Jeff Lewis Reveals He Had to Lay Off Half of His Employees Due to Coronavirus Shutdown

The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been hard on many businesses across the country, and Jeff Lewis’s design firm is no exception.

On Tuesday, the former Flipping Out star, 50, revealed on his SiriusXM radio show Jeff Lewis Live that he has had to lay off half of his staff at Jeff Lewis Design since the outbreak of the virus has brought his business to an abrupt halt. The other half, he says, have been working from home.

The Bravo alum explained that his business of buying, renovating and selling luxury homes in Los Angeles is “tanking” amid the pandemic as much of the nation has been put under lockdown. He guessed that his ex Gage Edward, with whom he’s currently involved in several lawsuits and a child custody battle, must be struggling with his design projects, as well.

“My design business is tanking right now. So if my business is tanking, his has got to be tanking,” Lewis said. “This is financial suicide.”

Edward previously told PEOPLE, “I cannot comment on pending litigation.”

Lewis and Edward were together for 10 years before separating in January 2019 and making the breakup official in February. Edward was employed by Lewis’s company from 2009 through the end of their relationship, and was his co-star on Flipping Out.

The pair have been embroiled in multiple legal disputes in the year since their split, including an ongoing custody battle over their 3-year-old daughter Monroe.

On Tuesday’s show, Lewis revealed that Edward had filed another lawsuit against him the day before, requesting repayment of $125,000 Edward had loaned Lewis back in 2016.

“I don’t understand it, I don’t get it, I don’t know what he’s doing,” Lewis said of the lawsuit. “I think he’s actually just trying to fight me for the sake of fighting. I think he’s trying to damage me publicly. And I think this is a way of taking a swing at me.”

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Despite the emotional toll, Lewis did say the experience had allowed him to close the door on his relationship with Edward.

“I’ve been very conflicted with my feelings for Gage,” Lewis said. “Once a week I cry about our family… I’ve been sad, I miss our family. But he’s making it so ugly that it’s helping me move on.”

Jeff Lewis Live airs weekdays (12 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy (Ch. 102)

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