Source: Imeh Akpanudosen / Getty
During an episode of The Real late last week, Jeannie Mai discussed her divorce and her issue with having to pay her ex-husband, Freddy Harteis, alimony. It was all in the context of discussing Mary J. Blige’s recent comments about wanting to be with a man who makes more many than her based on being burned emotionally and financially by ex-husband, Kendu Isaacs.
“I was married to somebody who had more money than me,” Mai said. “But because I was a stronger earner and we lived in California, a shocking thing slapped me in the face when we divorced and I had to end up paying him my earnings. And that really taught me a lesson today about looking out for myself.”
Mai opening up about her split from Harteis is nothing new, and that may be why his new girlfriend, Linsey Toole, spoke up and called Mai out for talking about him on the show. She left a long comment on the show’s Instagram page letting Mai know where she stands.
“@thejeanniemai Looking out for YOURSELF is why you’re STILL miserable. Your complete focus on YOURSELF is why you’re DIVORCED,” she wrote. “YOURSELF being the most important thing to you in the entire world is why you keep making up LIES for MORE attention. MOVE ON. Ain’t nobody talking about YOU. Because we don’t care! Stop trying to tear someone down who has done absolutely NOTHING to you. Never one time has Freddy brought up your name or drug it through the mud where it belongs. Every week you got some new dramatic story so that you can get more pitty [sic] and more attention. How many more lies are you going to make up before you are satisfied? Freddy and I are both working our butts off to have what we have. Not because you gave anything. Freddy walked away from 1MILLION dollars so he could finally give our family peace. And God has blessed him fruitfully in doing so! Let it go. Stop trying to make up things for people to feel sorry for you. You made Freddy signed [sic] to keep his mouth closed. I didn’t sign for this very reason. I knew you would come back at his throat again. I will speak the truth Jeanie [sic]. I’m pre warning you that I will tell what really happened if you continue to publicly lie and humiliate Freddy!”
Toole also posted a picture of Mai talking on the show to her Instagram stories with a number of captions and comments, including “Fake News,” “Ratings must be down again,” and “Waiting on that alimony paycheck” with a “loading” symbol next to it.
Mai and Harteis were married 10 years, from August 2007 to October 2017. Their divorce was finalized in December 2018. They share no children. He recently welcomed a daughter with Toole in October of last year.
Mai has said on the show that their divorce proceedings brought out a side of him she never expected to see.
“Knowing what I know now about who I married, I wouldn’t have married him,” she said in October. “It’s just crazy. You hear all the time that money can change people. Well, divorce can really change people. It’s just so weird because the one thing that he would always say back then is like, ‘You really, truly don’t know a person until they don’t get what they want.’ But I never thought he would be the one to prove that to me.”
