Meghan King Edmonds is speaking out after the identity of the woman with whom husband Jim Edmonds cheated was revealed. The former Real Housewives of Orange County star addressed her husband’s infidelity in an interview with Us Weekly, pinning all the blame on him.
The 34-year-old exclusively blamed Jim for what happened, telling the magazine it was his decision to “betray my trust.” Meghan added that in addition to breaking her heart, Jim’s bad judgement allowed his lover — identified as Jennifer McFelia Villegas — to cash in on the mistake.
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“I only blame my husband for his actions: he made the choice to betray my trust and jeopardize our marriage,” Meghan told Us Weekly. “His recklessness also allowed this woman to profit from my heartbreak — but now that her name is out there, she won’t be able to shake down any other families as I rebuild mine.”
Villegas responded to Edmond’s allegations in a statement to AllAboutTheTea.
“I want to make a few things very clear — I never set anyone up, blackmailed anyone nor have I attempted to ruin anyone’s family. All my relationships have involved two consenting adults. I made a poor decision to enter a relationship with a married man, and for that I am sorry,” her statement read. “I am no saint. My past includes two DUIs and for that I am deeply remorseful and I’ve learned from my mistakes. My life today is completely devoted to my relationship with God and my daughter.”
Us Weekly reported that the former St. Louis Cardinals player isn’t the first athlete with whom Villegas has been involved. An anonymous ex-wife of a major league baseball player told the magazine Villegas met her then-husband some time ago, while he was playing in the minor leagues, and sparked up a relationship with him.
“My husband was a minor league player at the time and was on the road in Tennessee and she was at a game and somehow the two of them connected and exchanged phone numbers and contact information,” the woman told Us. “She said that she worked at Under Armour and she said she’d give him and his teammates apparel, would send them gear. … I got a Facebook message from a friend of hers, asking if I was still with my ex-husband.”
The anonymous woman said she caught her husband talking with Villegas on the phone via three-way calling.
“They were having a conversation and I was the third called, the third person, and ended up having to catch him red-handed,” she shared. “It’s one of those things where you wake up every day and it’s on your mind and it’s one of those things that I don’t know if I could ever get over. We separated five years after this happened and then finally divorced. I’ve wondered, too, over the years if they’ve been back in touch.”
The woman added, “This is not just a jersey chaser who is impressed by a potential big name athlete and wants to sleep with him. … It was a whole mastermind manipulation scheme.”
A former baseball player, who did not identify himself, told Us Weekly he’d been in contact with Villegas himself. He told the magazine she was “known in the baseball world.”
“I fell for it. Other people have fallen for it. There’s other people that have talked to her. She used to call me when she was talking to some dude from Cincinnati,” he claimed.
Jim admitted to having a “lapse in judgement,” exchanging inappropriate messages and photos with the woman in question while Meghan was in labor. At the time, AllAboutTheTea reported that Jim knew the woman prior to his marriage to Meghan. He allegedly cheated on his second wife, Allison Jayne Raski, with Villegas — known as the “Baseball Madame.”
The website obtained screenshots of messages allegedly between Jim and Villegas. During the conversations, Jim appeared to send a photo of his penis, as well as “a video of himself masturbating in his basement while his wife was laid up in the hospital.” The alleged video was filmed on the same day Meghan gave birth to twins.
AllAboutTheTea alleged that Jim first denied the affair, accusing Villegas of trying to blackmail him. Jim reportedly ordered Villegas to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He also allegedly paid her a large sum of money to stay quiet about what transpired between them. AllAboutTheTea obtained copies of the agreement.
Jim eventually confirmed to Us Weekly that he did, in fact, have “inappropriate” contact with Villegas. He maintained, however, that the relationship never got physical.
