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With the divorce rate at about 50 percent, I guess none of us should be surprised by the end of a marriage. Still, with Jeannie Mai and her husband Freddy Harteis, she was so visibly determined to make it work that I felt they might have a fighting chance. But that’s not the way the cookie crumbled.
And now that some time has passed since the two officially filed for divorce in October 2017, Mai now realizes that the split worked wonders in both her and Freddy’s personal lives, allowing them to become the people they were always meant to be.
See what she said about her marriage and the ending of it below.
Jeannie Mai: When I think about what was the best thing that never happened…
Tamera Mowry-Housley: Uh-huh.
Jeannie: The first thing that comes up in my mind is a lasting marriage with my ex. I think um… that was a really hard time because I’m a devoted person, I’m very loyal.
Adrienne Houghton: Very.
Jeannie: And I love God. So when you get married, divorce is not an option. You try as hard as you can to make it work and there comes a point where you have to be honest with yourself to realize that you’re just not happy, and everything you do is only drawing you guys farther apart.
Loni: Hmm.
Jeannie: So it takes a sense of discernment, prayer, support from friends and also being real with yourself, to really just trust God still… he’s still there, and let go. And it wasn’t until we actually took… took… made the decision and took the distance apart, that I realized we are happier and truer versions of ourselves apart than we are together.
Tamera: Wow.
Loni Love: Wow.
Jeannie: So it really — I’m telling you, it flipped my… my entire life took a complete different direction, because once you get married… [Jeannie to Adrienne] I’m sure where you’re at right now. It’s a blissful, beautiful moment.
Adrienne: Absolutely.
Jeannie: You know you’re set to go, you’re excited for all the things that come after that. But what if it doesn’t end up that way? You get real scared, and you also get judged from everybody around you.
Loni: Yeah.
Jeannie: So today though, when I look at him and I see that he’s moving on, I see the man I always knew he could become and I see myself falling more in love with a version of me that wasn’t able to be there when we were together…
Tamera: Yeah.
Jeannie: I know I made the right decision and I’m thankful for God to love me no matter what.
Loni: That’s mature.
