The Truth About Shannon Beador's Marriage

Shannon Beador joined the cast of "Real Housewives of Orange County" in 2014 and rocketed to reality television fame. She's been crowned the longest-running housewife in the franchise's history, and has also launched a few businesses of her own (via Us Weekly).

Shannon and her ex-husband, David Beador, announced their intention to separate back in 2017. Their divorce took years to resolve, and the pair mostly fought over custody of their daughters, Sophie, Stella, and Adeline, and money. However, their statement in October 2017 painted a picture that didn't quite reflect the tumultuous reality of their marriage.

"After much thought and careful consideration, David and I have made the difficult decision to separate. We remain partners in parenthood and are committed to raising our three daughters. This is not the future we envisioned, and we kindly ask for privacy, especially for our children, during this transitional period," Shannon said in a statement (via Us Weekly).

While it seemed like things might go smoothly for the pair at first, by March 2018 a different story was circulating. David Beador accused Shannon Beador of "not fostering or encouraging a healthy father-child relationship" and filed for joint legal custody and 50/50 physical custody of the pair's children (via Us Weekly). The situation was so dramatic that David's girlfriend, Lesley Cook, even jumped in to defend him.

"David is an absolutely amazing dad. ... His daughters are the absolute light in his life and he loves them so much. The girls will always come first. I just want to speak out on David's behalf because of all these negative things I have been reading about him being a bad dad," she said.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like things really improved. Two years later, Shannon shared during part one of a "Real Housewives" reunion that nothing had shifted. "Two in a half years in, it's just flippin' awkward. He won't communicate with me and co-parent" (via People).