Alexia Echevarria, Lisa Hochstein and Lenny Hochstein. NBC (2); Shutterstock
A messy split. Lenny Hochstein shockingly opened up about his split from Lisa Hochstein to his friend Vito on season 5 of The Real Housewives of Miami, seemingly without knowing that he was being recorded.
“After the past few weeks I’m officially single,” Vito told his pal. Lenny, 56, off-camera, could then be heard whispering, “In a couple months, I might be single too.” The revelation came during the third episode of season 5, which premiered on Thursday, December 8, on Peacock.
The moment was as a huge surprise to Lisa’s costar Alexia Echevarria, who said during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly’s “Getting Real with the Housewives” podcast that she was “shocked” that her friend was “sleeping with the enemy.”
“At this point, [Lenny] was planning the whole thing. We didn’t know about that and I’m sure [Lisa] didn’t know about that either,” Alexia, 55, explained to Us. “I don’t think Lenny was aware that he was mic’d. Just because the camera wasn’t there doesn’t mean that your audio is not working and they’re gonna use your words. Especially when it’s something like that. Like you’re literally plotting to leave your wife.”
She added, “Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that she found out sooner than later and it all played out.”
Lisa, 40, and Lenny, who share son Logan, 7, and daughter Elle, 3, called it quits after 13 years of marriage in May. He revealed at the time that he had moved on and was dating Katharina Mazepa.
Last month, the Bravo personality claimed in court documents that her estranged husband restricted access to his credit card, leaving her unable to buy diapers and food for their children. He did not respond to his exes allegations, but did claim in court documents that she makes $30,000 per episode for the Bravo series.
“Apparently everything lined up to show that he was no longer with Lisa when he had a girlfriend and was being unfaithful to her. So it does make sense,” Alexia told Us. “I know that everybody likes to say ‘I told you so,’ but they had a good run and it’s very unfortunate because I know that she was very much in love with Lenny and she has two small children and it’s always very tough on the family.”
The Real Housewives of Miami is streaming on Peacock.