MiamiHerald.com:
Being on a reality show has its ups and downs. Just ask Alexis Bellino, one of The Real Housewives of Orange County, who’s been with the show since Season 3. She has had her share of friends and enemies over the course of her three seasons (it is unclear whether Bravo wants a seventh go-around).
That’s OK with Bellino, who has a lot of things going on. She is currently in town doing the rounds to show off her Alexis Couture fashion line, appearing both on South Florida Today and Deco Drive on Friday.
The trip mixes business and pleasure. Bellino will be bringing her husband, Jim, to celebrate his birthday at such hotspots as The Forge, Meat Market, and Wall at the W.
“I definitely want to branch out,’’ says the mother of three, 34. “I have a few passions and a few things that are kind of coming to me. I have to see how it pans out.’’
Beside fashion, Bellino would like to get into pageant-hosting full-time: “I’m ready for it. I mean, I’m mentally prepared.’’
But she realizes every move she makes is going to be scrutinized. Viewers saw how she and her family went through real-estate and financial problems and dubbed her the “Jesus Barbie,’’ because of her strong faith.
“It’s definitely stressful being on [ Housewives],’’ she admits. “You go through your life in front of the entire nation. If you have one bad episode, everyone’s mad at you.’’
Most of her criticism is Web-related.
“There is a lot of bad blogging out there,’’ she says, adding: “Every person who comes up to me in public is very positive and super kind.
“My rule is: I stay off the Internet, I don’t Google myself. I don’t read what other people have to say about me.’’
Being on the show has toughened her up.
“I used to be sick to my stomach all night long, just devastated,’’ she says. “But now I have a tougher skin. It takes a lot to upset me now. My family is happy, and that’s all that matters.’’
Wetpaint.com:
When Alexis Bellino first announced she was starting a fashion line, she didn’t receive a whole lot of support from her Real Housewives of Orange County castmates. Vicki Gunvalson was the most critical, wondering aloud what, if anything, Alexis knew about designing clothes. Turns out, she knows quite a bit. On March 18, she and her partner proudly showed off their up-and-coming line, Alexis by Tal Sheyn, with an evening runway show during L.A. Fashion Weekend. Alexis spoke to Wetpaint Entertainment about her big night, who came out to support her (and who didn’t!), and what she has to say to the haters now.
Wetpaint Entertainment: Congrats! L.A. Fashion Weekend is a pretty big deal. Betsey Johnson kicked it off. How did it come about that you were asked to be part of it?
Alexis Bellino: My partner, Tal, has been in the business for years and has done L.A. Fashion Weekend before. She contacted them and they said they’d love to have us do a show.
What was it like preparing for high-profile event like that?
Well, we found out three weeks prior so we had plenty of time to get all our looks ready, find models, and figure out which model was best suited to each outfit. That part was really fun.
But the night of the show, I was so nervous! I was sweating like crazy. You know, I’ve attended a lot of runway shows as a guest, but I didn’t realize how nerve-wracking it was to be on the other side of things. But once everything started coming down the runway, it was amazing. It’s just the best feeling.
id any of your castmates come to support you?
No. No one did. Gretchen had a lot to do the next day so she couldn’t be there. Vicki was actually supposed to come, but she had to leave town on a business trip at the last minute. That was a bummer, but I had a lot of other good friends there who aren’t on the show.
How was the reaction to the clothes?
Amazing. We got so much positive feedback from magazines and fashion editors. And the clothes are selling really well — we stocked up in advance of the show hoping there would be a lot of requests!
A lot of the other Housewives have their own lines in the works — if not clothing, then other products. What advice would you give to them?
My number one thing is not to let anyone’s negativity keep you down. I got a lot of flack, but I just kept at it. I said, if I fail, it will make me stronger and I’ll learn from it. Just stay positive. Let everyone talk all the smack they want. In the end, if you’re successful, you’ll laugh all the way to the bank.
RELATED: Alexis Bellino On Religion: 'I Have Brought So Many Girls Back To The Lord'
RealityTea.com:
Days after Alexis Bellino spoke out accusing Gretchen Rossi of disloyalty, Gretchen is fighting back against her former best friend and denying that she threw her under the bus. The Real Housewives of Orange County stars certainly do not appear to be the closest of friends any longer, as Gretchen has apparently moved on to another blonde with a plastic surgery habit!
And the issue that started the demise of their friendship was Nose Job Wars! Gretchen claims her reason for outing the nose job to Tamra Barney, was the mere coincidence that Alexis and Tamra were having plastic surgery on the same day! Only in Housewives land… “Tamra and I were talking about her going into surgery on Monday for her breast reduction (the bunko party was on Saturday night) that’s when I said ‘oh that’s funny Lex is going into surgery on Monday too.’ ”
“Then Tamra said for what? I said for her sinuses, and Tamra said you mean for a nose job, and I said, ‘Well I think she is also getting the bump taken off, but she is going in for her sinuses,’” Gretchen insists.
“This is when all hell broke loose,” Gretchen describes in her Bravo blog. “I mean for goodness sake’s were we really fighting about a nose job? How ridiculous was that? To me Alexis became very insecure and defensive.” Gretchen cites “feeling emotional” as a result of her earlier fight with Vicki as the reason she didn’t jump in to defend Alexis.
That argument signified the end of their made-for-TV friendship. Too bad – it seemed like a really sincere relationship. “Unfortunately, this is the night the dynamic between Alexis and I changed. I was very hurt by her actions towards me. She started accusing me of not having her back,” Gretchen muses.
“My friendship with Tamra had nothing to do with my friendship with Alexis, and I would never allow Tamra to influence my feelings towards Alexis. Alexis’ own actions towards me are what changed my feelings.”
And Gretchen is accusing Lex of not having her back either! “What I find most ironic about Alexis being so upset with me is that she sat there completely silent while I was in a fight with Vicki. Why is it that I had to get in the middle of her fight with Tamra but she could sit silent in my fight with Vicki [Gunvalson]?”
Gretchen also, of course, tackles that drama-filled fight with Vicki. “Bottom line Vicki’s rules apply to everyone but herself. She is what you call a hypocrite. Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t her own daughter call her out on this (on the way to surgery) ‘Nothing is ever about anyone else but my mom,’” Gretchen snipes.
“The underlying part of this fight was her claiming we had no clue what it is like to have a sick child,” Gretchen explains. “What is it with these women that they think just because I haven’t popped out a kid between my own two legs, I have no clue what it is like to be concerned about a child? Last time I checked Slade [Smiley]‘s son has been sick for close to seven years now, and I have now had to embrace that fight with him for the last three.”
And Gretchen is STILL defending Slade, saying he never went to jail for child support issues and has always made “some sort” of payment. Slade went to jail for missing a court date related to not paying child support.
“Slade went to court and filed a modification three years ago. Unfortunately the media likes to perpetuate lies, and obviously so do some of my cast members. Gratefully after three years of fighting with his ex in court, the court granted his modification just a few weeks ago to match his current income.” His support was allegedly reduced to around $775.00 per month.
“Slade is working very hard to catch up on any back debt that is outstanding based on the arrears being adjusted from the modification,” she insists. “Moreso he refuses to allow me to help him with it — something I greatly respect him for.”
Gretchen is also adamant that Slade has a job, although neither she nor Slade are revealing what that so-called job is! “Slade does NOT work for me and never has! He has simply helped me with my businesses as any good partner would!; ” she clarifies. His job must be very flexible to allow for all that free filming, traveling around with Gretchen, and trailing behind her, hauling some pink Gretchen Christine junk bags. Too bad ol’ Slavey can’t write his own blog to explain his nonsense, but alas, he isn’t a real castmember! Just a hanger-on.
Also speaking out about Alexis’ nose and the Bunco night from hell is our esteemed hostess with the mostess-drama, Tamra! First off, Tammy Sue, insists Jim Bellino was indeed on the guest list, but he never RSVP’d.
“To hear Alexis say Jim was NOT invited just blows me away. He chose not to attend. You see me walk over to her and whisper in her ear. I was telling her that Jim was invited and he did not respond to the invite. I would NEVER invite all the men and not Jim, My God, I even had Slade and he just ripped on me.”
Tamra explains her perspective on the fight between Vicki and Gretchen, and is still in shock that it happened. “I was really put in a bad place and was not about to choose sides. I was actually speechless for once in my life,” she reveals in her Bravo blog. “I heard the screaming and the yelling but after a while it sounded like white noise. I can understand both sides.”
“I told Vicki that ‘I was removed because I choose to be removed.’ I just can’t take the back and forth fighting anymore. I figure If I am above it, maybe it will go away? Guess what, it did!”
And about Alexis’ sinus surgery/nose job; Tamra is still calling bull sh-t on Alexis’ claims of sinus trouble! “I am sorry but she has complained about the bump on her nose for years. No one has ever heard her talk about her sinuses.” True, true!
“The bottom line is, NO ONE at that table cared if she was getting a nose job. It was just the fact that she was lying about it, like she always does,” Tamra seethes. “Alexis (or should I call her Pinocchio) really should stop lying or that nose is going to get big again.” Buuuurn! And funny.
“I have never talked to Alexis about Gretchen and when we fought in the past she never challenged me on what was said,” Tamra claims. “I’m starting to think she just says what sounds good at that moment.”
Finally, in closing, Tamra claims she was harassing Slave about his deadbeatism because she cares about Grayson, and for Alexis or anyone to imply otherwise is heartless!
“Alexis made this statement on her blog and it sent chills down my spin ‘I don’t like how Tamra and Vicki treated Slade and Gretchen in the past about Slade’s child support, and how in the past neither Tamra or Vicki seemed to care that Slade’s precious son was so ill.’ I take great offense to this statement,” Tamra asserts. “The reason I was so vocal about Slade’s issues in the past is because I felt SO BAD about his son.”
RELATED: Gretchen Rossi, Tamra Barney Draw Record Real Housewives of Orange County Ratings: EXCLUSIVE
TMZ.com:
Alexis Bellino from "Real Housewives of Orange County" is out for justice -- threatening a legal FIRESTORM ... after a tabloid rag claimed she was going broke.
It's all over an issue of In Touch Weekly that came out earlier this month -- the cover of which shows a picture of Alexis, over the caption "Bankrupt!" ... but it gets worse.
Inside the magazine, the article reads, "Bankrupt! Evicted! Foreclosed! Housewives Are Going Broke" -- continuing, "After selling off her home at a fraction of its cost to avoid foreclosure, Alexis Bellino still refuses to admit she and her husband ... have money troubles."
But Alexis claims it's all BS -- and her lawyer fired off a nasty cease and desist letter on Thursday, demanding In Touch retract its "patent, malicious, and libelous comments."
According to the letter, Alexis is "in great financial health" -- and if In Touch doesn't retract its comments ... she'll sue. So far, no word back from In Touch.
