In April 2018, Real Housewives of Orange County’s Gina Kirschenheiter filed for divorce from her husband, Matthew Kirschenheiter. They had been married for eight years at the time of the filing. Things between the couple seemed to be going well, until now.
Matthew Kirschenheiter was reportedly arrested for charges relating to suspicion of domestic violence, per The Blast. Kirschenheiter has not been officially charged with any crime. Since his arrest, he has been released with his bail set at $0. The arrest took place on June 22, and he was released at 1 a.m. on June 23.
Two days after it happened, Gina Kirschenheiter filed for a protective order that named Matthew Kirschenheiter as the respondent. She had asked for an emergency hearing to discuss domestic violence allegations. One week before the arrest and subsequent protective order filing, Gina Kirschenheiter had posted a birthday tribute to Matthew Kirschenheiter on Instagram.
Gina Kirschenheiter is still relatively new to The Real Housewives franchise. She has only been on The Real Housewives of Orange County for one season. Gina Kirschenheiter started her time on the show as a central cast member during the most recent installment -- Season 13. Emily Simpson joined her in being a new cast member.
The last episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County’s thirteenth season aired in December 2018. From Long Island, Gina Kirschenheiter got introduced to the show as an “expressive outsider” to Orange County, per her Bravo bio. Or “the O.C.” as the locale was popularly known in the early 2000s.
When her stint began, Gina Kirschenheiter was introduced as still being relatively new to the Orange County scene. She had been there for three years at the time of the bio. Gina and Matt Kirschenheiter share three children together, all of whom are under seven-years-old. A few months before The Real Housewives of Orange County season starring her premiered, Kirschenheiter filed for divorce.
In recent weeks, Real Housewives spectators have been left wondering about the couple’s marital status. More than a year since the original divorce filing, and a social media post seemingly indicated that there could be a reconciliation in store. It began with the warm message to Matthew Kirschenheiter on June 11 for his birthday.
A few days later on Father’s Day (June 16), she posted another kind message. Considered together, the posts led some to speculate that the couple may reconcile. As it would turn out, six days after her latest post about her husband, he would get arrested.
News of the arrest follows other Real Housewives headlines. Last year, sexual assault allegations broke against the husband of one of The Real Housewives of Potomac. In related Bravo news, one of Southern Charm’s former stars got arrested for assault and battery in September 2018. A surgeon featured on another Bravo reality show, Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, was charged with rape the same month.
Real Housewives of Orange County is the original series that gave the franchise its start. It has since been spun off many times. One of those spinoffs is fellow California-set entry The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It added Denise Richards to its cast for Season 9. She explained why she joined.
A premiere date for The Real Housewives of Orange County to return has not been officially set yet. When it returns, it will do so on Bravo. In the meantime, there are a lot of summer premieres on their way.
