Carmella Garcia and her boyfriend, Danny Hampel, have called it quits.
The Real Housewives of Orange County star, 44, confirmed on Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast on Thursday, September 17, that the couple split “months ago” after 10 years together.
Carmella shared that she had mixed feelings about the breakup.
“I feel a range of emotions,” she said. “I feel sad. It was a 10-year relationship. It was somebody that was around my children. But, at the end of the day, I needed to put myself first.”
While Carmella did not specify what exactly caused the split, she claimed Danny had done something “gravely inappropriate” after RHOC’s season 20 wrapped.
“It was a very difficult situation because it was somebody that I loved very deeply, and I truly did want to get to a place of forgiveness, but I oftentimes ignore my intuition, and there was just something deep down that I felt like I just didn’t trust,” she said. “The dishonesty just continued, and I called it quits.”
Carmella added that the split had affected her sons, Jason, 17, and Jax, 15. (Carmella shares Jason and Jax with her ex-husband, former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia. The former couple also share daughters Presley, 18, and Faith, 14.)
“I have to be enough for myself and for him and for my children, and I was never enough for him,” she said. “That’s an issue that I feel like is his issue.”
Describing the relationship with Danny as unhealthy, Carmella continued, “If I could change it for him, I would, but I can’t. The ship was sinking, and I needed to save myself.”
Carmella admitted it was tough watching their relationship on RHOC and added that she has enlisted the help of therapists to move forward.
“I’ve struggled over the years [with] suppressing pain, and I felt like this is exactly where I needed to be,” she said. “I needed to walk through it, and the only way through it is straight through it.”
Carmella and Danny’s relationship has been shown on RHOC, with episode 6 showing some of their issues.
“It’s been about four years since Danny’s infidelity. And, admittedly, I do have a wall of resentment,” Carmella said, adding, “But I do love him, I do want to live life with him, I do need to know how to forgive, and not just for him, but for myself. I just have to figure out how to do it.”
For his part, Danny told Carmella during the episode that he wanted to restore the feelings they had in the initial stages of their relationship.
“I just want you back to where you felt like the way you did in the beginning,” Danny told her at the time. “I understand you can’t get there, but.”
Carmella told him, “I’m not getting over it. I made it through it, but I’m not getting over it.”
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