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A rep for “The Real” co-host, Jeannie Mai, has told People that Mai and her husband Freddy Harteis are divorcing amicably after ten years of marriage.
The couple married in 2007.
Fans of the show and Mai have noticed that she hadn’t been posting pictures of her husband on Instagram. Viewers also noticed she hadn’t been wearing her wedding ring on the show. While People didn’t say which party filed for divorce, theJasmineBrand reports that Mai is the one who filed.
While no reason for the split has been given, Mai has been extremely open about sharing the couple’s disagreement about whether or not they wanted to have children.
In 2014, Mai said that she noticed her husband looked like he might be deviating from what they initially agreed upon when it came to having children.
Jeannie: My husband and I have been married for seven years and when we got married at first, we didn’t want kids. Seven years later now, I see it in him. I see when children are around, I can feel it inside me of what people say that it just hits you. I don’t feel it but I see it in him. It really does suck…I”m praying about this because it’s a hard one.
Tamar: Well, you need to ask him.
Jeannie: I do and he says, I love you so much, we’re having an amazing marriage, I love you. I want you for the rest of my life, I’m fine. But you can see it and he’s saying it for me, what are you going to do. I’ve heard him say to people, “‘I wouldn’t mind having children and I do love children.’”
Tamera: I think you’re making the right decision, not having a baby for you. Because as a mom, you really don’t have any room to be selfish at all. It is a 24/7 job. And you said you like to travel…
Jeannie: And I’m admitting, I’m a selfish person.
Tamera: I’m thinking of the child in that circumstance. And that would suck! You’re saying I’m a selfish person, I don’t want this. Why would you want a child to grow up in that type of household?
Tamar: It’s a doable situation because once you bond with your baby, everything changes. I was the exact same way.
Jeannie: I never talked about this, like this because we are going through it, like counseling this weekend. A lot of stuff. I honestly, see how you guys do it and you guys really do, I admire how– I walk by your dressing room Tamar and I see your husband holding your son. It’s insane but it’s the commitment, you know? It’s beautiful, you know?
Lonnie: If you’re working it out with your husband, that’s fine. I used to be like that. I felt like I would be the worst mother in the United States. I know where you’re coming from and I feel that. But you have a husband and when you have a husband, you have to consider his feelings as well. So guys just keep talking it out, keep going to therapy and you guys make your decision.
Adrienne: Whatever is going to make you guys happy is what’s important.
Then earlier this year, in discussing a question on Reddit about knowing the answer to one yes or no question, Jeannie said she would want to know what is going to happen her marriage in reference to this child issue.
“You know how much I love Freddy, my husband, he’s my life. Before we got married, I was very clear about the fact that I probably would not have kids, just because I never felt that. And now, getting older, he definitely seems like he wants kids and he actually came out and said he wants children. It’s just really hard because I can’t have a child for another person and you don’t have a child to save your marriage, but we are in love and we are enjoying life and he’s my Freddy and I’m his Jeannie and we don’t have any other problems except that. Right now we are clinging to each other and we’re waiting for God to kind of tell us what that means, and it’s kind of weird to go to sleep every single night holding on to that person you love so much, not knowing where it’s going to go.”
During this conversation, Loni asked Jeannie if she would break up with Freddy if they couldn’t come to a resolution about children. She said, “We have to always do what’s right for that person that we’re imaging and we’re thinking of first. For both sides, I have to know that I love him so much I want him to be happy, first and foremost and I cannot stand in that way. And he has to do the same for me.”
