The Real Housewives of Miami alum Lenny Hochstein is speaking out against estranged wife Lisa Hochstein’s abuse allegations.
“I’ve had enough, especially with her latest allegation. It’s going too far,” Lenny, 57, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, December 1, after filing his defamation lawsuit against Lisa, 41. “This is my reputation and my reputation is worth more than any amount of money.”
Lenny filed the suit against Lisa on Friday. Days before, the reality star shared a photo of a bruise on her arm via her Instagram Story and hinted that Lenny had previously abused her.
“Didn’t want to have to share this, but I’m left with no choice. I’m being harassed through the court system and through ‘others’ by Lenny and it needs to stop,” Lisa wrote alongside the November 22 post, which has since expired. “This was almost two weeks old from last season. You may have caught this bruise on the episode when I opened up to the women on the show about the divorce.”
In court documents obtained by Us on Friday, Lenny vehemently denied Lisa’s allegations and claimed that the bruise came after she “lost her balance” while walking up a set of stairs during a heated argument. Lenny accused his ex of harassment and is seeking damages up to $100,000 and attorneys’ fees.
“I’ve put up with a lot of stuff she has said about me, but when she says I physically abused her, I can’t just sit back and allow that,” he told Us, noting that he is “against all forms of violence.” He added: “I think an accusation that is so serious and heinous has to be responded to. The fact is I have never hit a woman in my life, certainly not Lisa.”
Lisa, for her part, spoke to Us about the lawsuit. “We haven’t received anything. This does seem like something ‘litigator Lenny’ would do as he’s made it clear he’s out to financially strangle me,” she told Us in a statement. “He’s not happy unless he’s suing.”
In addition to the defamation lawsuit, the pair are also engaged in a messy divorce battle. Lenny filed for divorce from Lisa in October 2022, after 13 years of marriage.
“I thought it was time to move on, but she doesn’t care what people think about me and she doesn’t care how it will affect our children,” he told Us on Friday, referring to the duo’s two kids: son Logan, 8, and daughter Elle, 4.
After filing for divorce, Lenny went public with girlfriend Katharina Mazepa. Lisa, meanwhile, alleged that Mazepa was Lenny’s “mistress,” though Lenny claimed that the couple began dating after he and Lisa had already separated. Lenny later proposed to Mazepa in July. Now, Lenny is accusing Lisa of cheating on him in the past. Calling her the “real ‘homewrecker’ of Miami,” he also claims Lisa was with her current boyfriend Jody Glidden the night that he was supposed to get married to his ex-fiancée.
“Despite Lisa’s ongoing smear campaign and trying to paint me in the light of a cheater and my fiancée as a ‘mistress,’ these claims are completely false,” Lenny alleged to Us. “There was no blindside, Katharina is in no way responsible for the end of my marriage and the decision to leave Lisa. She calls Katharina a ‘homewrecker,’ but the truth is that the only one who got caught cheating, having an affair and wrecked the home is Lisa.”
With reporting by Andrea Simpson
