Gina Kirschenheiter Says Estranged Husband & New Boyfriend Have Met: 'It Was Really Weird for Me'
The men in Gina Kirschenheiter‘s are all getting along surprisingly well.
While appearing with her fellow costars at the Real Housewives of Orange County panel on Sunday at BravoCon, the reality star revealed that her estranged husband, Matt Kirschenheiter, has a good relationship with her new boyfriend, Travis Mullen.
“Matt sat down with Travis,” Gina, 35, told panel host Amy Phillips, of SiriusXM’s Reality Checked. “It was really weird for me. … But he said, ‘Don’t worry, he’s a really nice guy.’ “
Gina went on to explain that Matt’s “in a bad place now” and at first wasn’t too happy about her relationship with Mullen. “At first he was not having it,” Gina said. “It created a bad situation between him and I.”
But what changed his tune? Knowing that Mullen would be having a relationship with Gina and Matt’s kids: sons Nicholas, 7, and Luca, 4, and daughter Sienna, 5.
“He wanted to meet him because he’s around the kids,” recalled Gina. “He accepted this was happening. Sometimes Matt can be stubborn but he always does at the end of the day put the kids first.”
“I’m in a good relationship, a healthy relationship,” Gina added, stressing to the crowd not to judge Matt too hard. “I’m trying to co-parent with Matt and doing the best I can. It’s hard.”
College sweethearts Gina and Matt were together for 11 years and married for eight before separating in April 2018 and filing for divorce.
Initially, Gina insisted that the two had grown apart, were parting on good terms and would be co-parenting together — telling PEOPLE last September that Matt was still her “best friend” and “the most important person to me.”
However, Gina has also claimed on this season of RHOC that Matt cheated on her and was still in a relationship with the woman.
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In August, the two appeared to have come to a custody agreement, with Gina getting primary physical custody of their kids and nearly $10,000 in monthly support (they’d share legal custody, and Matt would see the kids on the weekends).
They agreed to take one counseling co-parenting class per month together, and said they wouldn’t disparage each other in front of their kids or on RHOC. Future boyfriends/girlfriends wouldn’t be introduced to the kids without consulting with the other first, they determined.
In October, Gina did stress during a visit to PEOPLE Now that she and Matt’s disagreements aren’t over their children. “There is actually no custody battle, there really is not,” she said. “Even with things going on with Matt, as they are now, he actually has more custody than he’s ever had because he’s not employed anymore, so he’s around.”
“We’re really good on that,” she said, adding that their kids are doing well. “I would never keep the kids from him. He’s a really good dad.”
She also said that she still has a lot of sympathy for Matt.
“There is a part of my heart that feels bad for Matt because he wasn’t really a part of this to begin with and he’s not a monster,” Gina said. “It’s an emotional time, and people make mistakes. He’s made a lot of them, obviously.”
Meanwhile, things with Mullen are going extremely well.
“We just really clicked from very early on,” Gina told PEOPLE Now. “We have the same perspective on a lot of stuff and a lot of the same values. We really make each other laugh. We’re both just goofballs. It works.”
BravoCon is running through Sunday across three venues in the Big Apple: The Manhattan Center (311 W 34th St), Skylight Modern (537 W 27th St) and Union West (535 W 28th St).
A total of 88 Bravolebrities are said to be in attendance total. More than 50 live events are on the docket, including performances, insider panels, podcasts, dining experiences, photo opportunities and a Bravo bazaar marketplace. (A full breakdown of events is available at BravoCon2019.com.)
For those wanting a trip down memory lane, there will be a Real Housewives museum with more than a decade’s worth of behind-the-scenes photos, reunion dresses and show memorabilia.
The weekend will close out with a live performance of Luann de Lesseps‘ hit Countess and Friends cabaret show on Sunday.