Bernt Bodal Is RHOC Star Elizabeth Lyn Vargas's Ex-husband: What We Know About Him

Bernt Bodal is a multimillionaire retired businessman who was the husband of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star Elizabeth Lyn Vargas for two decades before they finalized their divorce.

In September 2020, Bravo announced that Elizabeth Lyn Vargas would be the newest cast on the Season 15 of "The Real Housewives of Orange County."

However, its old cast members like Shannon Storms Beador, Gina Kirschenheiter, Braunwyn Windham-Burke, Emily Simpson, and Kelly Dodd would return for the new season.

Vargas joined the show after her friend and fellow cast member Dodd brought her on. In no time, she proved that she fit in with the other divas on the show.

During the premiere of Season 15, she revealed that her ex-husband had a baby after he cheated on her. His infidelity led her to file for divorce in 2017.

After their wedding, Bodal and his ex-wife chose to live in La Quinta, a desert resort city in California. Despite their luxurious lifestyle, she claimed that her divorce cost her a lot during the three years it took to finalize it.

Elizabeth Vargas Ex-Husband Bernt Bodal

Bodal is a former musician and a Norwegian-born American former businessman. There is very little information about his family except that his mother and stepfather moved to the US as they had connections in the fishing business.

He later joined them in the US, but instead of joining their business, he decided to work on a fishing boat as one of the deckhands before he became a citizen. One year later, he became a captain.

For another 13 years, he remained in the fishing business and eventually became a part owner of a trawler. In 1990, he joined the American Seafoods company as a minority partner.

After four years, Bernt worked his way up and became president of the then Norwegian-owned company. From being a minority partner, he became a CEO as he bought over 67 percent of the company, the largest seafood organization in the US.

He remained with the company for over two decades before he stepped down as chairman of their Board of Directors. However, as a majority shareholder in the company, he has remained a board member after retirement.

In addition to being a businessman, Bernt was a professional musician when he was younger. He played for the band Høst in the 1970s, and they recorded three albums before they disbanded.

His instrument of choice is the bass guitar, and he has played with Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, Sammy Hagar, Alan White, and more.

Bernt Bodal's New Fiancée

In 2021, during the reunion of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," Vargas discovered that Bodal might have been engaged to another woman, and she was in shock.

When her co-star Braunwyn Windham-Burke informed her that she heard the information from a good friend who was also good friends with Bodal and his fiancée, Vargas said:

"My ex-husband? He has a fiancée now?"

Vargas disputed that Bodal was engaged because she would have known about it. However, based on his posts on Facebook, he had been dating a woman called Michelle Fox though no one knows how long they had been together.

For Fox's birthday in 2021, he released an original song, "My Michelle," with the help of his good friends, Adam Chetwood, Spike Edney, Morten Fredheim, Ole-Tom Torjussen, Ola Aanje, and Anette Hofstad.

In the song, he referred to her as the love of his life. The couple has posed together in different pictures, and his profile shows they got engaged in 2021.

Fox co-founded her company, Rock Your Business. The Ohio University journalism, PR, and marketing graduate also has a Master's in Business Administration.

Her company provides team building and leadership services and rockstars for private events. She is also the executive producer of "The Legends Club Montreux."

Vargas' Emotions about It

After Elizabeth Lyn Vargas expressed her shock about her ex-husband being engaged, Fox took to an Instagram post to vent her frustrations. Fox said:

"We mind our own business — except when someone like this has been constantly attacking to us and is obsessed with talking about Bernt — it’s beyond creepy."

Fox was furious and asked Vargas to move on and stop contacting or talking about Bodal. She also revealed that they had taken legal actions to make a point.

In response to the comment, Vargas stated that she does not know Fox personally and believes Fox has been caught up in the negativity of the world along with others.

Despite being granted the divorce she wanted, "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star stated on the show that the experience shook her. She also cried on the reality show and struggled with talking about it to her fellow cast members.

However, shortly after the court finalized her divorce in July 2020, Vargas took to Instagram to tell her followers that she was happy it was all over.

She revealed that she was confused about her feelings because she was both excited and sad. The TV personality stated that it was the end of an era.

However, after 17 years of being married and divorcing for three, she realized that the last 20 years of her life were a failure, and at the time, she thought the divorce was what she needed.

Despite the mixed feelings, Vargas was excited to transition to a new phase in her life. When she joined the cast of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," she was dating her now ex-boyfriend, a socialite named Jimmy Juarez.