The Valley newcomers Jesse Lally and Michelle Saniei Lally have separated after nearly six years of marriage, Us Weekly can confirm.
Jesse and Michelle have not further addressed their decision to take time apart, but they didn’t walk the red carpet together at The Valley premiere party at Jax’s Studio City bar on Thursday, March 14.
Jesse and Michelle got engaged in November 2017 after several years of dating and wed at the Beaulieu Garden in California in October 2018. They share 3-year-old daughter Isabella Bunny, who was born in April 2020.
“It was very hard to have your first kid during the pandemic … mid-lockdown, no nannies, no grandparents helping out,” Jesse told Us on Thursday. “It takes a toll on a couple in that situation.”
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Jesse and Michelle are friends of Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, who also star on The Valley. The Bravo spinoff follows the Vanderpump Rules alums in their suburban life with 2-year-old son Cruz and their local community of friends. Throughout season 1, which debuts later this month, Jesse and Michelle’s marriage struggles will be apparent.
“There’s a major story line about our life where I try to work on myself throughout the entire summer to be the best version of myself,” Jesse teased to Us. “And if the best version of myself aligned with the best version of herself, then our marriage would make it. People evolve. If your marriage and relationship doesn’t evolve with it, it will never work no matter how bad you want it.”
Michelle, meanwhile, explained that they filmed The Valley “a while ago.”
“People said, ‘When you watch the show, you’re going to realize how you guys actually are,’ because when you’re in it, you don’t actually know,” she said in her own interview with Us on Thursday. “Taking a step back and looking at myself, I’m like, ‘Oh wow. It’s obvious we have some marital issues.’”
Michelle continued: “I want fans to know how real we were. We’re very authentic. We didn’t fake anything and we said if we’re going to do reality TV, we’re really going to open up our lives — the positive and the negative.”
Jesse and Michelle aren’t the only Valley couple experiencing marital issues. Brittany, 35, confirmed in February that she moved out and was taking time apart from Jax.
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“We’re separated. That is for sure. I want people to know that it is possible to coparent and run businesses and be OK with each other,” Jax, 44, told Us on Thursday. “Not everybody just gets divorced because they cheated. Believe it or not, that was not the case. I know it’s shocking. We’re just not communicating right now and that’s all there is to it.”
Us Weekly has reached out for comment and they did not immediately respond.
The Valley premieres on Bravo Tuesday, March 19, following a new episode of Vanderpump Rules and will stream the next day on Peacock. Beginning Tuesday, March 26, the series will move to its regular time slot of 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Mike Vulpo
