Exes Jesse Lally and Michelle Saniei still run in the same friend group, so they have opinions on each other’s new relationships. Following Michelle’s breakup from Aaron Nosler, rumors started swirling about a bit of apparent flirting between Michelle and her castmate Tom Schwartz. But what does Jesse think about this potential pairing of his ex-wife and his friend? The answer might surprise you.
“Schwartz and Michelle in a little relationship together would be so funny for me to watch from the outside, that I’m all about it,” Jesse shared during The Valley After Show, before adding, “But, I could never see Michelle and Schwartz together.”
Though his castmates disagreed, Jesse declared, “They’re not opposites — they’re exactly the same type. They are one and the same. They’re like wishy-washy.”
“I would love to see it, though,” he concluded.
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Details on Tom Schwartz and Michelle Saniei’s flirtation
The topic first came up during The Valley Season 3, Episode 4, when Schwartz had admitted to Jesse that he was attending a singles night with Michelle and Lala Kent.
“I thought you and Michelle were starting a little thing together?” Jesse asked Schwartz.
But Schwartz denied any sparks. “You know I would never disrespect you like that,” he told Jesse, while adding a caveat: “unless it was true love. Like, if I truly loved her, that would be a different thing.”
Still, Jesse gave the green light to his friend, telling Schwartz, “If anybody’s gonna do it, I’d be happy if it was you.”
Tom Schwartz responds to Jesse Lally giving his blessing to date Michelle Saniei
During the After Show, Schwartz reacted to Jesse giving his blessing to the potential couple. “He’s an emotionally intelligent dude. If I came to him man-to-man and I was like, ‘I’m really digging Michelle,’ I think he would at least be open to a conversation about it,” he said.
Michelle also weighed in on her flirtation with Schwartz, adding, “I think [Jesse] was cool with it because he knew we were just being silly.”
Michelle and Schwartz both told BravoTV.com during an exclusive interview in March they did not end up dating, with Schwartz joking, “Me and Michelle did not make it.”
During The Valley‘s April 22 episode, Michelle told producers exactly why it would never work out: “I love Tom’s energy, and he’s funny, but he’s the opposite of what I’m looking for,” she said. “I want somebody older. More mature. Somebody more just like well-rounded in general.”
Jesse Lally opens up about seeing Michelle Saniei dating again
Although Michelle and Schwartz’s flirtation fizzled out, Jesse made it clear where he stands on Michelle dating during the After Show.
“When Michelle left me, and then three weeks later was in a relationship with Aaron, I was done,” he bluntly remarked. “So, my healing process has been two years. You would think I’d feel otherwise, but I’m so far disconnected from our relationship, that it’s kind of funny. And it doesn’t bother me.”
“She can be with whoever she wants. I have literally no emotional connection to her at all,” he continued. “My only thing is, be strategic, sincere, and intelligent enough to choose somebody that you want to introduce to [our daughter], Isabella.”
Michelle clarified her relationship status as “single, single, single” during a March interview with BravoTV.com. “I am not dating anybody, but I am open to it, whenever that time comes. I just have not met anybody special yet. Single, ready to mingle,” she added.
Jesse Lally and Michelle Saniei reveal where they stand today
Although Jesse and Michelle have been at odds for years during their divorce, Michelle had a moment of reminiscing about a “beautiful” time with Jesse during the April 22 episode of The Valley. It came as she and Lala visited jeweler Kyle Chan, and Michelle considered turning her engagement ring from Jesse into a necklace.
“Not that I want to go back to him, but I was like, ‘That was a beautiful time in my life,’” Michelle told Lala of her 2017 Paris engagement to Jesse.
She later told producers, “The proposal was so amazing. He took me on a birthday trip to Paris, and he surprised me. I had no idea. He hired a secret photographer [who] was hiding in the back, and [Jesse] had the most amazing speech. And of course I said yes. And it was just such a beautiful trip.”
Michelle shared more with Lala about her current feelings towards Jesse. “I truly hated him last year, and I’m barely recovering from all the trauma that he did to me,” she revealed, before explaining why her feelings have changed. “Once my mom passed, I just kind of let go of it all. Like, he was mad, that’s why he did all that stuff to me. But we did have a very beautiful time, for a long time.”
RELATED: Michelle Saniei Reveals Her Candid Thoughts on Jesse Lally’s Girlfriend, Lacy (VIDEO)
Still, Michelle emphasized, “I just want to be divorced by this year. That is my goal.”
During the same episode, Jesse and Schwartz also discussed where Jesse stood with Michelle, as Schwartz pointed out they seemed “copasetic.” But Jesse took a different stance. “We are like strictly Isabella now,” he clarified.
Catch up on the big relationship step Schwartz just took with his girlfriend, Kiana Carroll.
