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Even as The Real Housewives of Orange County‘s Jennifer Pedranti plans her future with fiancé Ryan Boyajian on Season 19, she can’t help but reflect on her past with ex-husband William “Will” Pedranti.
As Jenn explained on Season 19, Episode 12, because she and Will share five children — sons Harrison, Dawson, Greyson, and Dominic, as well as daughter, Everleigh — she’s prioritized building a healthy post-divorce relationship with him.
The topic arose when Jenn treated 14-year-old Everleigh (aka Evvy) to her first-ever med spa facial, after which she asked her to serve as maid of honor in her and Ryan’s upcoming wedding. Though Evvy was “excited” for her mom, she also had some conflicting emotions about her remarrying, admitting in a confessional that it was “weird” to think of Jenn tying the knot with someone other than her dad.
After Jenn opened up to a producer about how her and Will’s “really good family” splitting up felt like “mourning a death,” she took a moment to talk to “best friend” Evvy about how she wanted to marry Ryan to have a “partner.” She also reassured her that their family dynamic would stay the same, regardless.
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“I felt like Dad and I were parents, and marrying Ryan changes nothing — nothing — with me as your mom, me as the boys’ mom,” Jenn said. “It doesn’t change that I love Dad, that Dad feels like family for me. I will always fight for that relationship with Dad.”
Seeing Evvy overcome with emotion and wiping away tears ultimately made Jenn feel like a “failure” as a mother.Â
“It’s such a s–t trade because… finally, I’m prioritized in a relationship with a man who spends time with me, who’s my best friend, and look at the collateral damage,” she said, referencing her daughter who was sitting next to her. “And it’s in these moments where I feel like a failure. I feel like I let them down.”Â
As Evvy chimed in, though, “I don’t think my mom’s a failure, at all.”
Jennifer Pedranti breaks down her post-divorce living arrangement with her ex-husband and their kids
On The Real Housewives of Orange County After Show, Jenn shared more details on how she and Will navigated co-parenting amid a unique post-split living situation.
“It was so nice. When Will and I divorced, we nested, which meant we shared a house,” she explained to Gretchen Rossi. “When it was Will’s time, I left. … On his time, he would stay in the house with the kids. They had their rooms; they never had to go back and forth. And then, when it was my time, he would leave.”
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Clarifying that she would stay with Ryan on her off days, Jenn added that when they “got evicted,” she “had to figure out” if she wanted to relocate her family of six (plus their pets) to a two-bedroom apartment or officially move everyone in with her now-fiancé. As viewers learned on previous RHOC seasons, Jenn chose the latter option.
“They lost home when we went to Ryan’s,” she added of her children. “And so, it took a while to feel like, ‘Oh, this isn’t Ryan’s home; this is our home.”
Where Jennifer Pedranti’s kids stand with Ryan Boyajian today
Ultimately, Jenn said each of her five kids “took their own time” forming a bond with Ryan.
Early on in her new romance, Jenn shared how Evvy, for one, had “begged” her and Ryan to take her and a friend to Las Vegas with them. Their eventual arrival in Sin City proved to be more of a shock to Evvy’s system than she had anticipated, though. Â
“It was miserable, because Ryan held my hand,” the RHOC mom recalled, estimating that her daughter was about 11, at the time. “She lost her mind that trip. Oh my god, it was so bad. … She just wasn’t ready. She thought she was ready; she wasn’t ready.”
Jenn continued, “And so, after that, it has just taken her time. Now, they’re hilarious.”
As you wait to see more of their family dynamics play out on RHOC, don’t miss the latest update on Jenn and Ryan’s wedding plans.
