Shannon Storms Beador Explains Her Recent Reunion with Ex John Janssen

As her recent Instagram hashtag suggested, Shannon Storms Beador and John Janssen are "not back together."

The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member and her beau of about three-and-a-half years confirmed their split to PEOPLE in January 2023. 

Shannon noted that she was "blindsided" by the breakup, while John shared that he was "in pain" after deciding to end the relationship. The two initially unfollowed one another on Instagram after their split, and Shannon told the outlet that "being around one another only made it harder for both of us."

Though Shannon said that it was difficult to be around her ex, something seemingly changed. 

On April 22, Shannon posted a photo on Instagram from TAO Los Angeles featuring her posing alongside Tamra and Eddie Judge, RHOC Season 17 addition Jennifer Pedranti and her beau, and... John.

Unsurprisingly, fans began to wonder if Shannon and John were back together. However, she denied that the two had reconciled.

"Fun night with friends..." Shannon wrote in the caption of her post, before adding a hashtag for the phrase, "We are not back together."

During an Instagram Live with Bravo TV to celebrate the release of the Season 17 trailer, Shannon addressed how that photo with John came to be.

She first opened up about how difficult their split had been on her. "We actually broke up in November, but I was glad that it didn't come out," she said about publicizing the news a few months later. "I needed time to process 'cause it was a lot [and there was] a lot of hurt there."

Though she was "hurt" for a long time, Shannon doesn't want to be in a bad place with her ex.

"I don't have a place for bitterness. I just prefer not to have that right now, so we've kind of come to a place of friendship," she added. "And I needed a date, and so he came. We are not back together. We're just in a friendly spot, so that's a good thing. Hopefully, it will last, but we're not gonna get back together."

Shannon doesn't believe that she'll ever be back in a romantic relationship with John, but one of her fellow RHOC cast members does. Tamra, who was with the exes when the photo was taken, hinted that a reconciliation could be possible for the pair.

"If they get back together, they do. I don't think that's horrible," Tamra said during the Instagram Live. "I think that when you're in a relationship and you were together that long and then you break up, like, who knows?"

Neither Shannon nor Tamra knows what the future will hold.

"Maybe you will get back together and maybe it will become everything you want it to be, or whatever he wasn't giving you, or you weren't giving him. I don't know. I don't care if they get back together," Tamra concluded. "I just want her happy."

Watch The Real Housewives of Orange County on Peacock and the Bravo app.