At the very end of Season 18, Episode 17 of The Real Housewives of Orange County, news spread that some legal issues involving Jennifer Pedranti's fiancé, Ryan Boyajian, had come to light — and fans got to watch the couple's immediate reaction to the bombshell. More recently, Jenn stopped by Bravo HQ and revealed what viewers didn't see onscreen.
"I'm telling you, when that article hit, I didn't see Ryan all day," Jenn shared in the video above, referring to a piece by ESPN. "Ryan went left, I went right, our phones were blowing up, my mom and dad were in the middle of France on a trip like, 'Are you OK? Is Ryan going to jail?' I truly felt like the world stopped, and that is not an exaggeration."
In the video, Jenn shared more details on the conversation she and Ryan had with the outlet before the article was published.
"We were reached out to and [they] said, 'Hey, ESPN wants to write this article. Ryan's name was mentioned because of your platform, and he's friends with the bookie,'" she said. "We were like... 'Why is Ryan's name being mentioned?' Ryan was like, 'Well, yeah, then just say they're best friends and we support them through what they're going through and Ryan's not a bookie.' They were like, 'Perfect.'"
Jennifer Pedranti defends Ryan Boyajian amid legal drama
Jenn also took the time to clear a couple of things up involving her friendships with other parties involved in the lawsuit and her relationship with Ryan.
"I think what people don't understand is we have known the situation for a long time. Those are our best friends and we are with them all the time. So when this was all happening, we were going through it with them," she said. "There's nothing about [Ryan] that I don't know and there's nothing about me that he doesn't know. We see all sides of each other, you know: the good, the bad, and the ugly. We just are best friends and we communicate really well. I love that man so much. I'm so grateful for him."
The RHOC Cast Reacts to Ryan Boyajian's legal drama
Naturally, Jenn's castmates had wide-ranging opinions on the drama.
"I don't really know everything about Ryan's legal situation," Shannon Storms Beador said. "And, again, it's not my business."
"Jenn says everything is OK, everything's gonna be OK," she continued. "So I'm hoping that it is for both of them. Unlike some, I wish the best for people."
Although Emily Simpson acknowledged that "Jenn likes to take up for Ryan," given the details of the lawsuit, she questioned Ryan's claims that he didn't "know anything."
"For how long can you consistently say, 'I just didn't know'?," she asked. "That's not a defense."
Gina Kirschenheiter declared, "It wasn't great, and it doesn't read great for him," while Katie Ginella explained her top priority was ensuring the wellbeing of Jenn's family.
"My one concern was Jenn and her children," Katie said. "I really don't care about anything else. If her and her children are safe and happy and healthy and fine, I'm good."
Alexis Bellino shared a similar sentiment, stating, "I love Jenn, and I just want to support my friend."
"I mean, it'll unfold how it unfolds," she added. "But at this point, I'm just going to support Jenn."
Tamra Judge stated, "He keeps claiming he's innocent. I guess time will tell."
How Jennifer Pedranti reacted to the news of Ryan's lawsuit
As the news began to spread on the Season finale, Jenn and Ryan sat down to discuss it.
"It feels like this is a lot to me. And I thought it was to you, too," said Jenn to her beau before getting teary. "Everybody now wants to question me. And it's going to be a bloodbath for me."
"Life throws things at you that you cannot control. And that's why it's called life," responded Ryan."I love you, and I'm so sorry that you're here." He also added that he didn't care if her friend group wanted to come ask him about his business dealings because he had nothing to hide.
Later, Jenn headed to Katie's house to break things down with Gina.
"It's a lot. I mean, it's a lot lot. I just left the house. I didn't know where to go, I didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to feel," Jenn admitted.
