The Valley’s Jesse Lally is under fire from the women of Bravo following accusations from his ex Michelle Saniei that he was controlling during her labor.
During an episode of the podcast “Not Skinny but Not Fat” on Wednesday, May 28, Jesse, 44, was questioned about his behavior while their daughter, Isabella, was being born in 2020.
Podcast host Amanda Hirsch, 36, confronted Jesse with Michelle’s claims that he exerted control in the delivery room by opposing an epidural or a C-section, insisting that she go through a natural birth instead.
In response, Jesse explained he “took control” of the situation and admitted he had preferred the birth to be natural.
“So I had brought up home birth, natural birth. And Michelle was like, ‘Absolutely,’ nod. Well, we had conversations about it,” Jesse explained. “I didn’t want the baby coming to a world full of drugs in a stressful environment, like all these things that you read about, you hear about, whether they were true or not, is what I believed in my head.”
He added: “The epidural thing I just asked about it. ‘Does it go into the bloodstream?’ This and that… they’re like, ‘No, it’s in the lower back’ or whatever. Then when she was stalled at seven-and-a-half [months pregnant], we started having the Pitocin conversation.”
Amanda then questioned Jesse about Michelle’s thoughts on the situation and whether she felt the ultimate decision became Jesse’s rather than her own.
“Yeah, 100% I took control, because in that moment, I felt like that was my job to make the decisions,” he replied. “I was hoping that it would be natural-sh, right? Yeah, she would go into labor. It would take four, five hours. She’d push and the baby would come out.”
Amanda took aim at that call, after insisting that she — and likely other women — wouldn’t want someone else to make that decision on their behalf as it is their body going through the experience after all.
“Youl f***ing try to push without an epidural, Jesse!” she told him.
When a clip of the podcast featuring Jesse’s controversial comments was posted via social media channels, other Bravo reality stars were quick to echo Amanda’s sentiments.
“Coming from the guy NOT giving birth…” Scheana Shay, 40, commented, while Katie Maloney, 38, simply said, “Barf.”
Meanwhile, The Real Housewives of New York City alum Carole Radziwill, 61, didn’t hold back as she assessed the situation.
“I think the pain of childbirth would pale in comparison to the pain of actually being married to this dude,” she wrote.
