All Episodes

November 20, 2025 18 mins

RHOC Gina Kirschenheiter found herself divorced and a single mom of 3 kids on the other side of the country, away from her friends and family. 

Now in a happy long-term relationship, Gina is ready to share what worked to successfully navigate a co-parenting relationship with her ex-husband. 

Not friends with your ex's new wife? Gina tells you why it's imperative to get along! 

Email us at: IDOPOD@iheartradio.com or call us at 844-4-I Do Pod (844-443-6763)Follow I Do, Part 2 on Instagram and TikTok

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hi, guys, welcome back to I Do Part two. It's
your celebrity mentor Jen Fessler, and I am recording at
Bravo Gone in Las Vegas and my guest today. You
guys know her, You've watched her, You've loved her. She
has an accent you can't really forget because she's actually
an East Coast girl like me from the Real Housewives
of Orange County. It's Gina Kerschenheider.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
You got it, I did yea yay me.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Okay, listen. We are absolutely thrilled to have you. I'm
thrilled to be here. And as you know, this is
I Do Part two. So we talk about sort of
the first part of your romantic life and where you
are right now. And I feel like you've really gotten
it right this second time. I yeah, you know.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
I think, just like anything, it takes you a couple
of tries to get good at something, and I think, yes,
I feel very good about it this time.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
As a viewer, it's so sweet. I love your dynamic. Yeah,
I really do. So tell us about how long you
were married and how many kids you have. Just fill
in the blanks. Even if our viewers have been following
you for years.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
It's so funny because I don't want you to hold
me to the flame on this because it's been a
long time. It's like I don't even really remember, but
I'm pretty sure I was married for eight years total.
I met my ex husband in college.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
We were very young.

Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yep, we got engaged very quick, married, very quick, kids,
very quick. I moved to California pregnant with my third
child ten years ago.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, yeah, that is quick. It's very quick. And it's
actually crazy because I moved pregnant with Luca, had Luca,
and then like a year and a half later, I
got cast it on the show. So most of my
life in California has been the ride has been Housewives
has been a part of it.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
That's really crazy.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, it is very crazy.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
I mean, obviously I want to know like how that's
affected things and certainly a relationship now, but before we
go there, I still want to know a little bit
more about your ex husband. Okay, so and not just
about him, but you know about sort of your situation, like,
for instance, how did you know that it was over,
that it was done? Like when did you kind of
you know?

Speaker 3 (02:22):
It is interesting because I feel like because I was
so young. People come from parents that are happily married, honestly,
and so I didn't even really honestly think about divorce
as like a thing or an option or something that
would happen. I think when I look back on it,
I understand that we were very young. I think we
moved away from New York, which was our home base,

(02:44):
from all of our support, family, everything, And I think
my ex husband lost his way when we moved to California.
He had had an affair, which I've been very open about,
and still I didn't think that it was over. I thought, Okay,
how are you going to fix this right?

Speaker 2 (03:01):
And we.

Speaker 3 (03:04):
It just kind of got to the point where I
felt like I just kept waiting for him to like
show up and prove to me that he wanted to
be in it. And then at a certain point, like
waiting for him to want to be in it, I
realized that I didn't even.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Want to be in it, you know.

Speaker 3 (03:24):
But it is pretty scary because then you think about,
like what are honestly just like, what are your options?

Speaker 2 (03:29):
What are you going to do?

Speaker 3 (03:30):
I moved away from everything I knew, I moved away from,
you know, I worked in New York all of that,
and like just to think about the difference in dynamic
of like what that looks like when you never thought
that that was even a possibility.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, well, listen, divorce is I feel like they put
it on the list of like the most traumatic, like
it's death, divorce, I think moving. But I've also heard
it said that until you're at the point where you're
like I don't care. I don't care about the money.
M you obviously will always care about your kids, but

(04:03):
you're at the point where it's like this is not
it's going to be better for the kids. I don't
care about being single, Like I just I gotta get out.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, And I think that that's kind of what Even
when we did separate and I did start the divorce
process and all of that, and we were very much
not together, there was a point in time then that
he wanted to reconcile and it was like he all
of a sudden has epiphany and he wanted his family
and he wanted to dad. And it was very short lived,
and I but I did it because I felt like

(04:31):
I owed it to my kids. And then it just
all imploded horribly, And then it got to the point
where I knew it could never go about that, right,
So yes, and so I mean he really left me
no option to stay by the end of our relationship,
like there was literally nothing there. And then you look
back and I'm like, honestly, like, I don't I just
don't think that we were supposed to be together, Like

(04:53):
I think we were supposed to be together in the
way where we have three beautiful children and we were
supposed to be parents together, because I truly you believe that,
But I don't think we were supposed to be a
romantic couple.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
I mean, that's like the greatest news ever. I hope
that every door back and face, yes, well that was
a mistake.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah, Like yeah, I think like if more people can
just say to themselves, like this is a.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Mistake, that was a mistake, and we're moving on.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
And it allows you to segue out of it more
gracefully and just And I don't think, like I don't
even regret it, Like it was a time in life.
It served its purpose, and it was a part of
my life. Yeah, of course, but it wasn't meant to
be forever, right, Yeah, I love it.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah, all right, So listeners, listen, sometimes you just got
to say this this, okay, So anyway, tell me a
little bit about Travis. I'm looking at his sweet face
right now. I know.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
Sorry, that was so uncomfortable for him to have to
listen to. Well he knows ever anything was it?

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Travis? Like whatever, I've heard it all.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Well, we're big Travis fans. Tell us a little bit
about how long you guys have been together, how you met.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
I'm a big Travis fan till we've been together for
over six years. And it's actually funny because if you
ask me versus if you asked Travis how we met,
we actually have like two different stories.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
It's a little messed up.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
It is messed up.

Speaker 3 (06:13):
It's a little messy, John, Yes, it's a little messy
if you touch yes, if you if you ask Travis,
he deduces it down to I slid into his DMS, okay,
which sounds horrifying and is so it makes me sound
like I was out there just like sliding into creepy
men's like DM like I would never do that. We

(06:33):
had It was a woman actually, her name is Shay.
She was doing my hair and meekup at the time
on the show, and she her husband worked with Travis
at the time, and she was like, you know, I
know this one guy and he's going through this, he's divorced,
he's going through this divorce whatever, and he's so sweet
and he's so kind and he's like the best guy.

(06:54):
And I looked at his picture and to be honest,
like I didn't like love his in photographs. And I
was like, but I loved there was something about him.
It was literally how happy and how his face lit
up when he was in pictures with his children, and
I really liked that. And then I was split into
his se yes like a little how I was like,

(07:16):
you know what, you gotta go for it.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
I had a friend who encouraged me.

Speaker 3 (07:20):
He encouraged me to do it, and he's like, he's
so cute, he looks so nice, Just do it, slid
in his DMS. We talked for like a while back
and forth, and then we did end up going on
a date, which I triple booked, and he was so
good about what does that mean?

Speaker 2 (07:34):
Like I I to other to date and I not
with dates. I'm not a time but two other things.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
It was like my best friend taught on his birthday
and like one other thing that I was like a
serial triple booker back in the day before I got
myself organized and got together right, and he was very
sweet about it. So we ended up having like an
early bird special like five pm dinner at this like
Italian place, and then I ended up It was actually
really funny because we were having such an amazing time

(08:01):
that I was like, why don't you just come with
me to my best friend's birthday.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
I was like, it's going to be lots of.

Speaker 3 (08:05):
Couples, you know, it'll be totally cool, and he was like, okay,
And then we show up and none of the women
my friends had their husbands with them, so he walked
into like fifteen of my girlfriends on this first date
like the lion's done.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
It was the best.

Speaker 1 (08:20):
So you know, if you could survive.

Speaker 2 (08:21):
That exactly, I was like, you're a keeper.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
Listen. My guess is that whether or not you slided,
you slid into his DMS. I think he probably took
one look at you. Well.

Speaker 3 (08:33):
To go back to that point too, what I realized
is I didn't love him in his photos at the time,
but in all honesty, I see that as like such
a plus column now because he just didn't carry. He
wasn't like a guy who was like love me to
take a good picture, you know, and in person he's like,
actually very handsome.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
I agree. It's interesting because my husband, my only requirement
when I was young, in my twenties was that you're
going to fit up. He has to be tall, period,
that's it. I was like, well, you're even taller than
I am. How tall are you? I'm fivey yeah, now
I'm like five six. And but I like to break
a strength she always talks about. I was like, has

(09:12):
to be tall. I don't. He doesn't have to be rich,
he doesn't have to be gorgeous, he doesn't have to
be he just has to be tall. And you can
turn around and se Jeffes, there's five six. Well you
know what he did. He does dify. But the point
is right, like you just don't know. You have to
feel it like you have to.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
You don't eat right, and there's always going to be
things that you have to deal with exactly, and and
that's so true to life. And when you fall in love,
you fall hard, and that's it. But I will say
my first thing out of my mouth when I Matt
Travis was oh my god, you're still tall.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
So I did I checked that box. You did check
that box.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
So being on Housewives puts obviously your relationship under a
magnifying glass. So tell us about because it sounds like
the show was helpful and did some good things in
terms of your relationship with Travis. I so I'm just
making that up.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
I don't know, well, I don't know. I think that
actually the thing that was happening. I'm just very honest
about everything, right, So I will say I don't know
if the show had like a direct effect on our relationship.
What I appreciate about pre appreciate about the show is
I think the show has accurately shown our relationship.

Speaker 1 (10:21):
And I know that you're so you know, that's all
on you. That's great. I mean that you are so
authentic and that you've been willing to oh yeah.

Speaker 3 (10:30):
And I think I'm very happy about the fact that, like,
when I look at it, it's not perfect, and we've
obviously gone through some heavy things, but it's it's us
and we're in it, and you can see that we
love each other. And I think it shows the real
relationship that we have and the connection that we have
and the love that we have for each other. So
I'm very happy. I'm happy that the show was able

(10:52):
to also show like what a good person Trav is
and like you know I and also like it's a
little scary for the men cheaf, you know. So I
was and I didn't. I didn't start my show with
a husband, right like he he didn't. I was married,
but he didn't participate, right. So I had never filmed
with a guy before a period, and so I was
that was like nerve wracking for me.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
I think that a lot of women, it's funny, like
feel badly about their husband or their their partners participation
on the show because they're dogged. Like even if somebody
literally said that to me today that I ran into
a housewife, that it's just hard for her partner because
he doesn't get to defend himself, right, and you know,
the women just go like off right. And it's just

(11:35):
interesting because I feel like everyone was always rooting for traps,
like when you guys broke up. I was a little
sick about it.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
I know it was horrible.

Speaker 3 (11:41):
I was to.

Speaker 1 (11:44):
The way.

Speaker 3 (11:44):
It just was very unfortunate that that was really happening
in our relationship, and it really was what I said,
it was like there was a circumstance there that is
very frightening to me. Yeah, and to you know, I
have my kids around and everything, But ultimately, I the
decision that I neede to not give up like our
beautiful family and our beautiful life just because something scared me.

(12:04):
I'm happy that I got to showcase that, and I'm
happy that I'm happy that I got to deliver that
message because I think that a lot of people do
deal with similar circumstances and things that we've had to
deal with, and I don't think the solution is giving up.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
I love everything about that. From my own personal experience,
I completely agree with you. My husband and I were separated,
got back together, and I couldn't be more grateful. Yeah, okay,

(12:40):
so I think this is kind of interesting. I know
that your viewers do too, but that you have such
a nice relationship with your ex husband's she girlfriend or
wife wife no wife? Yeah, I love that. I think
that's so great.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
I do too, right, I love her. I love it
was it hard to get there? No, I mean I
would say that it wasn't. You know, just like any anything,
when somebody first comes in the mix, you're like, who
is this bitch you know hang with my kids exactly? Yes,
you and you want to be defensive and you want
to be protective, but I think that like when you
really you love your children and you see that somebody

(13:14):
is good to your children and they're also like good
to you. Respect She was very respectful of me and
she was very kind to my children, and I would
have been an idiot to not have received that. Well.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
I agree with you. And there are a lot of
women who just can't do it. Yeah, right, there's just
too much water under the bridge. There's too much history,
and they just resent and it's hard probably to picture
any other woman, whether or not she's she could be
you know, mother Teresa, but with your kids.

Speaker 3 (13:41):
Yeah, but you did it, Yeah, it is. It's not easy.
It's not like that was an easy thing for first.
And there are things, you know, feelings of jealousy or
insecurity or fear just I don't even know what it is.
It's just like your instinctual like mind. Yeah, but like
you know, I really think that we all need a

(14:03):
very adult, mature, cognizant decision to you put our children
truly first. And that's what we did at first. It
was just put the kids first, because that's what you're
supposed to do. And then with time we really developed,
like a very lovely said, I could see them as yeah,
and she's there for me and she she's now now
we're protective of each other, you know. So it is

(14:24):
and like, honestly, if that's a message I could put
out because I understand there's a lot of women who
can't do it, but it's like, do it because it's
better for you.

Speaker 1 (14:33):
That's the whole thing, right, Like having that it frees
you up not to have letting go of the you're carrying,
Like you become like a team.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
I think it looks like totally, we're totally a team.

Speaker 3 (14:46):
Love it and you pick and you're just picking up
each other slack, and then you're all able to do
so much more and you're able to be there for
the kids in such a lovely way. And like my
kids don't know, they just know that they have four
parents that are on board and love them, you know.

Speaker 1 (15:00):
So it's a little thing. Yeah. Do you feel like
it also helped your relationship with Matt?

Speaker 2 (15:06):
I think so.

Speaker 3 (15:07):
I think that I give a lot of credit to
me and Matt being able to have a healthy relationship
to Travis and Britt because they were.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
Both Oh so, Matt and Travis are friendly.

Speaker 3 (15:18):
They're friendly, of course, Yes, everybody's friendly and as it
should be. And any time, you know, when early on,
when anything that Matt would do, I won't want to
be like, what the fuck is he doing?

Speaker 2 (15:29):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (15:30):
Travis would always be like, I understand that you feel
that way, but you got to put the kids first.
He had just a very mature way of always making
me do the right thing and encouraging like good communication
between Matt and I.

Speaker 1 (15:43):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
And I do believe that Britt was doing the same thing.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
Becoming a little attracted to Travis as this goes on.

Speaker 3 (15:51):
Finding him very he is He's very sexy.

Speaker 2 (15:54):
I'm very sexy anyway.

Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yes, But like for anyone who you think might be
starting like communicating with their ex, you know, like, are
there tips for you in terms of like from you,
like did you connect a lot first email? Or are
there you know, did you use any of those apps? Ure?

Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 3 (16:14):
There was a time at the beginning when you know,
things were very not good between me and my ex
where we would only communicate on like the court ordered, right,
yea ver right, and you should do that because what
it does is it prevents you from taking the shot
that you want to take, because taking the shot just
makes the waters muddy, or it's you take the shot,

(16:34):
you're also taking one step further back from where the
goal line is.

Speaker 2 (16:38):
And you have to be with this person.

Speaker 3 (16:41):
You have a relationship with this person, whether you're married
or not, for the rest of your life.

Speaker 2 (16:44):
Right, what do you want that to look like?

Speaker 1 (16:46):
Right?

Speaker 3 (16:47):
And that that's truly how I feel. It's like, do
you want that to look messy and ugly and difficult
your entire life? Because that person's not going anywhere, It's
not even like when they're after they're legal, then you
have weddings, and then you have they have babies. Of course,
don't you all want to be in the room together
and celebrate and have fun and not let that take
the air out of the room, you know.

Speaker 1 (17:06):
I mean, I'm a little older than you, so I
will just say, I'm very proud of you, thank you,
well done, thank you. I'm sure I hope you're very
proud of yourself, because it's not easy.

Speaker 2 (17:16):
I am proud of it.

Speaker 3 (17:17):
I am very I'm very proud of what the work
that I think we've all put into it. Yeah, and
we truly are like a team. And I like to
talk about it because I mean, I had one of
the worst divorces you could have, right, and so if
I could do it, other people could do it.

Speaker 1 (17:34):
It's so inspiring. But you get a lot of people
sliding into your DMS about the whole time parents.

Speaker 3 (17:41):
Yes, for sure, but I will say that I do
understand because I never want to be like soap boxy.
I do understand that there are a lot of circumstances,
of course, that you cannot because everybody has to be
on board, and everybody has to be willing to and
open to make this work. And if somebody is responsible
and to.

Speaker 1 (17:59):
Listen, right, and I agree with you that our cases
where it's just not happened. Yeah all right, Well, miss Gina,
thank you so much for coming and talking about your
co parenting and talking about sweet Travis. We loved having
you here. Let's go have some fun.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah right, and yeah take a billion pictures.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
We are going to take it, starting with me and you.
But just to remind our listeners, you can find love again.
Are you dating but not having much success. We can help.
Call us or email us. All the infos in the
show notes, follow us on socials. Make sure to rate
and review the podcast I Do Part two, an iHeart
podcast where falling in love is the main objective. Thank
you Ms Gina.

Speaker 3 (18:40):
Thanks Jen,
Advertise With Us

Hosts And Creators

Amy Robach

Amy Robach

T.J. Holmes

T.J. Holmes

Popular Podcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.