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Alexis Bellino Admits She & John “Tried to Fight the Feelings” While Revealing Relationship Timeline
Ahead of her RHOC return, Alexis Bellino set the record straight on her relationship with John Janssen.
Alexis Bellino is officially set to make her Real Housewives of Orange County return when Season 18 premieres on July 11, and this time around, she has a new boyfriend: John Janssen.
The above preview teases Alexis' Season 18 debut and features her talking all about her relationship over dinner with Heather Dubrow and Emily Simpson. Regarding the latter topic of conversation, Alexis specifically reveals when she and John began dating.
"November 18 is the day that John Janssen walked into my life. I met John at Quiet Woman," she explains in a confessional interview, referencing the infamous RHOC restaurant. "We tried to fight the feelings. After week two, John and I knew. That was it. Unfortunately, your heart wants what it wants. And here we are. Take us or leave us."
Alexis shared even more about her and John's relationship timeline during a July 2 interview with The Daily Dish.
Here's What You May Have Missed on Bravo:
Alexis Bellino Declares Engagement to John Is "Around the Corner": "We Did Go Ring Shopping"
Alexis Bellino Reveals if She and John Janssen Are Living Together: "We Do Stay..."
Alexis Bellino Slams Meghan King's Diss About John Janssen: "Looking for a Moment"
Alexis Bellino Was in Talks with RHOC Production Prior to Meeting John Janssen
Alexis clarified that while her and John's relationship did coincide with her return to RHOC, she was already "speaking to production" before she met him that fateful night.
Up until that point, she said she had been planning to introduce viewers to "the single Alexis, 'cause I've always been the Christian wife doting on her husband and her three kids."
"So, you know, unfortunately — but fortunately — John and I met and it took a whole different turn," Alexis added. "But it was definitely in the works prior to John and I."
John Janssen Had Long Been Single When He Started Dating Alexis Bellino
Continuing to set the record straight on her relationship with John, Alexis pointed out that they didn't start dating until John had been single for "a year and a half."
"Yes, [John and his ex, Shannon Storms Beador] had talked some off and on and were friends off and on between that — and whatever happened, happened — but from the day I met John, we never looked back on the fact that, you know, we both have pasts," Alexis continued. "We're 47 and 61, so no one's a virgin here."
How did Alexis Bellino and John Janssen meet and begin dating?
Expanding upon what she shares on the RHOC premiere about her and John's first meeting, Alexis told The Daily Dish, "It all happened by happenstance. It was honestly just a random night that two of my guy friends wanted me to take them to The Quiet Woman — I've been going there for decades and know the staff there — so, they were like, 'We want to go with you.'"
The group did indeed end up going, and it wasn't until they had paid the check and were preparing to leave that John and a group of his friends walked in.
"One of the girls that was with him was also an acquaintance I know from philanthropy work, and so she came over and she's like, 'Oh my gosh, Alexis, it's so good to see you. I'm here with John. You guys should talk. You were on the same show,'" Alexis recalled. "And that's literally what started it."
The two groups then joined forces and spent the rest of their night dancing at a nearby bar. This "started a friendship" between Alexis and John, and although they remained that way for a bit, "it just grew into more pretty fast."
"I mean, we couldn't really stop it," she said.
Are Alexis and John Janssen still together?
Yes. In fact, Alexis told The Daily Dish, "We're stronger today than we were on day one, and it does just keep growing exponentially."
"It's the best it can be," she continued. "And, you know, we've acclimated all of our families together, including dogs. We are moving in a direction of being in it for the long haul. So. It's exciting."
RHOC Season 18 premieres with a supersized episode on Thursday, July 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.
