Bethenny Frankel‘s legal war with ex Jason Hoppy is getting heated.
As we reported, the Real Housewives of New York star and her former husband are embroiled in a custody battle over their eight-year-old daughter, Brynn.
Related: Bethenny Frankel Slams Her Haters!
While the Bravolebrity is seeking primary custody and full decision-making power over their child, Hoppy wants to keep the current joint custody arrangement the same.
Per E! News, on Wednesday, Hoppy took the stand to detail the alleged harassing messages he sent to her after their divorce.
During his testimony, Jason recalled sending the Skinnygirl founder angry emails in response to a tabloid article about their split, saying:
“We settled a confidentiality agreement, I just felt like this was like an F-U to me.”
He continued:
“As I look back on this, I was a jerk… I remember one email where it was like, I think I sent her eight messages about a phone call.”
Reportedly, that’s when Frankel shouted from her courtroom seat:
“You tortured me… You tortured me!”
When the judge suggested they take a short break, Frankel reportedly exclaimed:
“No, I want to get this over with.”
However, a break was then called.
As she left the courtroom, Frankel was reportedly heard saying:
“He’s making it like he was just a jerk… He tortured me every single day. Tortured me every day.”
During the hearing, Hoppy went into further detail about the way he allegedly treated his ex-wife.
“I look back and I was overboard, sending her emails. It was about phone calls, this, these things. I look back two and a half years later and it was like, I was an ass. I was a jerk.”
After he was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment and stalking against Frankel in 2017, Hoppy said he felt “terrified” while in a jail holding cell, and vowed he would “never, never put myself in that situation again.”
(That year, he was ordered to stay away from his ex for six months under a plea deal.)
Additionally, when his lawyer asked him how he would feel if the former couple’s custody agreement was changed — meaning he would be spending less time with their daughter — Jason sounded choked up and responded:
“I would be heartbroken.”
Hoppy also told the court he sent his ex an email to wish her a happy Mother’s Day this past weekend, which Frankel did not respond to.
While adding that he “wanted to move on and be positive,” he said:
“No matter what happens between us, [Frankel] will always be Brynn’s mother.”
Hoppy’s attorney tried to get the custody case dismissed, but the judge denied the request.
Per Frankel’s lawyer, the proceedings “overwhelmingly show there is a basis for modification” for the custody agreement, citing alleged “harassment, abuse” against Bethenny. Her attorney added that not only is a modification justified, but is also “certainly in the best interest of the child.”
The two got married in 2010, separated in December 2012, and finalized their divorce in 2016.
[Image via WENN.]
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