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Credit: Stewart Cook/Shutterstock for Dotdash Meredith, Instagram, MEGA
Jesse Lally revealed if he’d met ex-wife Michelle Saniei‘s current flame, Dr. Dre, during an interview on Tuesday.
While also addressing the fallout from Michelle’s split from Aaron Nosler, 39, admitting to questioning whether Janet Caperna, 36, was being “strategic” amid her conversation with Lala Kent, 35, and discussing Danny Booko‘s drinking habits, the 46-year-old star of The Valley reacted to the complaints Michelle, 37, had about their marriage and hinted at upcoming drama between them.
“I haven’t been invited over for tea,” Jesse said when asked if he’d met Dr. Dre during a July 14 interview with Page Six‘s Virtual Reali-Tea before admitting he had some reservations.
“At first it was like, this is the most interesting thing I’ve ever heard, and then as the days went on and people messaging me and the articles and all this stuff, I just, Michelle’s finally divorced. We’re officially divorced. She can do and date whoever she wants, and that’s fine. I just, after the fallout of the Aaron breakup with Isabella, as long as she first and foremost thinks about Isabella’s safety and future and security.”
After admitting that he initially thought the news about Michelle and Dr. Dre was “the most interesting thing [he’d] ever heard,” Jesse said he hoped that Michelle would handle the romance differently than the one she shared with Aaron.
“I’ve told her over and over again, I can’t go through that again,” Jesse shared, referring to Michelle and Aaron’s split. “Like, having my daughter come to my house and having to explain to a five-year-old about her first heartbreak, because that’s what Aaron was — she was in love with him, and then he threw them out,” he explained. “I don’t want to be in a position to have to go through that, and I’m sure Michelle realizes that.”
Moving on to Janet, who shared details of a past assault with Lala, Jesse revealed that while he was unaware of the discussion until he saw it on the show, he had suspected she was alluding to something of the sort after a conversation they had at Danny’s birthday party.
“I kind of put the pieces together, and I knew something was up, and we had a conversation about ‘I’m a heavy drinker,’ but Janet said, ‘I’ve never felt uncomfortable around you. When Danny’s drunk, I feel uncomfortable around him,’ and it was very vulnerable of her to say,” he recalled.
Jesse then explained that because he wasn’t aware of the details she shared with Lala, he questioned the timing of Janet’s statements.
“The timing of it just seemed like … a little strategic,” he admitted.
As for the backlash surrounding Danny’s drinking, Jesse said that while Danny has looked inward about the matter, he’s also felt that there’s been a lack of context.
“I’ve had multiple conversations about drinking with him on and off camera,” he shared.
During one unseen moment between them, Jesse recalled telling Danny, “It doesn’t matter if you had one drink or 19 drinks. Like, you’re not a great drinker.”
“But then it’s like, we’re on the golf course, and we have a bunch of beers, and everything’s fine,” Jesses continued. “So it’s tough to be in a situation. It’s also tough to be in a situation with that spotlight on him, so I see, I’m like, ‘Oh God, he did kind of sneak that.’ But I kind of see why in his mind, it’s like, ‘I’d rather just hide it so people aren’t in the corner like, “He’s drinking. He’s drinking.”‘”
After noting that fans see only a “little microlife” of the full story, Jesse said that it’s “difficult” watching his portrayal on The Valley since he’d spent so much time with Danny and his wife, Nia Booko, 36.
“I don’t think that what you’re seeing defines their individual character or them as a couple, and when we all say we strive to be in a relationship like theirs, all relationships are difficult, and some are behind the scenes and some are in front of all of your friends, but at the end of the day, why we say that is they have healthy communication together, where they have an issue, they have an issue with friends, they have an issue in front of friends, and then they go and they have a real conversation about it,” he revealed. “I have always felt Danny is an amazing friend, an amazing father, and a great husband, and it’s just, it’s tough to watch what you’re seeing because I also see aspects of like, ‘Wait, but he said that and then he said that an hour later,’ and it makes it look like it was two seconds apart.”
Jesse then commented on the conversations Michelle had with his girlfriend, Lacy Nicole, 35, during which Michelle admitted to feeling a certain way about Jesse showing Lacy so much affection when she wanted more of that from him during their marriage.
“It’s difficult because I had always been an affectionate person. I remember the early times of Michelle and I, like pre-baby, pre-COVID, where we were going out a lot, and we were, we were kind of like the annoying PDA people at the office. And then to think back when it goes bad, all you remember is the bad,” he shared.
He also said it was unfair of Michelle to criticize him when she’d acted similarly with Aaron.
“Two and a half years into a relationship with Lacy, and I’m being affectionate with her in front of Michelle, but two months after we separated, she was in a relationship with Aaron and not thinking about it — nothing about how I felt about it,” he explained. “I have a different type of personality where it was easier for me to move on once I’d moved on. Michelle takes a little bit longer to let go of resentment and stuff like that, so it was interesting to hear.”
Also during the interview, as he admitted to feeling like a “friend of” since he’s only involved in the drama of the show in an indirect manner, Jesse hinted at an upcoming falling out with Michelle.
“We only have a few episodes left, but tune in. It was going great. It was going great, and then it did not go great,” he teased.
The Valley season three airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.