Jeff Lewis Regrets Comments That Got Daughter Monroe Expelled from Preschool
"I certainly didn’t mean for my daughter to be collateral damage," the Flipping Out designer said.
Jeff Lewis not only regrets talking about daughter Monroe's preschool on his Radio Andy show prior to her recent expulsion, but he also wishes he didn't enroll her there in the first place.
The Flipping Out designer opened up more about his child's expulsion during the September 18 episode of Jeff Lewis Live and admitted that enrolling her in the prestigious institution "became about my ego." “I thought, ‘My daughter got in this really prestigious school that everybody is trying to get into,'” he said, as reported by PEOPLE. “It became more about me than my daughter. And I always knew it was a good school, but I think what I should have done is really considered her and what was best for her. I don’t think that particular environment, in hindsight, was best for her.”
Jeff shared on his radio show on September 17 that Monroe was asked to leave her preschool after administrators received complaints about the negative comments he had made about the school on the air. “I do think I was in the wrong,” Jeff said. “I shouldn’t have publicly put the school on blast.”
Though Jeff said that he believes his listeners appreciate his candor, he said he knows that there can be consequences. “Part of this show is me being completely and totally honest and vulnerable with my listeners," Jeff explained. "I came on the air and I vented and a lot of people related to it. However, I did not consider the damage that was going to occur as a result of my actions and I certainly didn’t mean for my daughter to be collateral damage.”
Jeff also admitted that he's a “self-destructive person.” “Moving forward, I will be very, very careful — especially when it comes to her — about vocalizing anything that goes on in her school," he shared. "I have learned my lesson. For her, I will protect her.”
Jeff previously said on his radio show that he felt like he had "picked the wrong school" for Monroe, who turns 3 in October. “Next time, I’m going to trust my gut. I felt like the school was too regimented, too structured. I think, it’s not a college prep course. It’s preschool," he said, adding that "everyone takes themselves so seriously at that school." “I don’t want Monroe to be in a strict school with overachievers and massive homework. She has her whole life to be stressed out. It’s preschool, let her be a kid and have fun.”
Jeff and his former partner Gage Edward are now in the process of looking for a new school for their daughter. “It’s probably going to be difficult,” Jeff said on his radio show on September 18. “So many people reporting on this. It’s absurd, it’s ridiculous, it’s silly, but I think all these people are relating to it. … I was expecting more hate than I got.”
As for Monroe, she's handling everything like a champ. “Can I tell you, she doesn’t have to go to school, she loves it! She’s the winner here. She goes to the park and all the classes. She’s having a great ol’ time!" Jeff said during a recent interview with Extra, before joking, "But I told her, I said, 'Look, if you’re not going to go to school, you’re going to have to get a job!'”
