Ally Lewber Reveals Why Her Breakup With James Kennedy ‘Needed to Happen’

Ally Lewber and James Kennedy began dating in January 2022, but after three years together, the two broke up in January 2025 after Kennedy was arrested.

And for the first time since their breakup, Lewber spoke with PEOPLE about her side of the story, explaining exactly what happened on the night that Kennedy was taken into police custody on suspicion of domestic violence.

Why The Public Eye On Ally Lewber’s Relationship Was A ‘Wake-up Call’

When the two first met, Lewber was aware of Kennedy’s “past with the alcohol,” but he was sober and she admitted she “loved that about him.”

Even after this incident, Lewber told PEOPLE that she “probably” would have stayed with Kennedy. However, because the incident was so public “it made me face the facts.”

“It was just a lot of wake-up calls that needed to happen, but it wasn’t easy in the moment,” Lewber said.

Lewber no longer communicates with Kennedy, but she is wishing him the best going forward.

“[I was] definitely resentful and upset,” she explained. “But then, I mean, even the night that he got arrested I immediately just felt bad for him. That probably sounds crazy, but it’s like, I know that he wishes he didn’t do that. I know that he wishes that he was more powerful than the drink. So it just makes me feel sad, because it is too bad. It’s sad for everyone involved. But I’m proud of him now, and I believe he’s still going to AA and working the program, and so I’m excited for him to just heal for himself.”

Ally Lewber Explains What Happened After Kathy Hilton’s Annual Christmas Party

Lewber and Kennedy were attending Kathy Hilton’s annual Christmas party, where Lewber got to do “one of the coolest jobs” and read Hilton’s birth chart. However, as this was happening, Kennedy was drinking behind her back after having been sober for a year. She called him out in the car ride home and as the two were fighting outside, someone called the cops.

Lewber described herself as being “not hurt physically,” but “emotionally, yes.” She insists that the entire altercation was just verbal.

After the incident, she revealed she needed some space.

“It was initially totally like, ‘Let me just take space,’” Lewber told PEOPLE. “I was still just trying to regulate his emotions and not upset him and upset myself. Because I was heartbroken and sad, and this was around Christmas, and everything was just great. Everything was going so well. I told that to my therapist, too. I was like, ‘I felt like I was living in a fairy tale. Everything was great.’ And she was like, ‘No it wasn’t, because he was lying to you. So it wasn’t real.’”

“I never was physically hurt and I never felt unsafe,” she added. “I think it was more just walking on eggshells and feeling anxious about, when is his next blow-up going to be? And I didn’t even realize this really until I was out of the house for a while, but just how my nervous system just feels normal again. It was always kind of anxious to make sure that he doesn’t get upset. Monitoring someone’s behavior is not healthy.”

If someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.