The love lives of "The Real Housewives" have fueled many a storyline on every franchise of the Bravo reality show -- but, for Adrienne Maloof, hers hit its roughest patch yet after she left the show.
When the reality star returns to "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" for Season Five, she'll do it without Paul Nassif by her side. While the two joked about their bickering on the show, they officially separated in 2012. The extremely bitter (and very public) divorce proceedings that followed included restraining orders and brutal accusations on both sides, before it was settled in 2013.
"Going through a divorce period is difficult at best, so when you're in front of the public eye and having to air your dirty laundry in public, it's hard on the children, it's hard on both of you, it's never easy," Maloof tells toofab's Anna Kachikyan.
"I've been asked if the show was the cause of the divorce and I'd have to say that no it wasn't ... but it probably put it over the edge. I think that it was already having issues and when you're in the public eye and those issues are so explosive over the world, it's very difficult to make a marriage work," she says.
Fans of the show definitely remember seeing her infamous framed wedding dress in her closet. See what she plans to do with it now, to "get some positive karma" out of the situation, in the video above.
These days, Maloof is in a much better place, thanks to her much younger boyfriend Jacob Busch.
"I really don't think about the number. If you take that number out of the equation, you're still going to have the same relationship," Adrienne says of the 28-year age gap. "Many women do it, Jennifer Lopez, Demi Moore, Madonna. If you got a great relationship, you got a great relationship."
Maloof says that both of their families and friends support the coupling.
"They just want me to be happy and they know the kind of spirited energy I have and they know it's gotta be someone who can keep up with me," she says. "Of course there are going to be people that are gonna question the age difference, so what? If I dated a rocket scientist, they'd say why hasn't he taken you to the moon. It's always gonna be something."
Already a savvy businesswoman before joining "Real Housewives," Maloof has recently branched out to her Beverly Hills Collection jewelry line and the Never Hungover vitamin supplement. Find out more about her latest business ventures above.
So ... what advice does she have for anyone else trying to make their mark?
"My father passed away and my mother took over raising 5 kids and then had to take over an empire. She was my role model," Adrienne tells toofab. "She was the one that said be strong, don't be pushed around, yet be kind and give back. I think overall its' been karma, hard work and having a close family that's been very supportive. You're gonna have a lot of naysayers and you have to turn a 'No' into a positive."
