Actor Garcelle Beauvais is the newest (and best, in my opinion) addition to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and this season, the star has not shied away from sharing the details of her personal life — even the most painful memories, such as her explosive separation from ex-husband Mike Nilon.
Beauvais married talent agent Nilon in 2001, believing that they had a perfect relationship. Arm in arm, the actor and the agent would attend every high profile industry event, before returning home to their twin boys Jax and Jaid.
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"We were sort of like the Hollywood couple," the Housewife recalled in her RHOBH confessional. "Mike was reliable. He was sweet. I really thought this was my last stop.”
Unfortunately, Nilon had been keeping a dark secret for the majority of their marriage: he was seeing another woman and had been doing so for five long years. In 2010, Nilon's infidelity was exposed after Beauvais found a damning text from the other woman on his phone, which led the actress to send a scathing email to all of her husband's co-workers at the Creative Artists Agency.
"I found out today that MY husband of almost 9 yrs has been having an affair for 5 yrs with some slut in Chicago," wrote Beauvais in the message. "I am devastated!!!! And I have been duped!! Our boys don’t deserve this!”
The exposé was leaked to Page Six and immediately went viral, and separation soon followed; citing irreconcilable differences, Beauvais filed for divorce in May 2010. When asked if she regretted exposing Nilon, the self-proclaimed "hothead" plainly stated that she didn't.
Given all that happened and how public their separation was, one might think that peaceful co-parenting would be nearly impossible for Beauvais and Nilon. But in the years that followed their nasty divorce, the exes have actually established a healthy family dynamic that allows them to work together to raise their children. They may not be romantically involved anymore, but Beauvais still thinks of him as an important part of her life.
"Mike and I have done such a great job to get to where we co-parent so beautifully that I just hope that doesn't change anything for us," she told Entertainment Tonight ahead of RHOBH's premiere. "My family is really, really important to me — whether we're married or not, we're still family."
For now, Beauvais is single, focusing her attention on raising her kids and building her empire. Meeting a nice guy would be nice — she hilariously asked fellow Housewife Kyle Richards to introduce her to a handsome and rich man on tonight's episode — but until then, the star is perfectly happy flying solo.