Despite their ups and downs, The Real Housewives of Orange County star Gina Kirschenheiter’s ex-husband, Matt Kirschenheiter, will definitely score an invite to her upcoming wedding to Travis Mullen.
“When we get married, Matt and Britt will 100 percent be at our wedding because they are family, that is truly why,” Gina, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly at the RHOC season 20 premiere party on Tuesday, June 30, in Los Angeles, referring to her former spouse and his new partner. “They’re so excited for us.”
Gina, who was married to Matt from 2010 to 2019, announced in January that Mullen proposed on New Year’s Eve after six years together. (Gina and Mullen each have children from their previous marriages.)
“Obviously, [Matt and Britt are] going to be at our wedding,” Gina stated to Us. “I know it kind of sounds weird and icky, but to me Matt is like my brother-in-law, and Britt kind of feels like my sister-in-law.”
She continued, “We’re just truly family, and my children would want all of their parents at such a big event and a big moment for the family, so they will 100 percent be there.”
Much like the Bravo cameras, however, Matt and his girlfriend weren’t present when Mullen got down on bended knee.
“It really was amazing. We were in Big Bear, California. We were on this little ski trip that I took with the kids, and he took me [to dinner],” Gina gushed to Us of Mullen’s proposal. “We do fancy dinner night, that’s our New Year’s Eve tradition. We get dressed up, we cook this big meal, and we always have to take a family photo. He’s like, ‘You know, I think we should take the family photo on the back deck, because there’s these cute little string lights. Can you please come check it out and make sure that we’re going to be able to get this photo done?’”
Gina, noticing the dark night sky amid a rainstorm, initially thought the weather wouldn’t hold up for the photo session.
“I go out there, and I actually started to laugh at him because I was like, ‘It’s so dark … there’s no way we’re getting this photo done,’” she recalled. “And then, the next thing you know, he’s down on his knee, and I just kind of blacked out. I was in such shock that this was actually happening, and he just said a whole bunch of beautiful things to me, and then he just asked me to marry him.”
She added, “I really love that he kept that moment private, probably a little ballsy too, right? It was, like, a month before we started filming. Like, that was ballsy, but that’s my man, my ballsy man.”
While Gina was glad her engagement wasn’t captured by RHOC cameras, the jury is still out for their big day.
“It’s so early. I don’t think a wedding on TV is my vibe,” she acknowledged on Tuesday. “It’s a weird territory, [and] it’s tricky because I’ve shared so much of my life. I didn’t think that me going to jail was going to be something I wanted to put on TV, or those bad tracks, but you’ve seen all that, you’ve come this far. At least [our wedding is] a happy moment, but I just don’t see us as that kind of couple.”
Fans will still see Gina offering more glimpses of her life on RHOC’s upcoming season 20.
“I am proud of myself in general,” she told Us of her reality TV experience. “Overall, I think that life really got me in my 30s, and the past decade I have spent kind of rebuilding my entire life, and I did it all on national television, which is either brave or psychotic. Maybe both, so I am proud of myself. I’m proud of where I was and where I am now. I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and I’m looking forward to where I’m still going. The sky’s the limit, and I love that for me.”
Real Housewives of Orange County season 20 premieres on Bravo Thursday, July 9, at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Peacock.
