Please, she's a third-generation matchmaker! Patti Stanger finally responded to Kenya Moore's claims about the boyfriend she met on Millionaire Matchmaker, after the Real Housewives of Atlanta star revealed this week that he was a married man.
Stanger, 53, the star and executive producer of the Bravo series, has been receiving flak about her show's vetting process since the shocking revelation. "He was single when he shot the show," Stanger told Extra of real estate hunk James Freeman at NBC's Upfront on Thursday, May 14. "Which was in November."
According to Stanger, Freeman did nothing wrong. "They basically dated. They broke up," she continued. "He did not date his old girlfriend and marry her. Wendy Williams got that wrong. He met a new girl in January and he ended up marrying her. It was very fast."
The Bravo-lebrity maintained that Freeman seemed like he was a solid choice at the time. "He was marriage-minded," she told Extra. "The bottom line is long-distance relationships are tough."
Stanger tweeted at Us Weekly on Friday, May 15, clarifying that she was not defending Freeman in any way.
I love you @usweekly but I never defended james! I'm sure he played both sides of the st. as men often do! @KenyaMoore long distance sucks!
— Patti Stanger (@pattistanger) May 15, 2015
Was james single at the time of shooting? Yes he was! Did @KenyaMoore n james date yes! But only they know for how long and what happened!
— Patti Stanger (@pattistanger) May 15, 2015
Moore told Extra on Thursday that she was certain Freeman was seeing another woman while they were dating.
"That’s for sure," she said. "We did the show in November and there’s evidence of me being out — and birthday dinners together — my birthday was at the end of January, so that’s pretty clear, but it is what it is."
The Housewife, 44, was still with Freeman when the March 22 episode of Millionaire Matchmaker aired. On social media, Moore gushed at the time: "Sometimes you can spend your whole life looking for Prince Charming when a King arrives. Thank you @pattistanger and @cynthiabailey10 and my fans for your love and support and desire for my happiness. #matchmaker #KingJames #FriendsFirst #MillionaireMatchmaker."
Unfortunately, she later discovered her king had another queen. Just this past Tuesday, Moore posted on Instagram: "Unfortunately, I just learned today that the man I met and fell in love with from Millionaire Matchmaker was married a week after the show aired. I am astounded and devastated to have learned of this news via social media as opposed to from him directly."
She said on Thursday, though, that life continues. "I’m not the first person that’s been lied to by a man, and I’m not the last," Moore explained to Extra. "I’m in this fight and I’m a warrior and I just think life trails on, that’s it… You gotta kiss some frogs to find a prince, things happen and it’s just how you react to it that determines your future and I just think that this is just a bump in the road."
At the end of the day, Moore said she wanted a man who had outstanding qualities, including someone who is "truthful, forthcoming, and is who he is."
