'Real Housewives of D.C.' Star's Ex-Husband Regrets Filming for the Reality Show

Real Housewives of D.C. cast-member Cat Ommanney’s estranged husband, award-winning photojournalist Charles Ommanney, regrets filming for the Bravo reality show.

The New York Times reports now that Ommanney has moved out of D.C. after almost a decade of success covering the White House for Newsweek, and a short-lived marriage to Cat, he says about the show, “I haven’t seen it, but I’ve seen the previews and I made a promise to myself to not sit and watch my ex-wife.”

He adds, “It’s just too painful. I’ve got eight more weeks of hundreds of Facebook requests from people I don’t know. I’d almost like to go and live in Katmandu. I have very few regrets in my life, but this is the one.”

He points out that prior to the show, performing a Google search on his name would prompt such results as naval admirals dating back to his great-great-great grandfather. Now, having done the show, the search prompts juvenile gossip about the details of his failed marriage.

“Primarily I was embarrassed,” he said. “Secondly, people didn’t want anything to do with it. People were like: ‘Are there going to be cameras there? I don’t want dinner. Are there people from Bravo filming it? Are you miked?’ ”

He continues, “In a way, I was naïve and foolish to sign off on doing this,” adding, “But at the end of the day, it was innocent. I wanted happiness for someone I was in love with. I put all my reservations aside and said: ‘Go for it. Do it if it makes you happy.’ Then I regretted it. I lost touch with everyone, and mix that with my marriage falling apart and the show taking over, it was very sad.”