Real Housewives Of Orange County newbie Noella Bergener's marriage continues to disintegrate as she and her estranged husband, attorney "Sweet James" Bergener, head further down the road of their acrimonious split. The couple, who shares one child, looks to be headed toward a battle royale when it comes to the dissolution of their marriage and a future custody arrangement.
Noella, who joined the cast of RHOC this season, debuted on the show singing the praises of her husband and the spicy sex life they apparently shared in their sex dungeon. Just a few episodes in, however, things took a drastic turn for the worse as she claimed he had cut off her access to their money and had all but abandoned her and their toddler son. According to Noella, she had no idea where her husband had gone and was worried about how she was going to pay for life's basic necessities. Noella's most recent Instagram post is a black square, which she has "every hope to delete" if things between her and James can move forward more peacefully. James,' most recent Instagram post (posted after Noella's) is an "Attorney Statement" in which he details his own version of events. In his litany, he disputes every single one of her statements and most pointedly, accuses her of using her newfound fame on the reality show to "twist facts and influence opinions" as "a tool for emotional and financial leverage."
Us Weekly broke down the latest information regarding the couple's dispute and they disagree on literally every aspect of their relationship. Not only do they differ on James' interest (or lack thereof) in seeing his son, the couple can't even agree on whether or not they are divorced! The report also documents James' claim that they obtained "permanent resident" status in Puerto Rico in January of 2021, and that they signed documents stating that they intended to live there. There is even a discrepancy about who left whom. James says that Noella left Puerto Rico to film in the OC, and she claims that he left her high and dry in the OC with no explanation or warning.
The bottom line is that the truth will eventually prevail here. What makes the couple's differing opinions so interesting is that virtually everything that each party claims can be proven or disproven. Whether (or not) they are permanent residents of Puerto Rico is verifiable. Whether (or not) James has contributed financially to his wife and child is verifiable. Whether (or not) James abruptly abandoned his family in the OC is verifiable. Whether (or not) their island home is their primary residence is verifiable. The bottom line is that opinions don't even matter here, documentation does.
The timing of this particular split is fishy, to say the least. While several women have entered the sisterhood of the Housewives on the verge of divorce, this marriage seemed to go from fantastic to awful in record time. This saga is the definition of "there are three sides to every story," and viewers will eventually know what's real and what's not regarding the demise of this marriage. Hopefully, they'll figure it out for James Junior's sake. In the meantime Real Housewives Of Orange County viewers are left wondering whether James is the uncaring cad Noella claims him to be, or if she was bitten by the fame bug and decided to pursue its call over saving her marriage.
Next: RHOC: Why Sweet James Shaded Noella On Christmas
Source: Us Weekly, Noella Bergener/Instagram, James Bergener/Instagram