Here's How Real Housewives of Orange County's Gina Kirschenheiter Bonds With Her Kids as a Single Mom
Meal times are sacred for RHOC mom Gina Kirschenheiter.
The Real Housewives of Orange County newcomer Gina Kirschenheiter loves to have a good time, but she also has some strict rules she sticks to — especially when it comes to family meal time.
When chatting with The Feast, Gina told us what she does, when she's parenting solo, to bond with her children around the table. One thing she does not do? Allow them to engage in tech and devices... if she can possibly help it.
"My kids love to be outside playing, but obviously when we come inside they do love to be on their iPads like every other kids," she told us. "My kids are very small so it’s not like we’re having in-depth conversations — so I really just like to have that one little time [to bond at the dinner table.] It’s not like we’re sitting there for two and a half hours; we’re sitting there for like thirty minutes, maybe, and it’s so nice to just look them in the face and they look at me and we talk."
She recently filed for divorce from husband Matthew, but the two spent much time apart even before that. "Matt’s not around for family dinner a lot, so I want to make sure that [the kids] have some sort of routine and a comfort zone and just make it more personal and intimate," Gina told The Feast in an interview prior to the divorce announcement. "We have fun, we play games, and they like it."
And can we assume Gina's kiddos are members of the clean-plate club? "I like them to eat their food — that’s always good," she said. "But I pick and choose my battles and everyday is different. Sometimes I wake up and I’m like 'this is the day you know we’re cracking down on meal time...' But a thing about moms is that we try and it’s not always successful but we just gotta keep trying right?"
Sounds about right to us!
-Reporting by Alesandra Dubin
