Here's What Kristen Doute Meant When She Said She Was “Protecting” Michelle Lally
Kristen Doute made a stunning claim about the Lallys' marriage after a heated argument on The Valley.
Kristen Doute’s protection is officially over.
For most of the first season on The Valley, the T-shirt designer has insisted she was “protecting” Michelle Saniei Lally by keeping a mysterious secret about the luxury real estate agent safe.
But Kristen finally dropped the major bombshell after another disastrous dinner on The Valley quickly spiraled out of control. Here's what she's allegedly been hiding for Michelle.
What secret was Kristen Doute “protecting” for Michelle Lally?
In a fit of rage, Kristen alleged to producers while leaving the party that Michelle “had a f-cking boyfriend for a year,” despite being married to husband Jesse Lally.
“About a year ago, Michelle and Jesse were very unhappy,” she alleged. “Michelle had a guy. She was seeing him, they were hanging out. I was not against any of this because I think Jesse is a piece of sh-t.”
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Kristen made the shocking affair claim out of the earshot of Michelle, Jesse, and the rest of The Valley cast — and there’s no word yet on whether Michelle will respond to the allegation or what repercussions it could have.
What have Jesse and Michelle Lally said about their marriage?
Throughout the first season, Kristen has made it clear she believed she was “protecting” Michelle from something — even though the rest of the cast and Michelle herself seemed confused about what Kristen was implying with the repeated assertion.
“So, Kristen sent me a text message and she said, ‘I just wanted to assure you that your secrets are safe with me and I don’t retaliate for the sake of my own mental health. Wishing you the best,’” Michelle told Jesse earlier in the season before adding, “I don’t know what that means exactly.”
It’s no secret, though, that the Lallys have been struggling in their marriage.
Jesse admitted in Episode 5 that Michelle had even applied to get her own apartment a year earlier amid their constant fighting.
“I was a little blindsided by it; I didn’t see it coming at all,” Jesse said in his confessional. “But after talking about it for a couple of hours, and me sort of asking for a second chance and asking her what she wanted me to focus on, we decided to give it a second chance.”
Since then, the couple has been working with a life coach, and Jesse has made it clear he’s willing to do whatever it takes to repair the union — but Michelle confessed in a conversation with Brittany Cartwright that it could be too late to save the marriage.
“Jesse goes through his patches of trying, but I don’t know if it’s 100 percent sincere,” Michelle shared. “I’m more unhappy than happy.”
What did Kristen claim about Jesse and Michelle’s marriage?
After a fight at dinner between Jesse and Kristen, where Kristen’s boyfriend Luke Broderick and Michelle both joined in, during Episode 6, Kristen again brought up "protection."
But this time an angry Michelle shouted, “Stop with the f-cking protecting. Stop it.”
“Fine,” Kristen shot back. “You want me to stop protecting you?”
“I want you to just shut the f-ck up,” Michelle replied.
Michelle later told producers that she was growing tired of Kristen’s veiled threats and denied knowing anything about what Kristen was referring to, adding, “I no longer understand Kristen.”
“Kristen might be saying she’s protecting me, but it feels like she’s threatening me,” she said.
As the heated exchange continued, Kristen threw out a devastating accusation.
“Your husband said that he’s gonna divorce you within two months,” Kristen told Michelle.
But a confused Jesse quickly shot the rumor down.
“No, I did not ever say that,” he said. “Never.”
It’s unclear whether there’s any truth to Kristen's claims or what drama could come from the stunning accusations.
Jesse has said in the past that he wouldn’t be able to look the other way if Michelle ever strayed from the marriage.
After filming wrapped, Jesse and Michelle announced they were getting a divorce just days before The Valley’s premiere—although the exact reason for the split isn’t known.
“People evolve,” Jesse told US Weekly shortly after the announcement. “If your marriage and relationship doesn’t evolve with it, it will never work, no matter how bad you want it.”
To find out how all the drama will play out, watch The Valley Tuesday nights on Bravo or available streaming the following day on Peacock.
