedly almost running over John’s daughter who Shannon admittedly didn’t get along with.

However, this big reveal felt dirty, and many fans agreed. Therefore, instead of riding hard against Shannon for her careless ways, which could have ended a life, many viewers chose to turn against Alexis and John. Take a bow, Alexis and John, as you say, you are welcome, Shannon.

Shannon Beador’s edits during the RHOC Season 18 premiere were kind, while Alexis Bellino’s edits set her up as another villain for the fans to hate-watch

The Real Housewives producers are the unseen pot-stirring cast members of this franchise. Their handiwork appeared during the premiere episode of RHOC Season 18. Thanks to their edits, alongside her bull-in-a-china-shop behaviors that were seen right out of the gate, Alexis immediately looked like a potential villain for this season.

First, Heather Dubrow and Emily Simpson met up for a drink with Alexis. As Heather and Emily waited for her to arrive, they began chatting about the Explore page on Instagram. They specifically focused on mother and son dances, which saw Heather joking, “Giving your son over to this ho!”

“Yeah, a ho,” Emily answered. The scene expertly cuts to Alexis, pulling in to join them.

Then, as things got underway at a party, Heather joked, “Do you want me to send someone out for a hose, you ho?” The scene once again immediately cuts to an incoming Alexis.

These shady producers film entire seasons before they start fleshing out their footage. Therefore, they have a bigger picture of how each season will play out. Sometimes, they make excellent decisions in the editing room to help support their beliefs. Other times, they seem to be rooting for the wrong characters.

Shannon, meanwhile, received a compassionate cut. But she also deserves at least one equally snarky edit since drunk driving is a choice. And a horrific one at that.

But Shannon skirted this edit, and she can thank Alexis for it, as Alexis came in hot and loud, making Shannon’s usual rote of complaining and crying something endearing for the fans.

Real Housewives of Orange County is streaming on Peacock.