Jessi Draper is clearing up her relationship status after walking the American Music Awards red carpet with Marciano Brunette.
“I’m single, going through a divorce, and dating around, having fun,” Jessi, 34, told E! News at the AMAs on Monday, May 25.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star added, “I have Marciano here tonight, but I’m just casually dating and living life.”
Marciano then joined Jessi for the rest of the interview as they were quizzed about how it feels spending time together out in public.
“I guess it’s a little heightened because of the show,” Jessi said. “But I feel like it’s just part of the job. It’s a side effect of it, right? So you just have to take everything with a grain of salt, and we knew it would be heightened at the beginning, and now people are getting used to seeing us together. We’re just having fun.”
Vanderpump Villa star Marciano added, “I think the main thing for us was that we had an open line of communication. We were honest with each other and we didn’t want to hold anything back so we could move past it and get forward.”
Jessi also opened up about her ongoing divorce from husband Jordan Ngatikaura, with whom she shares son Jagger, 6, and daughter Jovi, 3. (Jordan also has a daughter, Peyton, 13, from a previous relationship.)
“I have good and bad days. He knows there’s days that I’m, like, bawling, can’t get out of bed,” she said, referring to Marciano, 33. “There’s days that I can be here and do this, but I just know the first year is going to be the hardest.”
News broke in March that Jordan filed for divorce from Jessi after five years of marriage.
“This has not been an easy decision and it comes with a heavy heart,” Jordan told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. “I’m grateful for the shared memories and the lessons. While our paths are now moving in different directions, my priority remains my children and ensuring they feel loved, supported, and protected through this transition.”
He continued, “I am committed to handling this next chapter with kindness and respect. I kindly ask for privacy and understanding as we navigate this as a family.”
In an interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in late March, Jessi said she was the one who ended her marriage to Jordan, telling him it was over six days before he filed for divorce.
“I did end it with him, so I knew it was coming, but we had made an agreement to do it together, and he blindsided me and filed because he wanted the headline first,” she claimed.
“We agreed to tell our children together before filing, and we haven’t done that,” she said at the time, calling Jordan’s filing “a betrayal.”
Jessi and Jordan’s marriage troubles were documented on the first four seasons of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, including Jessi admitting to having an emotional affair with Marciano after filming Vanderpump Villa.
“Having an affair on-camera definitely shook up my life a little bit,” Jessi told Vulture earlier in May. “But I hope to inspire, and learn from my mistakes, and hopefully let people know that everyone does make mistakes and it’s OK.”
Jessi said the affair with Marciano would be the one thing she’d “change” about her time on reality television.
“I definitely wouldn’t want to do that again, especially publicly. Definitely a huge mistake,” she added.
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