The couple announced their separation ahead of the premiere of the 'Vanderpump Rules' spinoff.
Jesse Lally and Michelle Lally's marriage woes are playing out on The Valley.
The reality stars announced their separation ahead of the Vanderpump Rules spinoff's premiere, and now that episodes are airing, fans are getting a look at what led to the breakdown of their relationship.
When ET's Brice Sander spoke to the duo at the show's premiere, they opened up about their relationship struggles.
"There's a lot that happens," Michelle acknowledged of the first season's goings on. "We've been together for a long time and married, but you get to see our real struggles. You're gonna see that we have separated."
In a separate interview, Jesse noted, "The storyline of us working on our marriage is a big part of not only our personal life, but also part of the show."
"Unfortunately, right now Michelle and I are separated, but we're co-parenting, focused on Isabella," he added of their daughter. "Michelle moved out recently, so we're living just a few blocks away. You'll see it unfold throughout the entire season this year."
While Michelle noted that she "was scared at first" to air her relationship drama on TV, she ultimately realized that "it's good to have people realize that they're not the only ones that go through real struggles."
"I want to show that not everything is glamorous and perfect," she said. "I want to show people that marriage is difficult and, you know, some people survive it and some people unfortunately don't."
As for if they'll get back together, Jesse said, "My only concern is Isabella. I hope that we will be best friends raising this beautiful girl. At the end of the day, that's literally all I care about is the baby."
Keep reading to see an episode-by-episode breakdown of the Lallys' marriage woes.
"Welcome to the Valley"
While the premiere episode didn't feature a lot of drama with the couple, Jesse did tell Jax Taylor that Michelle had brought up the idea of separating. Their troubles were further noted when Michelle asked Jesse to check on Isabella and he refused.
"Tit for Tat"
During the second episode of the season, Jesse and Michelle's parenting differences were on full display when they decided to teach their daughter how to ride a bike.
Jesse refused to watch a video Michelle sent him on the topic, prompting Michelle to admit in a confessional, "I didn't know before having a child he didn't have any patience."
In his own confessional, Jesse mused of his wife, "I don't know if she's changed what she wants from me or if I've changed into somebody she doesn't want."
The whole thing, Michelle told the cameras, was one example of the challenges married couples face.
"Nobody tells you how hard it is to sustain a happy marriage while trying to raise a baby and keeping that love and spark alive," she said. "It's a very scary thought that we might not ever get back to the way things were."
Later, Michelle told Nia Booko and Kristen Doute that she wants to go to therapy with Jesse to work on their problems.
"Doubting Doute"
The third episode of The Valley featured Jesse and Michelle speaking to a life coach.
"Our marriage counselor is not a therapist, he's more of a coach," Jesse said in a confessional. "His goal is to make us the best versions of ourselves, and if the best versions of ourselves are in love with each other then our marriage will survive, get better... We're going to get into the depths of our relationship and how to move forward."
In the session, Jesse complained of "constant conflict" in their relationship. Meanwhile, Michelle said that "a lot of needs are not being met," adding that she feels lonely and frustrated. She added that her husband is "very hard" on her and said that she feels "nothing is ever enough" for him.
"We're living more brother and sister as opposed to husband and wife," Michelle said, before admitting that "it's been a while" since she's been attracted Jesse.
"What is sex again?" Jesse questioned in a confessional. "Oh yeah, I watched Pornhub the other day."
The session ended with the life coach encouraging Jesse to be warm and kind to Michelle, who broke down in tears over the situation.
"Capri Chaos"
While the episode started off on a good note for the couple – they laughed together in a way they hadn't "in years," according to Michelle – problems were still present.
Jesse discussed those marital woes with Jax and Danny Booko when they took their kids to the fair, admitting of his relationship, "Right now, it's bad."
"He's like, 'Don't touch her. Don't make comments about her a**,'" Jesse said of his and Michelle's relationship counselor. "Because she said she was uncomfortable when I said how hot she was. We're so far past the compliment thing that she feels like when I say it, they're fake."
That's a long way from how things used to be, as Jesse reminisced, "Michelle used to show up to my house wearing a trench coat and I used to tie her up and pour hot wax down her back."
In contrast, he said, "Now I can't even get a candle lit in my own house without, 'That doesn't smell right.'"
"The 'D' Word"
Michelle and Jesse's marriage woes made up a large portion of the episode, as the former told her pals that it had been "one of my hardest years." Meanwhile, Jesse told the guys that therapy was "a disaster," before shocking them by revealing that Michelle nearly moved out one year ago.
"I was a little blindsided by it," he told the cameras. "I didn't see it coming at all. But after talking about it for a couple hours and me sort of asking for a second chance and asking what she wanted me to focus on, we decided to give it a second chance."
Lately, though, Michelle told Brittany Cartwright that she'd been "re-feeling" the way she felt a year prior, full of "resentment" for being largely left alone to take care of their daughter.
"I do think the constant fighting and bickering and not smiling, I think it's unhealthy for our daughter," Michelle said in a confessional. "So sometimes I think it would be better off that she would see two happy, good friends, as opposed to us together unhappy."
Also contributing to the couple's problems was the fact that Michelle had been hanging out with an unnamed A-list director. While Jesse told his friends it didn't bother him, he admitted that he wouldn't stay in the marriage if Michelle were to cheat.
"If she does something, it's on her," he said. "And then I get to tell Isabella for the next 40 years that her mom f**ked everything up."
At the end of the episode, the couple sat down for a tough conversation, in which Jesse tearfully expressed his want to make their relationship work, and Michelle told her husband, "I'm going to try, but I can't promise anything."
The Valley airs Tuesdays on Bravo.
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