Getting through it. Jennifer Aydin got real about how her husband Bill Aydin’s past affair coming out on The Real Housewives of New Jersey has affected their five children.
“Gabby’s guidance counselor called her into the office today to see if she was OK,” the 44-year-old reality star wrote via Twitter on Friday, February 11, referring to the couple’s 14-year-old daughter.
The Bravo personality, who chose to stay with Bill after he cheated on her 11 years ago, explained that Gabby was thrown off by the meeting. “I think she felt more embarrassed than anything,” Jennifer said.
The Long Island, New York, native — who also shares sons Justin, 17, Jacob, 12, Christian, 10, and daughter Olivia, 8, with the plastic surgeon — insisted that her children are handling the situation as best as possible.
“My kids are OK as long as they know their parents are OK,” she added. “So, please don’t ask them about this. Makes it easier.”
Jennifer has been in the public eye since she joined RHONJ during season 9 in 2018. However, her husband’s past affair didn’t surface until the season 12 premiere earlier this month.
After her costar Margaret Josephs brought the scandal to the forefront on the show, Jennifer exclusively told Us Weekly how she initially learned of her husband’s infidelity.
“I found out pretty much 10 days before I had Christian,” she said on February 1. “So, you know, I was going through the process of letting it sink in while having to have a baby and wanting my baby to have all of the blessings that a normal child would, like having his mommy and his daddy in the delivery room. So I wanted to go through the motions of playing this game of life, so to speak, to try to put on a brave face for my children.”
Jennifer, who married Bill in 2002, explained that she ultimately chose to forgive and forget, noting that she thought “nobody would ever find out” because she kept it a secret.
“Nobody knew — [not] my mother, my sister, my best friend, my cousin,” Jennifer explained. “Like, when I say I was taking it to the grave, I kept that secret inside. And it was very hard for me to do, and I was able to do it for the greater good of my family.”
She confirmed that the pair’s kids have since been told about their father’s affair, but as a couple, they agreed not to bring up again, “not even in arguments,” according to Jennifer.
“Because I wasn’t nasty towards him [when it happened] and we were playing the role of this happy family life — and of course, he was so remorseful and, you know, always petting me, trying to kiss [and] care [for] me — after a while I was just like, ‘You know what? Let’s just pretend this never happened,’” she concluded. “And that’s what I did.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.