Shannon Beador Has Not ‘Given Up on Love’ After John Janssen Split but Has 'Zero Desire' to Date Right Now (Exclusive)

Shannon Beador isn't ready to give up on romance.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Real Housewives of Orange County star, 60, opened up about her mindset on dating following her November 2022 split from John Janssen, 61. She says she hasn't started dating again yet, which she considers a sign of "growth" for her.

"I think because my entire life, I'm a relationship girl and I want to be in a relationship, and I have zero desire right now. So who would've thought?" Beador explains of her current single status.

But that doesn't mean she has sworn off relationships for good. "I haven't given up on love at all," she insists. "I still have the dream to be in a partnership with somebody. I don't know that I've ever really had that. So we'll see."

As for Janssen, whom she dated for three and a half years before he ended things, Beador tells PEOPLE, "I do not miss the relationship at all. And as I'm able to look back and see so many parts of it, I'm grateful that it did end."

In fact, she says, she wishes the pair had split sooner. "I am frustrated that it lasted as long as it did. I feel as though I just wasted those years," she explains. "But we were not meant to be together."

In a shocking twist for viewers of the Bravo reality series, Janssen quickly moved on with RHOC's Alexis Bellino — who, after starring as a full-time cast member in seasons 5 through 8 of the show, has returned as a friend of the housewives for season 18 — leaving Beador feeling a lack of closure on her own relationship with Janssen.

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"Do I have closure? No, because he called me and he said, 'You've ruined my life and my family's life by how public you are. And I'm a private person,' " Beador recounts to PEOPLE. "But six weeks later, he started dating Alexis Bellino and now is doing red carpet interviews at Oscars parties. So that's completely contradictory to what he said, but … we're done and it's what it is."

In the premiere episode of season 18 on Thursday, July 11, Bellino, 47, addressed her relationship with Janssen and whether she felt nervous about confronting Beador.

"Here's the thing," Bellino said during a dinner with costars Heather Dubrow and Emily Simpson. "I have no ill will. I just want to squash the elephant in the room. I'm just not going to play into [Beador's] spiraling."

Later, at a party thrown by Dubrow, 55, Bellino and Beador finally came face to face, and Beador started the conversation by claiming that Bellino was involved in her ex-husband Jim Bellino's 2018 defamation lawsuit against her and Tamra Judge.

"I've been upset that you were involved in the lawsuit where your husband sued me as a single mom for three years," she explained. "But for three years, I went through such emotional and financial difficulty."

"I lost $300,000 defending myself for something that I didn't even do, and you started the lawsuit by sending a cease and desist letter. So in my eyes, you're part of it, Alexis," Beador continued.

Alexis denied any involvement in the lawsuit and instead told Beador that their issues were rooted not in the legal situation but rather in her relationship with Janssen.

"I know this is uncomfortable for both of us, when you're the ex and I'm the new," Alexis said.

"None of it is the root of the problem," she continued, referring to the lawsuit. "The root of the problem is you're mad that I have a boyfriend and you're not going to win the battle with him. You will not."

After Beador said she could "dig up" the original cease and desist letter to prove Alexis' involvement in the legal drama, Alexis again accused Beador of being hung up on her romance with Janssen.

"I think what the real issue is here is that I have your ex-boyfriend," she said. "That's what the real issue is. So guess what? Move on. We're moving forward in this relationship."

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The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.