Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Jeff Lewisand his partner of 10 years, Gage Edward, have officially broken up, PEOPLE confirms.
TheFlipping Outstar admitted on Thursday’s episode of his SiriusXM radio showJeff LewisLive, that he felt it was time for him to “close” and “lock” the door on their relationship one month after Edward moved out of the family home they shared with theirtwo-year-old daughter, Monroe.
“My boyfriend left me,” Lewis said on the show, after previously referring to their relationship status as a separation or break.
He also recounted the conversation that made up his mind, noting, “Gage came back from therapy and said, ‘Strong fences make great neighbors. So he built a fence, apparently, which is his boundary. Then I built a fence. Over the weekend, I knocked down the fence and built a wall, a big f—ing wall.”
Since their separation in January, Lewis has been open about hisdesire to reconcilewith Edward and continue to amicablyco-parent their daughter. The estranged partners have alsocontinued working togetherat his companyJeff LewisDesign.
On Thursday, the Bravo star said he was no longer happy with that arrangement.
“I sat him down and I said, ‘Look, I need to move on now,’ because he’s moved on, becausehe’s dating the homewrecker,” he said.
Lewis previously revealed on his radio show that Edward had gone on a date with someone he met at the gym “some time” back.
Jeff Lewis/Instagram
“I will not say his name, but just for today, we’regoing to call him ‘homewrecker,’” Lewis said in February of the anonymous man. “Homewrecker, I think, has been in [Gage’s] ear for quite some time. I think homewrecker has exploited quite a vulnerable situation. I think this person positioned himself as a gym buddy, and I think this person has set his sights on him for quite some time.”
Lewis said he has asked Edward to begin working from his own apartment or from their job sites (the houses they are renovating) as opposed to Lewis’s home, and proposed they schedule times for each of them to be with Monroe.
“I don’t want to be your friend,” Lewis recalled telling Edward. “I don’t want to hang out with you. I don’t want to pretend like we’re some happy family anymore and go to breakfast or frozen yogurt together. I want to spend time with Monroe independent of you.”
On a past radio segment, Lewis vowed that no matter how bad things got between them, he wouldnever use their daughteras a bargaining chip.
Since laying out his new terms, Lewis, who already admitted to dabbling in online dating, said he’s taken steps to begin moving on.
“Last night, I took down all of his pictures, including the one where he was dressed as a clown, which is my favorite, because that reminds me of when he was fun,” Lewis said on Thursday.
He also used a tactic he says he learned from from actressElizabeth Rohm: he wrote Edward’s name on a 3×5 notecard and put it in his freezer.
“That’s what you do. When you’re done, you’re done,” Lewis said. “You put that in the freezer. I put him right next to the vodka bottles.”
Lewis also compared their recent relationship to adjoining hotel room doors: “His door was locked and my door was ajar. But I closed it and then last night, I locked it.”
Lewis previously revealed on his radio show that he took responsibility for Edward choosing to move out.
“I am 90 percent responsible for why we are here,” he said. “I emotionally abandoned him last year. I was a completely prick. I turned on him. I pushed him away. It was my worst year. I experienced great loss. I lost my best friend of many years, Jenni, my grandmother, our surrogate, who I cared for. It was great loss and I did not handle it well. I self-destructed, I did. I didn’t even recognize myself. By the time I tried to correct the situation, which wasn’t until Jan. 1 of this year, it was too late.”
“I take responsibility,” he continued. “Believe it or not, I changed a lot in the last 30 days. There’s things that I’ve done and said that I would never do again to anyone, any person . . . I was circling the drain, I really was . . . It’s extremely f—ing painful, let me tell you.”
Now, after their weekend conversation and official breakup, Lewis says, “I actually feel good. I feel like I’m getting some closure.”
Dan Boczarski/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
The former couple’s separation and subsequent break up comes on the heels of a tumultuous year in their personal and professional lives.
Eight months ago, their surrogate, Alexandra Trent, who carried their daughter,filed a lawsuit against them, suing the couple as well as Bravo and the show’s production company, Authentic Entertainment, claiming that the show filmed her delivery without permission and that Edward and Lewismade “disgusting” remarks about her.
She is seeking damages for unlawful recording, invasion of privacy and fraud. Lewis has strongly refuted these claims, but the legal action is ongoing andwill likely go to trial.
In June, Lewis’s personal and professional relationship with his friend of nearly 20 years andFlipping Outcostar, Jenni Pulos,ended. Lewis has suggested thismay lead to the end of their Bravo seriesafter 11 seasons.
Jeff LewisLiveairs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (11 a.m. ET) on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy (Ch. 102.)
source: people.com
