If you watched the trainwreck that was Real Housewives of Orange County last season, you might be scratching your head. Is it the Braunwyn Windham-Burke show now? Braunwyn has numerous issues and pretty much all of them were the focus of last year’s RHOC. Even though Braunie did the most, Gina Kirschenheiter was dealing with her own life. She had a new boyfriend, Travis Mullen, and their blended family turned into blended bliss. Unfortunately, a dark cloud was still hanging over Gina.
Back in 2019, things were quite different. Gina was in the midst of attempting to reconcile with now ex-husband, Matt Kirschenheiter. RHOC shining a light directly into their lives didn’t do Gina and Matt’s marriage any favors. Matt cheating on Gina didn’t help things either. But Gina was determined to forgive and forget until Matt did something completely unforgivable. In June of that year, Matt lost his shit and his mind. He terrorized Gina, threatened to kill her (while the kids were home), and beat her up. Now it’s time for Matt to face the music.
After Matt’s extremely poor life choice, the couple officially divorced. Naturally a nasty custody battle ensued involving their three children, and Gina now had to deal with her life imploding on television. Gina and Matt did their best to come through the initial fire, but Matt’s day in court was coming. Yesterday was that day and it was an emotional journey for everyone involved. Us Weekly has the details.
Matt and Gina appeared in Orange County Superior Court on Tuesday. Matt plead guilty to one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury of a spouse. In California, “corporal injury” by definition means physical injury that results in a traumatic condition. In order to be convicted of corporal injury to spouse, you would need to inflict actual bodily injury caused by physical force. To say Gina went through it is a serious understatement.
Matt also entered a guilty plea to one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, or deceit. Gina read a gut-wrenching victim impact statement during the court proceedings. This is how I know I have a heart because it just broke for her. Before reading her statement, Gina was sobbing and told the judge, “It’s hard.”
RELATED: Gina Kirschenheiter Alleges That Her Husband Threatened To Kill Her While Her Kids Were In The House
Here is Gina’s statement: “I thought I was going to die. I still get chills thinking about how I begged you [Matt] to, ‘Stop. Think about the kids.’ And you responded by saying, ‘Your mom is going to die tonight.’ It echoes in my brain, and it sinks deep in my heart,” she said. “That night, it literally felt like I was in a house with a stranger whom I’d never met before. Your eyes were completely black, and you were not Matt. It was so hard for me to believe that it was even you, but it was.”
She continued, “It’s taken me a lot of time, self-care, and therapy to work through what happened that night, but I have managed to forgive you for most of it. I accept that I will always have this painful memory from that night. I’ve come to terms with that.” Matt was sentenced to 180 days in county jail. Fun fact, he does not have to go to the slammer if he completes a number of conditions for 178 days, including wearing a bracelet monitor, finishing a 52-week batterers program and three years of formal probation. As part of the plea terms, he also agreed to a “peaceful contact protective order”, which says he cannot harass or threaten Gina.
RELATED: Gina Kirschenheiter Still Has Modified Restraining Order Against Ex-Husband A Year Later
I’m certainly glad Matt has the option of wearing a lovely bracelet, but after beating your wife, threatening her life, and causing trauma she will live with forever, a nice little vacation in a small room with a toilet beside his bed might just be what the doctor ordered. Hopefully Gina can close the book on this and prepare for her next, happier chapter.
TELL US- DID MATT RECEIVE A FAIR SENTENCE? SHOULD MATT FACE MORE JAIL TIME? CAN GINA HEAL FROM THIS?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
