Who Is Bernt Bodal? His Career, Girlfriend, & Relationship With Elizabeth Lyn Vargas

Bernt Bodal is a Norwegian-American retired entrepreneur from the American Seafoods Group. Bodal is known for his heroic rise from an immigrant working on a demanding fishing boat to building a multi-million dollar empire.

His personal career trajectory reflects the difficult path: after only 13 years as a laborer on the company’s ships, he rose to the position of CEO. As well as doing the basics, Bodal also received the most frightening insult in the hyper-macho fishing industry: being called feminine.

Look back at how he took on the tough tasks of his early life and made a name for himself. Read also about his not-so-plain-looking relationship with his ex-wife, the famous Real Housewife Elizabeth Lin Vargas from The Real Housewives Of Orange County. Plus find out who he’s seeing now and more.

Bernt Bodal Journey From Norway To Becoming An American Businessman

Bodal, who was born in June 1954, is now around 60 years old. He grew up near Oslo, Norway, where his father was a tram conductor. In an interview, Bernt revealed that his family was not poor, but they were certainly not wealthy. Bodal’s family did not have a car until he was 10 years old, and for a while, they could not afford a television.

His biological parents divorced and his mother and stepfather moved to the US before him. Soon, the Scandinavian boy came to the US too, and thanks to his parents’ connections in the fishing business, he worked as a wicker on a fishing boat in Massachusetts and gradually became a US citizen.

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Bernt Bodal Started Off With Cleaning Fishes

After arriving in the States, Bodal started by cleaning fish guts from machines at a processing plant in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Bodal also cleaned fish aboard a catcher-processor vessel in the Bering Sea. He said he learned everything on the job. After a year, he became a captain. Bodal fished in Alaska for 13 years and became co-owner of a trawler.

How He Became The CEO? 

Bernt joined American Seafoods as a minority partner in 1990 and became president of the firm in 1994.

He and his team then won the exclusive right to buy the company from the owners for around USD 475 million in 1999, with financial backing from a New York equity firm. In January 2000, the former small-town kid became CEO of the company.

By June 2012, Bodal owned 67 % of the company. He later also became one of the board members of Assurance Foreningen Skuld. After more than 25 years of service, the son of a tram conductor retired from American Seafoods in May 2018.

Bernt Bodal Relationship With His Ex-Wife, Elizabeth Lyn Vargas 

As mentioned, Bert Bodal was married to his wife Elizabeth Lyn Vargas. However, the exact dates of the marriage of Bert and his wife are somewhat unclear, as some reports claim that they were married for five years. On the other hand, some reports state that they were husband and wife for 17 years.

Elizabeth’s own Instagram story, which she shared on the date of her divorce, says that she and Bert have been together for 20 years. However, Bodala and Vargas reportedly got married in 2000. Some other sources suggest that they had been dating for two to three years before the wedding.

After their marriage, Vargas and Bodala reportedly lived in La Quinta, California. However, their marriage broke down in 2017.

The Reason Behind Bernt And Elizabeth’s Divorce

Apparently, it was the former sailor’s cheating on Vargas that caused her to file for divorce in April 2017. At the premiere of season 15 of the reality show RHOC, the reality star revealed that not only had Bodal cheated on her, but he also had a child from an extramarital affair.
Vargas said that during the divorce, she and Bodal had quite a difficult time dividing their assets. In the interview, Elisabeth also revealed that the divorce had cost her dearly. The divorce proceedings lasted about three years and were finally finalized by the court in July 2020.

Who Is Bert Bodal Dating Currently? 

According to several reports, he is currently dating his girlfriend Michelle Fox, a businesswoman living in California.

Ms. Fox is the founder of The Rock Your Business. In addition, Michelle is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at SentryHealth.

Although it is unclear when and how the current Seattle resident and Michelle started dating, the last photos of Bodal on Facebook started appearing in early 2020. Bernt, for his part, first named Fox as his partner in July 2019 in a post on Facebook.

Vargas’ former spouse wrote,

“Proud of my girlfriend @michellefox2 for executive producing the first-ever Montreux Legends Club …. huge success with host Mark Goodman of SiriusXM radio Nigel Olsson and Ray Cooper of Elton John’s Band and Will Calhoun of Living Colour.”

The recording has since been deleted.

Although Bernt’s partner Michelle’s Instagram handle is blocked, she has shared many photos of herself and Bodala on her Facebook page. For example, on Bernt’s birthday in June 2020, she wrote a post calling him her “best friend, my one true love, and the person who makes my heart light up every day”.

It seems that Fox also has two children of her own (a daughter and a son), according to her Facebook profile.

Bernt And Michelle Are Already Engaged?! 

Bodal and Fox’s relationship is apparently quite serious. In fact, some sources claim that the two have been engaged for some time.

On the other hand, neither Bernt nor Michelle have confirmed or spoken about their engagement. However, one of Bodal’s Facebook posts (May 2019) hides a photo of Fox with a ring on his left hand.

In fact, the announcement of their meeting and the news of their engagement happened during the RHOC reunion in January 2021. However, Elizabeth knew nothing about Fox and Bodala’s relationship.

Elizabeth Lyn Vargas Vs Michelle Fox

After Elizabeth found out about her ex-spouse’s new girlfriend, she got a little harassed on social media.

The Missouri-born TV personality claimed to have contacted her ex-husband and reported that Bernt had told her that he did not intend to marry anyone in the near future. She also allegedly called and texted her ex-partner several times.

Later, after hearing all of Elizabeth’s comments on social media, Foxx herself climbed over the clouds and told the Bravo star: “Go away and find your life”. She said that since the moment she found out about her and Bodal’s union, Elizabeth has been obsessed with the European-American businessman again.

She also revealed that Leanne has been constantly calling Bernt.

The mother of two added. Fox additionally revealed that she and Bodal had to send a letter to Elisabeth to stop contacting her boyfriend.

Bernt Bodal Has Two Kids From His Other Former Marriage

On paper, Bodal was married before Vargas.

In fact, he has three children from his first marriage. However, Bernt has not mentioned who the mother of his children is. However, Bodal seems to have a great relationship with all his children.

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Bernt Was Also A Musician

The Norwegian was also briefly in a band called Host when he was still living in Norway. In fact, he even recorded three albums with them. He was the bass guitarist.

The father of three originally wanted to pursue a career in music and was a professional musician for five years. From the late 2000s to the early 2010s, Bodal returned to music and played in the White Sox with people like [drummer] Alan White.

In 2012, he revealed that he had started playing for about an hour every day.

Bernt Bodal Net Worth

Bernt Bodal has more than just knowledge of a net worth of more than 200 million US dollars. To begin with, his company reports annual revenues of around $600 million, and Bernt has been its largest shareholder for decades.

Michelle’s prospective fiancé’s luxury extends even further, with jet aircraft, yachts, several properties, and whatnot. When he was married to Elizabeth, Bernt paid $3.5 million for a property in La Quinta, California (near Palm Springs).

But in July 2020, he raised more than $8 million by selling one of his ultra-luxury residences. The property included a cinema, a four-car garage, a greenhouse, a guest house, a swimming pool, a tennis court, and a huge lawn of almost eight acres.

Other Facts 

• In 2012, he starred in the CBS television reality series Undercover Boss. On the show, he was seen spending time on one of his boats working as a fisherman.
• He is qualified as an airline transport pilot.
• His company, American Seafoods Group, has a Falcon 2000 [business jet] which he always used as the captain himself.
• He has many jet-type ratings.
• He has reportedly flown more than 7000 hours and holds several jet-type ratings.
  Bernt is also a partner in the Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp.

Quick Facts About Bernt Bodal