The Valley’s Jesse Lally Talks Dating Lacy Nicole After Marriage Split

Jesse Lally is opening up about his new relationship — just one month after the news broke that he had split from his wife and former The Valley castmate, Michelle Saniei.

During a recent appearance on Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea podcast, Lally, 43, confirmed that he is “newly” dating philanthropist Lacy Nicole, telling the outlet, “I’m super happy right now.”

The news of the Bravo star’s relationship with Lacy comes after he shared a photo on Instagram on April 28 which featured the pair posing together on the red carpet at Sparkle’s Drag Spectacular, a charity event benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The post sparked questions about Lally’s mystery date.

“We’ve been great friends,” Lally said of Lacy. “She’s just a very amazing person and she’s, like, a beautiful soul.”

The real estate developer said that his new romance is very “grounding,” noting that Lacy “definitely grounds me for sure because she doesn’t let me get away with anything, which is nice.”

“It’s just new,” he continued. “No labels, no nothing. It’s just fun to spend time with somebody again.”

Lally also opened up about his split from Saniei after six years of marriage. The pair tied the knot in October 2018, according to Bravo, and share one daughter, Isabella Bunny, who was born in April 2020.

According to Lally, things were difficult for the longtime couple in the immediate aftermath of their split, but they have now managed to make amends for Isabella.

“We’re at a place now where she joined for Isabella’s birthday, and Michelle and her boyfriend joined for Isabella’s birthday and we had a huge group of people,” he said. “So it was nice. We all got together.”

The reality star added that it was a “long road” to get to a point where he and his now-estranged wife could be in the same room together.

“Everybody knows separation is very traumatic and it can be chaotic and there’s financial stuff and there’s this and that,” Lally said on the podcast. “It was all of that at the beginning and just trying to figure it all out and, ‘Where did you go? Who were you with?’ ”

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The Valley costar Jax Taylor showed his support for Lally amid his split during a conversation with PEOPLE at the show’s March 14 premiere at Jax’s Studio City. Taylor, 44, announced his separation from his wife of four years, Brittany Cartwright, in February.

“Everybody handles this kind of situation differently,” Taylor said, noting his support for his longtime friend — whom he knew from his modeling days in New York City — and Saniei.

“In fact, you know, [it’s] not just Jesse. I have about a dozen people going through this right now. There’s a lot of people going through what I’m going through right now,” Taylor added. “But we’re handling it the best way we can.”