RHOC’s Gina Kirschenheiter, Emily Simpson on Shannon Beador’s New Man

The Real Housewives of Orange County stars Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson are hoping Shannon Beador receives a second chance at love after her split from John Janssen.

“She seems great,” Simpson, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly at Kathy Hilton’s DirecTV Christmas Party in Los Angeles on December 10. “I saw her the other night. I had dinner at her house. She seemed happy and I think she’s glad that it’s over.”

Although Beador, 60, and Janssen, 62, broke up at the end of 2022, the pair still found themselves connected.

Janssen’s girlfriend turned fiancée, Alexis Bellino, rejoined The Real Housewives of Orange County. One topic Bellino, 47, found herself discussing throughout season 18 was Janssen’s legal battle with Beador.

In March, Janssen sued his ex-girlfriend for breach of oral contract and promissory fraud, claiming that she failed to repay him $75,000. They eventually settled in November with Beador agreeing to pay $60,000.

“I was actually very in touch with Shannon during all of that, and I was very proud of her that it got settled,” Simpson told Us while wearing a Retrofete dress. “My whole point in discussions with her was, ‘We have to move forward and this has to be in the past and for you to have a clean slate and be able to enjoy your life and live your life to the fullest, we gotta get rid of them.’”

Now that the lawsuit is settled, Beador may be in a better state to dip her feet into the dating pool.

“She is going on some dates,” Kirschenheiter, 40, teased while wearing a L’AGENCE dress and Lovers + Friends jacket for the outdoor holiday party. “I didn’t meet him, but I think [Emily] might have met a beau.”

Simpson confirmed she had met one of Beador’s potential suitors and when asked if he was “different” from Janssen, the reality star agreed.

“He seems lovely and non litigious,” she said with a laugh. “He didn’t show up with papers to serve her so I feel like that’s a great first step.”

Although The Real Housewives of Orange County wrapped up a dramatic season 18 in November, the cast remains busy outside of the show.

Kirschenheiter and her longtime boyfriend, Travis Mullen, launched their own real estate team called The Gated Group, powered by eXp Realty. As for Simpson, she teamed up with her husband Shane for a brand-new iHeartRadio podcast titled “Legally Brunette.”

“I think it’s a really good niche for the two of us to talk about things that are more pop culture criminal cases,” she said. “That’s where we’re at with that.”

Stream past episodes of The Real Housewives of Orange County now on Peacock.

With reporting by Amanda Williams