Carmella Garcia Addresses the End of Her Relationship: ‘The Ship Was Sinking’
The Real Housewives of Orange County fans were just introduced to Carmella Garcia and her longtime partner, Danny Hampel, during the show’s 20th season. They won’t be seeing much more of him going forward, though. While the couple was new to viewers, their relationship has since ended. The former model and professional wrestler just revealed that her 10-year relationship has been over for months, and she’s being pretty open about what went wrong.
Carmella Garcia says her relationship was over before ‘RHOC’ aired
Carmella Garcia’s relationship with Danny Hampel was one of her central storylines on RHOC. But during a Sept. 17 appearance on Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea podcast, she revealed that the two had split months before the season premiered, meaning fans are watching a relationship that had already ended.
Garcia isn’t afraid to explain exactly what happened, either. She cited dishonesty and “gravely inappropriate” behavior on Hampel’s part, though she did not elaborate on the latter. She said that while she’s sad about the breakup, she knew she had to put herself first. Garcia says she put a lot of work into the relationship but ultimately recognized she was on a sinking ship and needed to save herself.
According to Garcia, trust had been a recurring issue throughout the relationship. She has previously revealed that Hampel cheated on her four years into their relationship.
Carmella Garcia is married to someone else
Despite her long-term relationship with Hampel, Garcia is still legally married to former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia. The couple wed in 2007 and publicly announced their split in 2020, years after Carmella reportedly began dating Hampel. It’s unclear exactly when they separated.
Carmella has said she and her estranged husband remain married for family stability and custody reasons, and it’s unclear when, or if, they’ll ever file for divorce. The couple shares four children, ages 14 to 18.
Hampel, a general contractor, has not publicly responded to Garcia’s comments. For now, Garcia is not dating anyone.
