Jeff Lewis Reveals His Daughter Was Rejected by Private School as He Faces Backlash from 'Superspreader' Event

Jeff Lewis believes his 5-year-old daughter Monroe has been on the receiving end of consequences for choices he's made as a public figure — but he insists he needs to "take the high road"

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Published on December 30, 2021 05:09 PM

Jeff Lewis is getting real about how his notoriety has seemingly affected his 5-year-old daughter, Monroe.

On his SiriusXM radio show Jeff Lewis Live this week, the former Flipping Out star shared that one of Monroe's applications to a private school had recently been denied.

This comes on the heels of a revelation this past Monday that Lewis, his staff and some of his famous friends contracted COVID at a "superspreader" holiday party he hosted. Though Lewis didn't share the date of the rejection or explicitly connect the school rejection to this week's news coverage, he has been facing a considerable amount of backlash since the news broke.

Lewis, 51, explained on Tuesday's show that his ex and co-parent Gage Edward, 36, now fears the criticism will hinder Monroe's "four or five" other private school applications.

"Gage and I in the last week or two have been getting along famously and coparenting nicely until all those articles [about the party] came out," he said. "And now Gage is concerned Monroe is not going to get into private school."

"This is very bad timing for us," he added. "We've heard back from one school, and they got back to us right away. They said, 'We know who you are. We know who Monroe is and... we are not interested in Monroe.' That's what they said."

"She's a f---ing angel," Lewis continued on Wednesday. "Why would you deny her? She has so much to offer to that school."

Jeff Lewis and Gage Edward with daughter Monroe. Jeff Lewis/Instagram

This isn't the first time Monroe has faced difficulties in school.

Back in 2019, Lewis revealed his only child had been expelled from the prestigious Montessori preschool she had been attending. According to Lewis, administrators at the elite institution came to the decision after they received complaints over negative comments Lewis had made about the school on his radio show.

Those included criticisms Lewis had lobbied about a "Back to School Night" for parents. Lewis also read two internal emails from parents and mocked them (without using their full names).

"I take full responsibility," Lewis said at the time. "I am really, really sorry I feel terrible about what happened. I know how it has affected Monroe. I will never do this again."

"If I'm going to s--- talk, I'm going to do it off the air, obviously," he added.

It appears Lewis has learned his lesson. He said this week that while "no one has said yes yet" — and there are still interviews to be done — he's choosing to "take the high road" because doesn't want any issues with other schools that might be interested in admitting Monroe.

"Things can get real ugly where I can start naming the school, naming [the administrator] — but I wouldn't do that because I'm taking the high road," Lewis said on Wednesday. "That's not a threat."

Still, he admitted there was one good side to the headlines. "More than likely there's going to be some slip-ups with me, so we should weed it out now," he admitted on Tuesday. "Who's okay with this? Who's not okay with this? If you're not okay with this, I'd rather hear about it now that 6 months into kindergarten…."

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And if that doesn't work, Lewis joked about having a backup plan.

"I did ask Gage, 'What are the public schools like in your neighborhood?' Because he just moved to a really nice building in Beverly Hills so maybe it's all going to work out," Lewis said on Tuesday. "Maybe we'll be in a nice public school system. I don't think they could kick me out!"

Lewis is still recovering from the breakthrough COVID he contracted at the 30-person party on Dec. 21.

The house flipper had a fever that reached 104 degrees. Other guests — including co-host Megan Weaver, assistant Shane Douglas, actress Monika Casey, Shahs of Sunset star Mercedeh Javid Feight and Lewis' on-again, off-again, on-again boyfriend Scott Anderson — all tested positive too.

"I don't regret [it], by the way," Lewis said on Monday of the event, which was held at Real Housewives of Miami alum Lea Black's Los Angeles home. "That was an epic party. It was so worth almost dying for!"

Despite the backlash, the reality star claimed he had done everything to ensure everyone was safe, even hiring a nurse to test every guest before they went in.

"People are saying we're reckless and stupid. No we're not, f---ers," Lewis said. "We were all vaccinated and we had a nurse there testing all of us before we even went in the door. … I thought we were being responsible."

Until he's fully recovered, Lewis said he's going to continue distancing from Monroe, who has been staying with Edward.

"I don't want her to get sick and I also don't want to take care of her because I don't have any nannies," Lewis joked, explaining that a few of his housecleaners and nannies who work for him had also contracted COVID.