There’s still hope. Jeff Lewis hasn’t closed the door on his friendship with Jenni Pulos completely.
The Flipping Out star, 48, appeared on Watch What Happens Live on Monday, October 1, when host Andy Cohen asked if he could ever envision becoming friends with the mother-of-two again. “I’m a very, very forgiving guy and I never say ‘never,’” Lewis answered. “But when someone reports you for abuse to your bosses, that’s kind of something that’s kind of hard to get over.”
Real Housewives of Orange County’s Shannon Beador interjected, saying, “I’ll make a prediction … I give it a couple years, I think it’s gonna take a couple years because you are like me, it takes time” to which Lewis nodded with understanding.
“But I’ve been watching this show and I already miss her. I will tell you that. I already miss her,” he continued, before adding, “But it’s just … when someone crosses the line, it’s kind of hard to get over.”
Us Weekly exclusively confirmed in September that the former colleagues — whose friendship and working relationship had been featured on the reality series — had parted ways as business partners.
The interior designer later revealed that Pulos had filed an abuse claim against him. “Jenni and I did have a fight, which then resulted in a rift,” he explained on Jeff Lewis Live on September 7. “She said that she had given up her acting career to work for me and that really hurt my feelings, because I felt like I have done nothing but accommodate her for her auditions and meetings and all of that.”
Admitting that he was concerned that viewers would stop tuning in to Flipping Out without Pulos as a cast member, Lewis revealed he offered to have her appear on the Bravo series as a friend. “[Jenni] doubled down and allegedly I was reported for wrongfully terminating her off her own show,” the TV personality continued. “And there were also allegations of a hostile work environment, so somebody’s talking to an attorney, which scares me.”
Although Lewis was cleared of all charges, he appeared to still harbor some resentment. Ahead of the reality show’s premiere, he posted a photo on Instagram on September 11 of himself with partner Gage Edwards and Pulos. However, he crossed out her face using a red X. The photo has since been deleted.
Flipping Out airs on Bravo on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. ET.
