RHOC 's Noella Bergener Recalls Meeting Her Ex-Husband James on a Sugar Daddy Website

Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

Noella Bergener is looking back on her early beginnings with now ex-husband James Bergener.

During The Real Housewives of Orange County's 16th season reunion episode on Wednesday, the franchise newcomer opened up about how the former couple met. After confirming their initial meeting was "online," she got into the specifics.

"Well, it's a dating website but it's a naughty one," she explained. "It's called Seeking Arrangement."

Seeking Arrangement is a website intended for people interested in sugar dating, which is a transactional practice involving an older, wealthy individual and a younger person in need of financial support. The dynamic is meant to be mutually beneficial.

As reunion host Andy Cohen clarified the purpose of Seeking Arrangement, Noella, 36, explained that "attractive girls and wealthy men" are "the standard" on the website. She also confirmed the pair were together for five years and married legally for one year.

"He was separated when I met him," she explained. "Once we realized that we could have children and I can start IVF, it was important for me to do the gathering of our family and the picture of me in the white dress. So we had a wedding ceremony knowing that it wasn't fully legal."

noella bergener/ instagram

RELATED: RHOC's Noella Bergener Says Estranged Husband Abandoned Their Son as He Denies Her Claims

Fellow RHOC star Emily Simpson then chimed in, "Because he was still married."

In her defense, Noella said, "I didn't care about the actual piece of paper for divorce. Anybody who's out there said I [only] cared about money or gold-digging kind of thing."

Andy, 53, then countered her argument, noting that she met James, 50, through a website intended for sugar dating. But Noella said in response, "He cared about meeting a beautiful girl."

"[Money] wasn't in my mind when I wanted to build a family and love this man," she added.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

One year after getting married, Noella filed for legal separation in Orange County in August 2021, but James had submitted a divorce filing in Puerto Rico one month earlier. Though a messy battle surrounding the pair's split ensued, all proceedings were finalized that December.

Now, Noella — who is mom to 2-year-old son James Jr. with her ex, and daughter Coco, 7, from a previous relationship — can confirm she's officially divorced. She is also in a new relationship with a 33-year-old man named Bobby.

"He bought me an adult toy marketplace company," she said during the reunion. "We just got it trademarked. It's called Playland and I'm very excited about it. It was my Christmas present."

The Real Housewives of Orange County two-part reunion concludes on Bravo next Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.