Braunwyn Windham Filed For Divorce From Sean Burke After He Allegedly 'Emptied' Joint Bank Accounts

Braunwyn Windham-Burke chose to end her marriage to Sean Burke after he allegedly took out all the money in their joint bank accounts.

Windham-Burke filed for divorce from her estranged husband in October 2022 after 23 years of marriage. The Bravo star listed "irreconcilable differences" as grounds for the divorce.

In a recent interview with Page Six, she talked in detail about what led to the decision, despite previously saying they would not divorce even after they separated.

The former "Real Housewives of Orange County" star claimed that "the reason I did file for divorce" was that Burke allegedly emptied their joint bank accounts.

"When you're still legally married, there's not a lot to protect you," she told Page Six from the exes' shared home in Newport Beach, California.

"So Sean had emptied out our joint bank accounts unbeknownst to me," she alleged. "Literally, one day I woke up and I had no access to any of my cards or any money. And that was why I filed for divorce."

Burke responded to his ex's claims, telling the outlet that "any funds that were moved were used to pay family bills."

Windham-Burke, who came out as a lesbian in December 2020, shares seven children with Burke — Bella, 22, Rowan, 20, Jacob, 17, twins Caden and Curren, 9, Koa, 8, and Hazel, 5.

The former couple told Page Six in a separate joint interview with Windham-Burke's new girlfriend, Jennifer Spinner, that they hoped to finalize their divorce "soon." However, they have not yet reached agreements over custody and spousal support.

In her recent solo interview, the reality star said that it wasn't easy establishing financial independence while caring for seven kids.

"I had a pretty cushy thing going and now it's not," Windham-Burke told Page Six. "My life is hard."

In a court filing in December 2020, Windham-Burke alleged that Burke had "stopped providing" financial support for their family and that she had to rely on her parents' help for their "basic living expenses." Nothing much has changed in the past months, she claimed.

"As of right now, if he doesn't send me money — because legally he's not required to — then I can't buy food or groceries and my parents have been supporting me," she claimed. "He sends very little. I have five kids still at home that I'm taking care of and he doesn't send enough to cover groceries."

She added, "He'll be like, 'If they need food, I'll go get it.' Or, 'If you need this, you can leave and I'll do it.'... For 28 years, he was completely in control of everything. That was 100% him and I allowed that."

Windham-Burke told Page Six that she now participates in paid social media campaigns and has been working at her stepfather's company to earn money.

Things between the two appeared to be still fine when Windham-Burke and Burke parted ways in 2021. She even said they were doing well in co-parenting their children and would not divorce.

"It's great. I mean, we really are nailing the co-parenting thing. We are best friends. We've been together for 26 years. He understands that this has been a dream of mine forever, so he's supportive!" Windham-Burke previously told Us Weekly.

She continued, "I don't think we're going to get divorced, honestly. I truly don't think we're going to. We get along great, we have an open marriage — it's working for us. We're happy."