Braunwyn Windham-Burke, Sean Burke and their seven kids are still navigating their new normal after he moved out of their family home in Orange County.
“He’s there all the time, but it’s best for everyone for us to be in different homes. That being said, he’s there all the time,” the 42-year-old Real Housewives of Orange County star exclusively told Us Weekly. “He’s still around the kids as much as he was before. It’s just, he sleeps somewhere else at night.”
Braunwyn and Sean, who wed in 2000, share seven kids: Bella, 20, Rowan, 18, Jacob, 15, 7-year-old twins Caden and Curren, Koa, 5, and Hazel, 2. While the Bravo star told Us that the “little kids” don’t totally understand their parents’ situation, their older children are more aware.
“[Sean] and our daughter Rowan, our second daughter … There are other things going on than just our relationship,” Braunwyn said, implying that the 18-year-old is staying with her dad. “I don’t think the little kids [have] any clue of what’s going on. If anything, their dad is spending more quality time with them. The older kids, they’re fine with this because Rowan wants, you know, wants a little space right now, too. It’s important for her. So, she likes it. Bella is 20, she’s working three jobs right now to move out with her boyfriend. She’s ready to do her own life, but she’s happy that we’re happy, and Jacob’s like, ‘Whatever, like, I love you. You’re happy. Do you.’”
Braunwyn and Sean raised questions about their relationship last month after she shared a Zoom seminar about coparenting and divorce. That same month, Rowan posted an Instagram photo with the caption, “F—k. You. Mom.”
While Braunwyn also told Us that she is seeing someone “special” — who isn’t Sean — the pair have no plans to divorce.
“I’m not going to worry about the future until it happens. I love Sean. Sean loves me. We have every intention of staying together,” she said. “We are very honest in our communication.”
Braunwyn noted that both she and Sean are in therapy.
“There’s just a lot of stuff going on in our lives and it’s better for us to not live in the same house right now,” she concluded. “And to give you some space, we’re both working ourselves, we’re both in therapy. I want to be the best version of myself, so does he, we have been together 26 years. We’re not throwing that away. You know, we are family. He’s my best friend.”
Braunwyn and Sean previously separated before they welcomed their twins. While she moved to Hawaii with their three oldest children for several months, they ultimately reconciled. During season 14 of RHOC, the couple revealed that they started having threesomes when Sean turned 35.
“There are just some things that I have discovered about myself that I wanna explore a little more and he’s very supportive,” she told Us. “He understands and, you know, I am living a very authentic life right now and I’ve never given myself permission to do that. … I’m 42 and there are just parts of me that … I pushed down and now I’m allowing myself to live authentically.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
