Why did Lenny and Lisa Hochstein from ‘Real Housewives of Miami’ divorce?

The Real Housewives of Miami star Lisa Hochstein and her estranged husband, Dr. Lenny Hochstein, are in the midst of a divorce now, and both parties have fired social media shots at each other during the messy legal proceedings.

Lisa and Lenny Hochstein share two children, 8-year-old son Logan and 4-year-old daughter Elle, and their life together as a family was well-documented on RHOM. In May 2022, fans were shocked when Dr. Lenny Hochstein filed for divorce from Lisa while season 5 of the Bravo show was still filming. Viewers later saw a jaw-dropping hot mic moment in the season where Lenny Hochstein told a friend about his intention to leave his wife.

Why are Lisa and Lenny Hochstein separating?

The first signs that Lisa and Lenny Hochstein, who got married in 2009, were in a bad place in their marriage, came in early May 2022. The two showed up at a Miami nightclub separately on May 11, 2022, and Page Six reported that the plastic surgeon was there partying with model Katharina Mazepa. At the time, Dr. Lenny told the publication in an email that they were not breaking up.

That was short-lived, however, as the RHOM star confirmed to People on May 16, 2022, that the couple was separating. Lisa Hochstein told the publication in a statement that she was “blindsided by his behavior and reckless handling of the situation.” At the same time, Lenny Hochstein confirmed that the couple was getting a divorce although neither had filed yet because their lawyers were still negotiating the details.

In the same statement, he confirmed his relationship with Mazepa but asserted, “Nothing happened between us until we decided on the divorce, and Lisa was aware of my plans before anything happened between Katharina and myself.” The plastic surgeon filed for divorce on May 23 and cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason.

More details about their divorce came out when season 5 of RHOM premiered, with Lisa Hochstein asserting that her husband left her for Mazepa. Both Mazepa and Dr. Lenny Hochstein, who are now engaged, denied the overlap in relationships.

At the RHOM season 5 reunion, Lisa Hochstein admitted that there were issues in the marriage concerning how much money she spent funding her lifestyle as well as her late nights partying. However, she claimed that her estranged husband also partied a lot and didn’t think that either issue warranted a divorce filing.

Perhaps the most shocking moment in their separation came during season 5 of RHOM, when Dr. Lenny Hochstein was caught in a hot mic moment telling his friend about his intention to leave Lisa. During that moment, he told his newly single male friend, “In a couple of months, I might be single, too.” When prompted for more details, the surgeon said the couple was having “the same [issues] it’s always been, you know, ‘I do anything I want, whenever I want, and you stay home and go to work and come back.’”

“Are you still sleeping with her?” Lenny Hochstein’s friend asked him in response. “No. You know why?… Because then I would be cheating on who I really care about,” Lenny Hochstein admitted.

At BravoCon 2023, Lisa Hochstein revealed to Us Weekly that the divorce proceedings were still ongoing, and nothing had been finalized yet.