Jennifer Aydin made the case for forgiveness during a recent interview on Vicki Gunvalson’s podcast. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star shared details about her husband Bill Aydin’s cheating when they were ten years into their marriage and why she chose to stay.
Jennifer shared her story on Season 12. She discovered that Bill had been cheating with a pharmaceutical rep when she was pregnant with her fourth child. The couple worked through their issues and decided to keep the matter private until it was revealed on the show.
But Jennifer has found her voice on the matter. And now shared her feeling that she made the right decision in forgiving Bill.
Jennifer Aydin decided not to “penalize” Bill for “one mistake”
While on the My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast, Jennifer shared, “I lived through an infidelity.”
“He was feeling himself, he was making money, and I was literally in the thick of it, pregnant with my fourth child and I had three other kids under five,” she explained. “And I wasn’t paying attention to him, this is true. Like, I was always tired, the kids always came first.”
Jennifer continued, “We dealt with it. He didn’t want to give up, I didn’t want to give up. I thought, ‘Okay, just because he did a bad thing… people make mistakes. This is the father of my children and I should not just penalize him on one mistake.’”
The infidelity left Jennifer “shattered” at the time. Though she now admits there is no such thing as a “fairytale” marriage. However, Bill does “treat me very well, he’s very respectful.”
The RHONJ star often spoke about cultural pressures within the Turkish community. There was probably some element of that taken into account when the couple decided to push through the hard times.
“I married a Turkish guy from my community. I made everybody happy. We had 600 people at our wedding. I’m on my fourth kid… and this is how you do me dirty?” Jennifer said.
She continued, “And then I woke up and was like, ‘Time to be a big girl. You’ve got a family to think about.’ He’s a good man, he’s a good person, a god-fearing man. He had a slip-up. S**t happens.’”
Jennifer’s message resonated with some RHONJ fans
Some RHONJ fans empathized with Jennifer and she shared one message that she got from a viewer.
“It was basically a message that said, ‘I’m so happy that you forgave your husband. I cared too much about what everybody thought and I took my pride too much into consideration that I left a good man, and now I’m alone and he’s married and has the beautiful family that I threw away,’” she shared.
“Sometimes s**t happens and you just have to assess,” Jennifer advised. “Don’t listen to anybody else. Do what works for you.”
Certainly, “the grass isn’t always greener” and Jennifer suggested that leaving a relationship swaps “one set of problems for another set of problems.”
“And by the time you get to your second guy you realize it’s not the person, it’s the process,” she concluded.
Ultimately, Jennifer and Bill decided to fight for their family. And despite the difficult times, the duo are allegedly still going strong.
Real Housewives of New Jersey can be streamed on Peacock.
TELL US – WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO JENNIFER’S COMMENTS? HOW WOULD YOU DEAL WITH AN INFIDELITY? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BILL AND JENNIFER AS A COUPLE?