RHOC Star Kelly Dodd Reveals She Dated Michael Avenatti in Wake of His Arrest: 'I Dodged a Bullet'
Kelly Dodd is feeling thankful that things between her and celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti didn’t work out after he was arrested for allegedly trying to extort over $20 million from Nike.
On Monday, the Real Housewives of Orange County star, 43, shocked fans when she revealed she and Avenatti, 48, briefly dated a year ago.
“I can’t believe I dated @MichaelAvenatti… I dodged a bullet on that one,” Dodd wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of herself and Avenatti, who grew famous for representing porn star Stormy Daniels and more recently the alleged victims of disgraced singer R. Kelly.
“How long did you date? I thought he was married… You definitely dodged that!!!” one fan wrote, to which Dodd replied “4 months… broke up with him last year the day before Valentine’s.”
In February of last year, Dodd finalized her divorce from husband Michael Dodd. The former couple had been married for 11 years and they share 11-year-old daughter Julie.
Avenatti also recently got divorced. In 2017, Avenatti split with wife Lisa Storie-Avenatti. They share one son.
Avenatti was also previously married to Christine Avenatti Carlin, with whom he has two teenage daughters.
I can’t believe I dated @MichaelAvenatti .. I dodged a bullet on that one . pic.twitter.com/sGhhIH8NzU
— Kelly Dodd (@RHOC_KellyDodd) March 25, 2019
4 months .. broke up with him last year the day before valentines
— Kelly Dodd (@RHOC_KellyDodd) March 25, 2019
On Monday, Avenatti was arrested in New York City on federal charges in two separate cases in California and New York, CBS News reported.
The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York charged Avenatti for allegedly trying to extort $20 million from Nike, CBS News reported. Prosecutors allege that Avenatti was threatening to publicize claims that company employees authorized payments to the families of high school basketball players, CNBC reported.
Earlier today, Avenatti tweeted that he would be “holding a press conference to disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal perpetrated by @Nike that we have uncovered.”
“This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball,” Avenatti added.
In his California case, the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles announced that Avenatti is facing bank and wire fraud charges after allegedly embezzling money from a client, CBS News reported.
Shortly after his arrest, Avenatti was released on a $300,000 personal recognizance bond. He was ordered to surrender his passport, CBS News reported.
He has also been ordered to report any transactions of and over $5,000 to the court.
Following his release, Avenatti told reporters that he will be “fully exonerated” of the charges, the Associated Press reported.
He also said he would “never stop fighting the good fight” against powerful people and corporations, the Associated Press reported.
His next court appearance is set for April 25.
In a publicly issued statement, Nike declared it would “not be extorted.”
“Nike will not be extorted or hide information that is relevant to a government investigation,” the statement, obtained by KGW, read. “Nike has been cooperating with the government’s investigation into NCAA basketball for over a year. When Nike became aware of this matter, Nike immediately reported it to federal prosecutors.
“When Mr. Avenatti attempted to extort Nike over this matter, Nike with the assistance of outside counsel at Boies Schiller Flexner, aided the investigation. Nike firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports, and will continue to assist the prosecutors.”
