Move over Alexis Bellino and John Janssen! Another unexpected couple has surfaced in the world of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
As the recent engagement of Alexis, 47, and John, 62, continues to cause a stir on the show, primarily with his former girlfriend, Shannon Beador, 60, a new report claims Alexis’ ex-husband, Jim Bellino, 62, has struck up a romance with former cast member Elizabeth Vargas, 49.
TMZ shared the news with readers on October 17, along with a cozy photo of Jim and Elizabeth during a recent date night.
According to the outlet, Jim and Elizabeth have been dating for about a month after meeting through one of the hosts of Elizabeth’s Girls Talk podcast, and they have been bonding over their love of golfing.
“Sparks are flying,” an insider shared.
The report went on to say that since her 2020 divorce from Bernt O. Bodal, the former chairman and CEO of American Seafoods, Elizabeth, who appeared on the 15th season of RHOC, has been on the hunt for “the one.”
Although Elizabeth has dated since her split from Bernt, her latest recorded romance resulted in a scary situation, leaving her hesitant to date.
As RHOC fans will recall, Elizabeth’s ex-boyfriend held her captive at her Newport Beach home in 2022 for several hours, leading to a SWAT team response and claims of extortion.
As for Jim’s past, it is unclear if he’s dated anyone seriously since his 2018 split from Alexis.
While Alexis hasn’t yet reacted to Jim’s reported romance, she did share his response to her getting engaged to John after just nine months of dating during an interview with Us Weekly in September.
“Jim did text me right after he found out and just said, ‘Congratulations,’” she revealed. “John had been around a few times to family events, like James’ graduation, another party that we threw for James, [and] a track meet. So, they [have] been in the same vicinity and met.”
RHOC Live Viewing – This is also the live viewing thread for tonight’s new episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18, so feel free to comment and chat as the new season airs at 9/8c on Bravo.
