Monica Garcia made her debut on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City in October. Her entrance on this hit Bravo series was wild. In just the first episode, we learned that Monica was a Federal Government witness against RHOSLC‘s former star, Jen Shah. We also learned that Monica had been involved in an 18-month-long affair with her brother-in-law, which, what?!
This season, Monica went to lunch with her co-stars, Angie Katsanevas and Lisa Barlow. Here, Monica dropped another bombshell, revealing that she was in the midst of a divorce from her husband Mike. “About four years into my marriage, I found myself in what one might call an entanglement. That resulted in a divorce, and then a wedding, because we got divorced and then we got remarried, and now we’re getting divorced again,” Monica explained.
Confused? We hear you. Therefore, we’ll help you out by breaking down yet another messy Real Housewives parting. Grab your Vida Tequila and settle in, as we explain Monica Garcia’s divorce from her now ex-husband, the second time around.
A Brief Look at Monica and Mike’s Beginnings
The pair were first wed in 2009 in a Mormon temple. In the years following their nuptials, Monica and Mike welcomed daughters Jaidyn, West, and Kendall. Rounding out this family was Monica’s oldest daughter, Bri, who was born during a previous relationship. On-air, Monica let it be known that she didn’t have to work, as Mike was the breadwinner of their family.
Their First Divorce, Followed By a Reconciliation
During a cast dinner, Monica told the ladies that in her past, she’d been involved in an affair, which saw her “f*cking” her “brother-in-law for 18 months.” This affair came to the light when Monica “felt guilty,” which saw her confessing her missteps to her bishop. Right away, Monica was “shunned from everyone and literally unwelcome everywhere.” She described this as “truly one of the worst experiences of my life.”
On another note, her brother-in-law, whom she described as her “husband’s sister—her husband,” was not shunned. He remained in the church, unpunished for his equally duplicitous role in their affair. I hate it here.
In 2013, Monica filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences.” As dates have not been tossed out yet, it’s unknown if Monica’s fling with her brother-in-law was based on her confusingly stated “entanglement” line, which led to her filing, or, if this “entanglement” was with another person. Speaking on this confusing timeline, Monica explained to E! News “Hopefully I get the chance to clear things up and explain timelines, but the people in my life have already known about this. They’ve already known about the affair…we’ve all had the time to process this information already.”
Either way, their divorce was called off. Mike had forgiven Monica.
Their Second Divorce, Rumors Included
This past June, Monica filed for divorce, again. After she spilled the tea on air about her affair with her brother-in-law, many people quickly began to suspect that this was the reason behind their split. Due to this chatter, Monica addressed these rumors. As it turns out, her 18-month-long liaison is not to be blamed.
“You guys are going to be shocked when you discover the real reasons why we’re actually getting a divorce now, because it’s not because of the affair,” she stated. She then explained that this divorce was actually quite simple, as the pair just didn’t work well together anymore as a couple. Luckily, Mike and Monica are playing nice. Monica has only sang Mike’s praises.
“My ex and I are great co-parents together. He is a wonderful dad and provider and we just weren’t good together and that’s OK. He calls and checks on me, and he’ll see something in the news and he’ll get defensive and be like, ‘That’s not even true!’ I am the mother of his children and we’ll always love and respect each other because of that,” Monica gushed.
A civil Real Housewives divorce is rare, but for their children’s sake, we love this.
The Results of Monica’s Finalized Divorce Proceedings
The U.S. Sun was the first to obtain the court documents. In these, it was revealed that Monica’s second divorce was finalized on October 24. In the proceedings, Monica was awarded sole legal and physical custody of their daughters. As a result, Mike was ordered to pay $2,636 a month in child support. What’s more, Mike has to pay another $4,000 a month in alimony.
Monica was also awarded “exclusive use and possession of” their formally shared home in Utah. In contrast, a lien was placed on their home, which see’s Monica paying Mike $130,000 for his share of the property’s equity at some point down the road. Currently, Mike lives “in another state across the country,” yet, he gained Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day with their children. Likewise, Mike can also see their children during other reasonable times of the year.
Their divorce is now over. Enter in Vegas, where Monica just attended BravoCon 2023. According to Monica, this event was a great place to “celebrate” the end of her marriage.
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