While all seems to be going well in the world of Travis Mullen and Gina Kirschenheiter these days, Season 18 of The Real Housewives of Orange County documented a challenging time for the couple. On the Season finale, fans saw a glimpse at another tough spot for the pair when Gina broke down in tears while talking to her beau about their complicated living situation.
As Travis built some furniture at Gina's house, Gina came into the room to chat. "Hello, my love," she said. "How's it going?"
According to Travis, while Gina was away in London, everything moved along swimmingly at home. He especially enjoyed cuddling with their dogs — who he said he cuddles with more than his girlfriend now that they no longer live together.
"I don't want it to stay like this permanently, but I need to deal with this issue and this problem and this person that's never gonna go away," Gina told Travis in response, referring to Travis' ex-wife.
"Some of the things that we have to deal with on a normal basis are difficult," responded Travis.
In a confessional, Gina explained more about the issues at hand. "You know, this has been years of toxic, scary, aggressive behavior from his ex-wife. And I just can't have any of that chaos in my home with my kids," she said.
Travis Mullen weighs in on his living situation with Gina Kirschenheiter
Travis also shared that, while he knows Gina thinks their setup has been working, he doesn't like it.
"I don't think it was the right decision. I still don't," Travis told Gina.
Although Gina explained the move is what she thought "was necessary," Travis responded, "I just want you to get to a point, though, when there's adversity, instead of pulling away you're pulling in."
"You get scared and you start to self-sabotage," he continued. "And it makes me sad."
Gina understood where he was coming from.
"It makes me sad, too," she said. "I'm really thankful that you're sticking it out with me."
After Travis noted he was "not happy about it," Gina concluded, "I have a lot of guilt about it. I mean, I love our family and I love you very much. And I'm, like, very committed to working this out with you."
In the end, Gina suggested they go to therapy and said she'd take the lead on calling providers. Travis said that he would, of course, show up.
"He's such a great person and such a solid man. I would love nothing more than to share the rest of my life with him. And it's not ideal, but I still stand behind the decision that I made," she added in another confessional. "I guess the way I see it, if we're really meant to be then we will survive [this]."
Why Don't Gina Kirschenheiter and Travis Mullen live together?
Although the couple previously lived together with their combined 6 kids, Gina explained on the Season 18 premiere why she felt Travis should move out.
Referring to Travis' ongoing situation with his ex-wife, Gina declared, "I feel like in my home it's me, Travis, six kids, and Travis's baggage. And it's too much."
Additionally, the three-bedroom house was feeling small as their kids got older.
"Now, they need space. They need privacy," Gina explained. "We went and we looked at houses, and we looked at what it would take to get into a house the size of our family, and we can't afford it. Honestly, my gut is telling me that we need to live separately and see where the chips land."
Do Travis Mullen and Gina Kirschenheiter still live apart today?
Yes. At the end of the episode, it was revealed that Travis and Gina are still living apart — and sharing custody of their pups. Still, Gina is optimistic about their future as Travis gets closer to finalizing his divorce.
