Before Jeff Lewis and Jenni Pulos ended their professional and personal relationship, he asked his close friend of nearly 20 years to be the godmother of his daughter, Monroe Christine, 22 months.
On the season 10 finale of Flipping Out, which aired in October 2017, Lewis and his partner, Gage Edward, approached Pulos to see if she would be up for the task.
“It’s a big responsibility,” Lewis, 48, explained, before asking Pulos.
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The question left her in tears.
“I’m really honored and touched that they would ask me because we’ve had some tough times,” said Pulos, a mother of two to 1-year-old daughter Georgia Grace and 5-year-old Alianna Marika. “But the lesson is when you stick things out with people that you care about, your relationship is stronger for it.”
Lewis, who picked friend Chaz Dean to be Monroe’s godfather, then explained why Pulos was the obvious choice. “Well, Jenni’s one of my closest friends,” he said. “She’s also very religious so I think she will take the job very seriously.”
A week before the episode’s airing, Pulos had appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen where she talked about the ways parenting had changed Lewis.
“Jeff Lewis is the whole and complete Jeff Lewis. I’ve never been closer to him,” she said. “Everything that I’ve wanted for him. He’s softer and he’s still feisty but he loves something more than himself. And isn’t that a wonderful thing?”
“They went through a very hard time, they were very honest about their journey with parenthood,” she added, referencing Monroe’s acid reflux and colic. “They’re on the other side of that and I think things are really great for him. So I couldn’t be happier.”
Pulos was a big part of helping them get there. “She is a godparent to Monroe and she really helped me — I mean, thank god, I didn’t read books properly or prepare,” Lewis told The Huffington Post in August 2017. “[Jenni] knows you use this product, you go here, you do this…She’s my baby mentor.”
RELATED: Meet Georgia Grace! Flipping Out‘s Jenni Pulos Introduces Her Newborn Daughter
Lewis also had a sweet relationship with Pulos’ daughters.
Pulos told PEOPLE in June 2017 that having Monroe — who turns 2 on Oct. 25 — made Lewis even more prepared to handle her second daughter.
“Jeff is a pro now, so he immediately held her with confidence,” Pulos said. “I shared with him that a second is easier, and now that he’s been through ‘baby boot camp,’ it’s more relaxed and a more enjoyable experience the second time around.”
PEOPLE reported exclusive last Wednesday that Pulos has parted ways with Jeff Lewis Design, the house flipper’s company, and, according to a source, the pair have ended their friendship.
Lewis spoke about the split on his SirusXM radio show, Jeff Lewis Live, on Friday, admitting that Pulos has not worked for him for “seasons” and they had faked their working relationship for the benefit of the show — something, he says, they will no longer do.
In the same segment, Lewis alleges that Pulos had reported him for “abuse and victimization,” charges he says he was cleared of, and later for wrongful termination and creating “a hostile working environment.”
“Her making this claim, it put my entire career in jeopardy. My family, my livelihood, everything,” Lewis said, speculating that his Bravo show would likely be cancelled. “I just lost my job. I’m pretty sure of that.”
(Reps for Bravo and Pulos had no comment, while reps for Authentic Entertainment did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.)
The emotional fight that caused the rift is said to have been filmed for the upcoming eleventh season of Flipping Out, which premieres September 11.
Since then, the two haven’t spoken at all. “It’s sad,” one source said. “They used to be inseparable but their differences just got too big to overcome.”
“They found fame together so there was always this thought that nothing could tear them apart, but that hasn’t been the case,” the source added. “They’ll never come back from this. It’s over.”
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but tensions between the pair had been mounting for months, a second insider explained. “It was a combination of things,” the second source said. “They both had different priorities pushing them in opposite directions. … It was only a matter of time before it eventually exploded.”
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