Shannon Beador is on the hook for an unpaid $75,000 loan from ex-boyfriend John Janssen, who wants that money back ASAP!
Last week, per People, the 61-year-old man filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court against the Real Housewives of Orange County star. In it, he claimed she broke an oral contract and accused her of promissory fraud. At issue is Janssen’s determination to recover $75k that he says Beador allegedly took from him in the form of a loan, and then failed to pay back. And the loan, per the outlet, was reportedly used to cover a facelift procedure! How very Orange County…
Related: Shannon ‘Took Inventory’ Of Her Entire Life After Unsettling DUI Arrest
In the complaint, Janssen asserts that the 59-year-old Bravo vet turned to him in early 2022 with a request for financial support. The docs claim that on January 23 of that year, Janssen sent $40,000 to Beador via wire transfer in order to pay for a facelift. Then, in May of 2023, he allegedly wrote her a $35,000 personal check! Per the mag, Janssen dished out the money in both instances with the agreement that it would be paid back with interest — something he claims Beador was on board with at first. But after multiple requests for payment in both 2023 and 2024, that apparently hasn’t happened!
And here’s where things get really interesting: the RHOC star doesn’t deny the outstanding $75,000! In a statement released to People in response to Janssen’s lawsuit, Beador copped to taking money from him and didn’t deny the claim about it being used for a facelift! Instead, she sounds pissed AF that Janssen would make it public now rather than going through backchannels to get it resolved:
“I am shocked and disappointed that John has a filed a lawsuit. My attorney has been in constant communication with his counsel. I agreed to pay John what he wanted because I knew that attorney fees would surpass the amount sought, but more importantly to eliminate the negative emotional components that come with a lawsuit. It is important that I continue to focus on the positive aspects of my life and move forward.”
Beador’s statement then claimed Janssen turned down her proposed private solution because he didn’t want to sign an NDA that would have promised to not let the loan story out in the public eye:
“John declined the offer because he refused to sign a mutual non-disparagement agreement. I was hoping that if I met his baseless demand we could at least use this as an opportunity to bring complete closure to this chapter in my life.”
Oof. Well, it’s all out there now! It appears there is going to be a legal battle here, though. Janssen’s attorney Edson K. McClellan of Rutan & Tucker LLP is claiming Shannon’s argument is that the money was NOT a loan, but a gift! That, McClellan told People, is incorrect from Janssen’s POV:
“Ms. Beador’s defense that Mr. Janssen paid her the $75,000 as a ‘gift’ is completely meritless, which their e-mails and text messages will show. Mr. Janssen is saddened that Ms. Beador’s unwillingness to repay the loans made it necessary to file this lawsuit.”
For Janssen’s sake, those “e-mails and text messages” sure better show what McClellan claims. After all, the suit is over the alleged breach of an oral contract — so the pair seems to have had no legal loan docs drawn up. Gonna be tougher to prove things in court if there’s no signed doc clearly explaining the loan terms!
Plus, as RHOC fans know, this saga is even MORE dramatic because of their past romantic connection! Janssen and Beador dated for nearly four years before John decided to end things in November of 2022. Then, in November of 2023, Janssen met Beador’s RHOC co-star Alexis Bellino through mutual friends and began dating her a month later. Soooo yeah! Definitely awkward and contentious all around!! Thoughts, y’all?? Share ’em (below)!