John Janssen has reportedly sued his ex-girlfriend Shannon Beador for $75,000 after she allegedly borrowed the money for a facelift.
According to court papers obtained by People Friday, the businessman, 61, filed a lawsuit in the Orange County Superior Court claiming the “Real Housewives of Orange County” star breached their oral contract and is committing promissory fraud by purposely not paying him back.
He reportedly lent her $40,000 via wire transfer on Jan. 23, 2022, for the facelift and another $35,000 via personal check on May 20, 2023.
They allegedly agreed that Beador, 59, would pay him back with interest. After multiple alleged requests for repayment in 2023 and 2024 by Janssen, he is now asking for the full $75,000 back, plus accrued interest, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.
However, the reality star is arguing that the money was a gift.
She told People via a written statement, “I am shocked and disappointed that John has a filed a lawsuit. My attorney has been in constant communication with his counsel. I agreed to pay John what he wanted because I knew that attorneys fees would surpass the amount sought, but more importantly to eliminate the negative emotional components that come with a lawsuit. It is important that I continue to focus on the positive aspects of my life and move forward.
“John declined the offer because he refused to sign a mutual non-disparagement agreement. I was hoping that if I met his baseless demand we could at least use this as an opportunity to bring complete closure to this chapter in my life.”
“Ms. Beador’s defense that Mr. Janssen paid her the $75,000 as a ‘gift’ is completely meritless, which their e-mails and text messages will show,” Edson K. McClellan, Rutan & Tucker LLP, tells Page Six. “Mr. Janssen is saddened that Ms. Beador’s unwillingness to repay the loans made it necessary to file this lawsuit.”
Janssen and Beador ‘s relationship flourished before “RHOC” cameras at the beginning of 2019. However, they called it quits in November 2022 after Season 17 was filmed.
They remained friends until last fall. Coincidentally, their friendship seemed to sour shortly after Beador was arrested for a DUI and a hit-and-run, and after Janssen got close to her former castmate Alexis Bellino.
“John Janssen and I are two people who met by happenstance,” Bellino told Page Six exclusively in November 2022. “We are discovering that we’re in similar places in our lives, as divorced parents both emerging from recent heartbreak because of relationships ending.”
Bellino, 46, and her ex-fiancé, Andy Bohn, split in September 2023 nearly three years after he proposed.
By December 2023, the “RHOC” alum and Janssen had no problem publicly packing on the PDA, and Beador admitted she was “hurt” by their romance.
“How many Orange County Housewives have there been?” she quipped to E! News at the time. “Is that your dating pool?”
Earlier this month, Janssen hinted that an engagement is on the way. He bought Bellino a $16,000 promise ring for Christmas last year.
“I cannot picture my life without her,” he said on Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast.
