Influencer Says People Called Her ‘Crazy’ for Letting Husband’s Ex-Wife Move in with Them, but to Her It Was a ‘No-Brainer’ (Exclusive)

Influencer Bunny Hedaya is setting the record straight on why her husband’s ex-wife living with them works for their family, while dispelling rumors of a secret romance.

NEED TO KNOW

In a recent viral video, Bunny Hedaya opened up about the decision to let her husband’s ex-wife move in with them

Despite online speculation that they are a secret throuple, Hedaya says their relationship is completely platonic

Hedaya tells PEOPLE that living together has brought them closer and shown viewers that exes can have a healthy relationship after divorce

Bunny Hedaya’s social media followers are used to seeing her share glimpses of her life as an influencer, entrepreneur, reality TV personality and mother, but one recent family update left the internet shocked and confused.

Earlier this year, Bunny revealed that her husband’s ex-wife, Carrie Charles, had moved into their Tampa, Fla., home while her own house “right down the road” underwent a lengthy renovation.

The unconventional arrangement quickly sparked questions about how the living situation works — and even speculation that the three were secretly a throuple. But for Hedaya, there is nothing scandalous about the situation; in fact, it’s quite the opposite.

“We’re not sleeping together and you can have a very good relationship with previous partners even if the kids are grown and moved on to their own lives,” Hedaya, 35, tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Hedaya has been married to 58-year-old entrepreneur Harry Hedaya for 12 years. By the time they met, she notes that Harry and Carrie, also 58, had already been divorced for about a decade and had settled into a comfortable co-parenting dynamic, making it easier for Bunny to develop a strong connection with the mother of his two older children. Bunny and Harry later welcomed a son of their own.

Bunny admits that her relationship with Carrie has slowly evolved over the years, with periods when they were more in sync than others. In recent years, though, the two have grown particularly close.

“We’ve gone through phases over the years, but the last two years have been great,” Bunny says.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The decision for Carrie to stay with the couple was initially supposed to be temporary. Her home renovation was originally expected to take around four months, but the project has continued far longer than planned.

According to Bunny, the contractors believe the work could ultimately take more than a year to complete, meaning Carrie’s stay with the family is expected to continue for longer than the few months she has already been there.

That, however, doesn’t seem like an issue for Bunny. Instead, she has learned to embrace Carrie’s presence — especially given that they all have their own busy schedules.

“She really needed somewhere to stay and asked me and my husband if it was okay if she lived with us,” Bunny reveals, noting that Carrie often splits her time between Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico.

“I homeschool my son so we travel around the whole entire world. Me and my son are gone for chunks of time at a time. It just made sense because we are all over the place,” she explains.

When everyone happens to be under the same roof, Bunny says there is little of the drama outsiders might expect. Though Harry and his ex-wife might bicker over something as mundane as the coffee machine, Bunny says she and Carrie “don’t have any disagreements.”

The home is large enough that everyone has their own bedroom and bathroom, and Carrie is frequently busy with work, meetings, events and other commitments. “[Carrie’s] gone most of the time when she’s here,” Bunny shares. “Sometimes I forget she’s even here.”

If anything, Bunny says the unusual living arrangement has actually strengthened her family.

Carrie has grown particularly close to Bunny and Harry’s 9-year-old son — taking on a role that feels more like an “aunt” — while she and Bunny have developed a connection that goes well beyond the circumstances that first brought them together.

“[Carrie] feels more like my husband’s sister, which I know most people will say sounds weird, but that’s definitely the type of relationship that they have now,” Bunny says.

That closeness, however, has made the internet’s speculation about their secret romantic arrangement particularly amusing to Bunny, who tells PEOPLE that there is no hidden relationship between the three.

“[Carrie] actually just got married a month ago in Italy and she’s very happy in her relationship and so are we,” Bunny emphasizes. “It really feels like she’s just an extended part of our family. I know that she is his ex-wife, but she really feels like an older sister to me.”

Their friendship is meaningful enough that Carrie was the first person Bunny allowed to read her working memoir, giving her a trusted confidante who can understand parts of her life from experience.

Related Stories

In the grand scheme of things, Bunny says she has little interest in letting outside assumptions define a relationship that works for them.

Her message to viewers is that divorce does not have to permanently turn former partners into enemies, particularly when families have grown and circumstances have changed.

“I think it’s a really good example of everyone in this situation being mature and being able to say, ‘Hey, we don’t have to hate each other after a divorce and sometimes it can be even better than it originally was,’” Bunny tells PEOPLE.

Celebrity

Influencers