The Real Housewives of Orange County will reportedly tackle star Gina Kirschenheiter‘s disturbing domestic violence allegations against her estranged husband, Matthew Kirschenheiter. The season finished filming before June 22, the day Kirschenheiter claims Matthew threatened to kill her. At the time filming finished, the former couple appeared to be on the path of reconciliation.
“Filming wrapped prior to this happening and, when it did, Gina and Matt were reconciling,” a source close to the show told Radar Online. “But since this is a part of her life now, it must be covered. They are currently scheduling reshoots so that they can get this all into the upcoming season 14.”
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It is not clear when the filming will take place, since Kirschenheiter took her three children — Nicholas, 7, Sienna, 5, and Luca, 4 — on a trip to the East Coast to visit her parents.
“After this happened, Gina took the kids to spend time with her mom and dad in New York,” the source said, adding Kirschenheiter is willing to talk about the allegations in front of the camera. “Gina knows that it would be impossible not to include this as part of her storyline because it is such big news.”
The source said the scenes will not air until later in the season, possibly even not until the finale.
Kirschenheiter filed for divorce in April 2018, but several posts on social media hinted that the couple was on good terms. As late as Father’s Day on June 16, Kirschenheiter shared a sweet message about Matthew.
However, hopes for reconciling ended on June 22. Kirschenheiter claims Matthew assaulted her and threatened to kill her multiple times.
In court documents, Kirschenheiter said the alleged incident happened at 2 a.m. local time. She was awoken by the doorbell and someone pounding on the door. She found no one there, but turned to see Matthew in the house. He complained that he had to walk home and was standing at the door for an hour, she claims, before throwing her onto the couch.
“I was scared and tried to get up, but he threw me down on the couch again. He was so angry; he was profusely sweating from head to toe. I was terrified,” Kirschenheiter claimed. “[Matthew] was screaming in my face saying he was going to f—ing kill me. He ripped my bra strap off, then took a pillow and hit me on the side of the head with it hard. My ears rang. I begged him to stop… to calm down… but he kept hitting me.”
Kirscheinter said she tried to leave to get a neighbor’s attention, but Matthew allegedly “dragged” her back into the home. She reminded him their children were home, but she claims this did not change his behavior.
Police were called to their home and Matthew was arrested. He was released the following day.
Kirschenheiter was granted a temporary restraining order against Matthew. He was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Kirschenheiter and their children for at least a month.
RHOC will return on Bravo later this year.
Photo credit: Getty Images
