Jeff Lewis claimed on Friday that he and Jenni Pulos have been faking it for the cameras on "Flipping Out."
Jeff got emotional on his SiriusXM radio show "Jeff Lewis Live," as the celebrity house-flipper confirmed news reports that the two had parted ways personally as well as professionally and that Jenni had not been working for Jeff Lewis Design for several years now. (Viewers were not previously privy to this information.)
"I want to be honest with my listeners and I want to be honest with my viewers, because I respect my viewers and I do have something to apologize for," the 48 year old said.
"I have always claimed that 'Flipping Out' is a true authentic un-produced show. It is. However, Jenni has not worked for me — she has not been working for me for several, several seasons," he explained. "And I apologize because it is the one inauthentic thing about the show."
Jeff continued, "She is employed by Bravo. She shows up the day of filming, she leaves the day we are done filming. She doesn't work for me seven months out of the year. She's not employed by me. I don't pay her. She's not on my payroll."
The show premiered on Bravo in July 2007, and the 11th season starts on Sept. 11.
While "Flipping Out" is about Jeff and his employees, Jenni, 45, had been an important part of the series since the beginning as his assistant. She is also an executive producer on the show, along with Jeff.
Jeff explained that out of fear for the show's continued success, they continued to keep on Jenni as an employee, i.e., the dynamic relationship they shared was such great chemistry. "I was afraid that if she left my office, people wouldn't watch," he said.
Apparently, according to Jeff, the two went their separate ways professionally when he learned that Jenni had "other objectives" and wasn't interested in helping him grow the business.
"She said she had given up her acting career to work for me," he said on his radio show. "That really hurt my feelings because I felt like I have done nothing but accommodate her for her auditions and meetings and whatnot. And initially I was very hurt and I was put on the defense. I understand that she spends a lot of time with me. It's very possible she hasn't been able to go on certain auditions and maybe she hasn't been able to have the opportunity of booking a movie or a show or whatever, but I have been very, very flexible. We elected … to have her move on from Jeff Lewis Design."
"I'm pretty sure they're not going to keep picking up 'Flipping Out' if she's not on the show, and she's not on the show," he also said.
On Thursday, PEOPLE exclusively reported that the pair were no longer working together and had ended their almost 20-year friendship.
According to multiple People sources, the sad moment was filmed and will be featured on the 11th season.
The duo allegedly haven't spoken in months.
"It's sad," a source told People. "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. They'll never come back from this. It's over."