Jennifer Fessler opened up about how she survived a rocky patch in her 25-year marriage to her husband Jeff. In February 2025, the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” “friend of” revealed that she was separated from her husband for nearly two years before they decided to work things out.

Speaking on the “I Do Part 2” podcast on February 20, Fessler said her “life began again” when she reconciled with her husband after a two-year separation. “I feel very, very lucky to have made my marriage work,” she said.

The Fesslers wed on April 10, 1999, in a Jewish ceremony at the Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club in Mamaroneck, NY, per their New York Times wedding announcement. They share a son, Zachary, 24, and a daughter, Rachel, 22.

Jenn Fessler Never Wanted to File for Divorce

On the podcast, Fessler revealed that her marriage was not a “priority” seven years after she exchanged vows with her husband and that the two were not “connecting” on any level at the time.  She also admitted that they both had affairs, noting that she found out about her husband’s affair first.

The couple ultimately separated for nearly two years, during which neither filed for divorce. “I couldn’t divorce him,” Fessler explained. “I thank God because I feel blessed every day that our marriage survived and that, you know, our family is intact. “

She noted that at one point during the separation she had a boyfriend but still worked through her marriage.

“I would, like, lie to my boyfriend and tell him I was going to go into mediation. And meanwhile, I was like meeting Jeff at Chili’s and just talking,” she revealed. “And you know, he was so certain that we were making a mistake the whole time, and I think I was. I also, I knew in my heart that it was a mistake. I just didn’t want to live my life without Jeff Fessler.”

She revealed that the two went to therapy and admitted their mistakes. “We got back together, and life began again,” she said on the podcast.

Jenn Fessler Remains Grateful for Her Marriage

Years after their split scare, Fessler says she is grateful for finding her way back to her husband. When the two marked their 25^th wedding anniversary in 2024, the RHONJ star posted a throwback wedding photo to Instagram and thanked her lucky stars. “Thank you for marrying me, Jeff Fessler. It will never escape me that I don’t deserve you,” she wrote.

And when her husband celebrated his 62^nd birthday in January 2025, Fessler wrote that she definitely “married up.”

“Maybe I was Gandhi in a past life because I clearly don’t deserve the saint that is you,” the Bravo TV personality wrote of her husband. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me…you made dreams I didn’t even know I had I come true.”