The Real Reason Why Meghan And Jim Edmonds Split
Former star of The Real Housewives of Orange County Meghan King Edmonds and baseball legend Jim Edmonds appeared to have it all prior to their explosive split in October 2019, which was announced the day after their five-year wedding anniversary. Not only were they in the midst of constructing their dream home in Meghan's hometown of St. Louis, Mo., but they were raising three beautiful kids together (Jim also has four children from previous relationships). Top it all off with exclusive vacations, good friends, and enviable bank accounts.
The former couple's apparent fairy tale marriage, however, fell apart at rapid speed when Jim filed for divorce. Cops quickly got involved (we'll get to that later) and Jim was accused of having an affair with a certain someone decades younger than him. What's more? Jim, Meghan, and a gaggle of family members all took to social media to air their dirty laundry, engaging in an all-out war of he said/she said. There are so many sides to this story, our heads are spinning.
We don't want to divulge all the jaw-dropping information just yet, but let's just say this is probably going to be an acrimonious divorce. Ready to dive deep into all of the mudslinging? Make sure to buckle up before we get into the real reason why Meghan and Jim Edmonds split.
Trust was irrevocably broken between Meghan and Jim Edmonds
Shortly before the breakup (we're talking one day, folks), Meghan King Edmonds gave an interview to The Daily Dish about where her marriage stood with Jim Edmonds following his sexting scandal in June 2019. As you might recall, Jim was reportedly caught engaging in an online affair with someone known as the "baseball madame," allegedly sending her explicit texts while Meghan was pregnant with the couple's twins, Hayes and Hart.
Understandably, Meghan was hesitant to trust Jim after the reported incident, telling the outlet: "We're just still working it day by day. I think after such a breach of trust, it's so hard to rebuild from there, especially [with] so many distractions, like our son's health problems and two other little babies, as well. And so to focus on the two of us as a couple, is really hard."
Meghan reiterated this sentiment in a blog post written after the divorce filing, stating, "Anyone who has lived through infidelity knows how difficult it is to overcome and regain a strong marriage. It requires both people to be all in. It requires the betrayer to put in the time and effort to repair the trust that was broken. To be fully open and transparent. Sadly, that's not what happened here." She also accused Jim of lying about "drinking and partying with much younger women," including a few of their babysitters.
When the trust is gone, so is the marriage.
About those cheating allegations...
Once Jim Edmonds filed for divorce, countless fans took to Meghan King Edmonds' social media accounts to speculate about who the baseball great allegedly cheated with. In Touch Weekly reports that one of those people wrote something about their 22-year-old nanny, Carly Wilson (pictured), suggesting, "Judging by Jim's Instagram, I'm guessing it's Nanny Carly whom he posted NINE photos of 11 months ago." Meghan responded with a thumbs up emoji, leading many fans to assume they had an affair.
Wilson, in case you didn't know already, was the family's live-in nanny for years and had a boyfriend for a significant chunk of her employment history. She'd often post photos of the couple's three kids, but deleted all evidence from her account once the scandal broke. Meghan had previously praised Wilson in a since-deleted November 2018 blog post, writing about their relationship (via Us Weekly), "Carly is a God-send to our family, she is our real-life angel. She has become like a daughter to us who is also a friend, a nanny, a confidant, a teacher, and — I can say this honestly and proudly — like a second mother to our three babies."
As for Wilson, who is a devout Mormon, she has flat-out denied any wrongdoing. "In the past week, allegations have been made about me which are not based in fact," she wrote in a since-deleted post on Instagram (via Page Six). "I have not and never would participate in any action involving infidelity."
Maybe Meghan and Jim Edmonds' split really isn't about the nanny
Before you jump to conclusions about their nanny, first consider Jim Edmonds' denial about the alleged affair. Not only did Jim feel terrible for Carly Wilson, but he also thought the allegations were "disgusting and irresponsible," arguing she was like a daughter to them. "She's not just a nanny, she is someone that we brought into our house and promised to protect and look after while she was in our home," he wrote on his private Instagram (via People). "We have been treating and raising this young girl like she is our own child!"
Jim continued, "Just because I am an athlete and I was portrayed as a bad person on bravo TV. Doesn't mean I don't have a clue what life is all about. We made a promise to that young girls mom, that We would take care of her and make sure that she was safe while she was in our hands." A supposed staffer backed up Jim's sentiments in a conversation with Us Weekly, claiming to the outlet, "He wasn't flirty with [the nannies]. I've never felt uncomfortable around him and to my knowledge, no one else has either."
If Jim didn't have an affair, we're not surprised he filed for divorce. That's a pretty big accusation to make, after all.
Jim Edmonds allegedly wasn't being transparent
There are two sides to every story, and the Edmonds' breakup is no exception to this rule. As for Meghan King Edmonds' take about the split? She claimed Jim Edmonds continued to lie about his whereabouts, despite promising in therapy to be more transparent in their marriage. "What I will say is that, in the wake of the sexting situation, my husband was drinking and partying with much younger women, including several of our babysitters, and I found this gallivanting inappropriate, immature, and downright odd," she wrote in a blog post about Jim's alleged shenanigans. "While I initially wrote it off because during several of these outings, his 22-year-old daughter was present, given his previous indiscretions, I was uncomfortable."
Making matters even worse? "He started lying about where he was going or who he was going with — and deleting entire text conversations on his phone with several of these young women," Meghan alleged. And when the RHOC alum asked Jim to include her on all future texts with their nanny, Carly Wilson, he supposedly declined. "Another major red flag," she wrote about his refusal.
If Meghan felt like Jim wasn't holding up his end of the bargain, it makes sense that she'd be done with this marriage. Respect is key.
The Edmonds' split is an all-out war
In a pretty shocking turn of events, cops reportedly visited Meghan and Jim Edmonds' St. Louis home twice in the span of two days following the divorce filing. The first reported visit happened on Oct. 25, 2019, with Meghan calling the cops to report a "disturbance." An officer's report obtained by Radar Online stated, "Husband and wife [are] arguing by the front door. Children are upstairs with the housekeeper." Apparently, Jim left voluntarily after grabbing a few personal items.
Cut to the following day, when cops were reportedly called to the home while Meghan and her kids weren't present. Jim had allegedly gone to the residence and got into a verbal altercation with Meghan's mom, and the former RHOC star feared for her well-being. "Caller's husband, Jim Edmonds, is at the house and per the caller he is not supposed to be there," the responding officer recorded in his report. "Officers responded and determined that there had been a verbal disagreement between Mr. Edmonds and his mother-in-law over property." Once again, Jim left without any incident.
Clearly, this marriage is over if cops are already involved. Who knew there was so much bad blood between them?
Was Meghan King Edmonds a nightmare wife?
One of Jim Edmonds' eldest daughters, Hayley Edmonds, spoke with Us Weekly days after the breakup to share her take on the messy situation — and let's just say she didn't paint a pretty picture of Meghan King Edmonds, having accused her stepmom of being overbearing. "I think it's impossible to be happy with someone so ... I don't know if I would say narcissistic but, she, like, creates her own problems and loves conflict and things like that," Hayley told the outlet. "The selfishness is miserable for anyone to be around, let alone to be married to her." Ouch.
Hayley also accused Meghan of manipulating her to get on RHOC during a time when her mother, LeAnn Horton, was dying of cancer. "I got so much scrutiny from the way that she portrayed me like I was stupid and I didn't care about anything," Hayley explained. "In reality, like, I dropped out of high school to take care of my sick mother and she came in and completely manipulated me to get on the show and told me I was making it harder on my mom to be there and I was giving her anxiety and I needed to live with Meghan and give my mom less stress."
We're not going to take sides here, but if the accusations are true, we're not surprised Jim pulled the plug.
Speaking of family...
Unfortunately for Meghan King Edmonds, Hayley Edmonds isn't the only one of Jim Edmonds' family members who isn't happy with her supposed behavior. The former reality star's stepdaughter accused Meghan of blocking Jim Edmonds' mother on Instagram, alleging to Us Weekly, "The way Meghan treats my dad's mom is disgusting. And we've all just had to sit quietly and I'm just done with it. It's a bummer. Because my grandma just wants to see pictures of her grandkids and she had to get them sent to her every day."
If you ask Meghan, however, she'll tell you Jim's family is to blame for the drama. In relation to the sexting scandal, she claimed, "His family and closest friends did not reach out to me — the one who was betrayed, the one who had to read on the internet that her husband paid his virtual mistress hush money in an attempt to bury the truth. Instead, every last one of them isolated me and some went so far as to blame me for his sexting."
Furthermore? She alleged they didn't reach out after her son, Hart, was diagnosed with brain damage. "It was heartbreaking to realize that I did not have the love or support of Jim's family," Meghan added. "Instead they were actively ignoring me or trying to further sabotage our marriage."
It sounds to us like this marriage couldn't survive the very complicated family dynamics going on here.
Meghan King Edmonds is supposedly motivated by fame
If you're marriage is built on a desire for fame, chances are it won't last. And this is supposedly exactly what was going on with Meghan and Jim Edmonds' marriage, at least if you believe a source who claimed the television personality specifically went after her husband to get on RHOC. "She knew what she was getting herself into," an insider claimed to Radar Online of Meghan's intentions. "She also knew that Jim's ex was asked to be on the show. It was known in the area." Once Jim's second wife turned down the offer, Meghan supposedly swooped in. "Meghan was trying to get on a reality show," they reiterated. "Meghan was searching for reality fame at the time."
What's interesting? RHOC wasn't Meghan's first ride on the reality TV train. The St. Louis native reportedly had roles on Resale Royalty and Say Yes to the Dress (though these credits notably aren't listed on her IMDb page), with a source commenting, "Obviously, she was looking for reality fame if you're on three reality shows. Most people don't know that about her. She found her way to fame through Jim. A California guy living in St. Louis. Meghan has always been known to be a social climber."
Although we highly doubt Meghan would get married solely for fame, we do find this report compelling.
It was dunzo between Meghan and Jim Edmonds for a while
Although Jim and Meghan Edmonds' breakup was surprising to many, it was reportedly in the works for a while. At least that's what a source told gossip site All About The Tea, claiming the two were already separated in September 2019. "They had attempted to go to couples' therapy but it didn't work out," the insider claimed. "Jim was bitter because he felt neglected by Meghan. She's all about herself. Everything revolves around her and they fought constantly. He told her that he needed space by mid September and stopped wearing his wedding ring."
We can't say for certain whether this report is true, but it does add up with the timeline and other signs pointing toward the Edmonds' split. Jim didn't post anything in honor of Meghan's 35th birthday on Sept. 26, and the two hadn't been spotted out together in a while. That being said, however, it's still possible this divorce filing did come out of the blue.
Of course, we wish the best going forward for everyone involved.