Katie Ginella, the latest addition to the cast of The Real Housewives of Orange County, accused her ex-husband of subjecting their three children to shocking acts of “physical and emotional abuse” during an ugly custody battle, court records obtained by reveal.
The budding reality star and former golf reporter accused Andrew Sundseth of calling their daughter a “b—-” and their sons “jack—– and idiots.”
Ginella, 40, further alleged her ex put the kids’ health at risk, “punched” one of them and “acted inappropriately around the children, including having sex with his girlfriend in [their] presence”.
The couple got married in July 2005 and separated in January 2016. Sundseth filed for divorce a month later, writing in court papers the marriage was “irretrievably broken” with “no possibility of reconciliation”.
Immediately following the divorce, Sundseth was granted primary custody of their children: Kaili, born in 2004; Gavin, born in 2006; and Maxon, born in 2009. Their dad assured the court he was a “fit and proper parent” and said the children living with him would be in their “best interest”.
Ginella was given 85 days of “parenting time” per year, and was ordered to pay child support to Sundseth.
But in April 2018, the new OC housewife filed a petition to modify the agreement, saying there had been “several changes in circumstances materially affecting the welfare of the minor children” over the previous year.
Their father “frequently places his own interests above the best interests of the minor children, and repeatedly fails to make the minor children’s needs a priority”, Ginella wrote in her filing.
She said Sundseth called Kaili, who was 14 years old at the time, “an a—–, a disgrace, and an embarrassment”, adding that he “allowed his girlfriend to repeatedly tell Kaili that she is a w—-.”
Kaili had become fed up with the alleged verbal abuse and filed her own affadavit asking the court to put her in the primary physical custody of her mom, Ginella said.
The court decided to implement a “split parenting” arrangement, granting her full custody of Kaili while the two younger children remained with their father.
However, the legal skirmish didn’t end there. More than a year later, Ginella filed another motion accusing her ex of violating several terms of the updated agreement.
She claimed Sundseth retaliated against their daughter for wanting to leave, writing that he “told Kaili that he was throwing away her belongings and that she would never have a room at his house again”.
After Kaili made the move to her mother’s home in Florida, Andrew allegedly trashed her remaining belongings and “turned Kaili’s room into an Xbox room”.
Ginella also accused her ex of being violent, writing: “During Spring Break 2019, [he] punched Gavin in the chest.”
She further alleged: “On April 18, 2019, [Sundseth] gave Max peanut pretzels to ‘test’ if he was really allergic to peanuts. Max had an allergic reaction to the pretzels.”
Moreover, Ginella said Sundseth violated a term of the parenting agreement dictating “neither parent shall denigrate the other in the presence of the children”.
The same day the parties signed off on the arrangement, Sundseth allegedly told the children their mom was “a liar”, and allegedly also told Gavin and Max: “Your mom doesn’t really want you.”
She requested Sundseth be ordered to adhere to their agreement, but the matter was dismissed last March after the court received “no response” to a hearing notice.
The Real Housewives star has since remarried to digital creator Matt Ginella. They share one son together.