“RHOC”: Shannon Beador says her ex-John's lawsuit against her is “blackmail”: “He's a monster”

Shannon Storms Beador breaks down after her ex John Janssen threatens to sue.

On the group trip to Napa Valley in the episode of Thursday, September 5th of The Real Housewives of Orange County, Shannon explained that she had to reach an agreement with John by her deadline before he would sue her for $75,000 that he claimed was a loan. When she explained that she had offered her half the amount, Shannon began to cry and said John would not accept the offer.

“I just feel like it's extortion,” Shannon said, noting that John had recently sold his share of his insurance company and didn't need their money. “The main thing for John is that people think he's a good guy, and that's the first step in putting Shannon in a bad light, and he's taking really drastic steps.”

In a statement to PEOPLE, John claimed he had been “generous” throughout his relationship with Shannon, adding, “This $75,000 loan was specifically marked as money that Shannon knew had to be repaid.”

“I never wanted to take legal action, but after making every effort to get Shannon to pay back the money, she forced the matter to go to court,” he continued. “I just want to close the last item that is preventing us from fully closing this chapter. All I want is for Shannon to return the money she owes.”

Later in the episode, Alexis Bellino, now engaged to John, sits down with Heather Dubrow to discuss whether she should talk to Shannon. Heather advises her against it, but Alexis says she doesn't know what else to do.

“I understand Shannon is uncomfortable,” she said. “I just want to say what we want to say, put it behind us and move on. But I don't think that's ever going to happen. We have to figure it out in this group, that's all.”

Later in the episode, Katie Ginella, Emily Simpson, Gina Kirschenheiter and Shannon went to the spa to relax. When Emily suggested Shannon pay John the full $75,000 to avoid the stress of a legal battle, Gina inadvertently let slip that Alexis had incriminating videos of Shannon.

“The night I drove under the influence?” Shannon asked frantically. “What are the details? I can't even remember.”

When Katie explained that the videos allegedly showed Shannon almost running over John's daughter, Shannon began to sob.

“You know what, guys, I'm working so damn hard on myself,” she said. “He's trying to take me down. I'm so angry right now.”

“He is a monster,” she added tearfully.

Minutes later, Katie and Emily went for a spa treatment while Gina waited for Shannon to call her lawyer. When she returned, she revealed that she had told him to “pay [John] whatever he wants.”

“I hope he burns in hell,” Shannon told Gina. “I swear. I hate him.”

After Heather Dubrow went to her room to take a nap, she went to check on Shannon before dinner. When she found Shannon distraught, Shannon explained that she had no idea about the video Alexis had been talking about with the other ladies.

“It's just that every day something has happened,” Shannon said. “He wants to clear his name and I'm not lying. I'm not lying about John.”

As Shannon recounted the night of her drunk driving, she shared a memory that struck her as odd. Weeks later, she had told a friend that the accident happened “three to five seconds at most” after she pulled out of John's driveway, and her friend was doubtful about John's lack of reaction.

“[My friend] said, “Well, I find it strange that John didn't run after you,” she recalls.

“Do you really believe in your heart that he didn't hear that?” Heather asked, to which Shannon replied, “I don't know.”

“I looked back at my text messages and couldn’t remember doing that, but I took a picture of myself and sent it to [John] just after midnight,” Shannon claimed. “And at 1:40 or 1:30 in the morning he texted me and said, 'What the hell is going on? The police just brought Archie here, where are you?'”

Heather asked, “He just ignored the picture?”

“And I guess I just went to bed,” Shannon concluded, showing Heather the picture of her bloody face from the accident.

In a statement to PEOPLE, John denied that Shannon remembered the events following her drunk driving arrest, claiming, “To ensure Shannon had someone there for her the moment she was released, I waited outside the jail for hours before taking her home to care for her.”

John claimed that he “bathed, fed, and took Shannon to her doctor's appointments while tending to all of her needs and cared for Archie for ten days after her arrest.”

“Even though we were no longer a couple the night she drove while under the influence and the trauma my daughters and I had been through was still fresh in my mind, it was important to me that Shannon had someone to care for her,” he said.

“I tried everything possible to reach her at the hospital, but the officers told me she was in police custody and I was not allowed to go there,” he claimed. “However, that did not stop me from working with her family to ensure that I would be there for her once she was released from custody.”

He concluded his statement by saying he was “disappointed and astonished” that his ex “misrepresented these events and degraded my character.”

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The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9pm ET/PT on Bravo.