Jesse and Michelle Lally Reveal the Final Straw That Led to Their Split: "Enough Is Enough"
Michelle and Jesse Lally have both moved on, but what led to their decision to part ways?
In the aftermath of their separation, Jesse and Michelle Lally are opening up about what finally led them to call it quits.
The couple’s marital struggles have been a focal point of the first season of The Valley — and it turns out, filming may have helped cement Michelle’s desire to end the relationship.
Why did Michelle Lally and Jesse Lally divorce?
The real estate agent told The Daily Dish that a “combination of things” ultimately led to the couple’s decision to part ways.
“You guys got to see a little bit of the end of our marriage, but there was a lot that I didn’t talk about on TV,” she shared. “There wasn’t an aha moment. It was just so many different things and I realized that nothing was ever gonna change.”
Constantly reflecting on the relationship as part of the filming process led Michelle to realize that the marriage was beyond saving.
“Filming actually helped me realize that because I had to talk about it so often with him and with other people,” she revealed. “It was just kind of eye-opening to do the TV show. And it kind of also helped me make the decision that it was best if … we moved our own ways.”
As she has rewatched the show, Michelle said she was surprised “how miserable and unhappy we looked” during filming.
When did Jesse and Michelle Lally break up?
According to Jesse, Michelle ended the relationship in October just two days after they happily celebrated their five-year anniversary.
“We all went to Montecito and we had a great time and I look at the pictures and I’m like that’s crazy,” he explained. “Two days later, she sat me down and she was like this is over, like enough is enough.”
For Jesse, who also works as a luxury real estate agent, there was no “final moment” where he realized the relationship was beyond repair.
“As you see the season progress and come to an end, I get really emotional and I’ve really given everything I can to making this work,” he said, referencing the work he did with a life coach and even attending a spiritual retreat to focus on self-improvement.
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Toward the end of the summer, Jesse said he and Michelle had a productive conversation where he told her he was “doing all this work to meet you in the middle” after two rough years in the marriage, but that he also couldn’t “chase” her for two years.
“‘Cause as I keep going and going and going, like, you’re just running away,” he said of the conversation. “I was like, ‘You can’t try to get back at me for two years,’ and that was sort of the conversation we had at the end of the summer and she agreed that, you know, there were so many things that I’ve changed that she loved and, you know, hopefully we could move on from that. And we tried. And — and I kept trying and trying.”
Even after Michelle told him she wanted to end their union, Jesse said he continued to “fight” for the marriage and “do what I could.”
“So, for me, there never was a moment,” he said.
Are Jesse and Michelle Lally friends today?
Today, the former couple are living apart, dating other people and focusing on how they can best co-parent their 4-year-old daughter, Isabella Bunny, together.
“It took me a long time to accept, but, you know, eventually you have to, you have to move on,” Jesse said.
While Jesse stayed in the home the couple shared together — memorably right down the street from the famed Chateau Marmont — Michelle moved into a two-bedroom condo just blocks away.
“I wanted to live close by because I didn't want to affect Isabella's life at all,” Michelle explained. “So you know, everything is about five minutes away, her school. So I stayed in the same neighborhood so we could walk to school or walk to Jesse's house.”
While both admit that co-parenting can be a challenge, they are figuring it out together and even both attended Isabella’s birthday party with their respective love interests.
“We’re two different people and we have, kind of, two different mindsets and rules. And so, we’re just trying to navigate that so we don’t … get each other angry,” MIchelle explained.
As for Jesse’s thoughts on co-parenting with his ex?
“We’re getting there,” he told The Daily Dish.
To see the couple’s marital struggles play out, watch The Valley on Tuesday nights on Bravo or available streaming the next day on Peacock.
Original reporting by Stephanie Gomulka
