Man charged with stabbing to death his TV reality star girlfriend

The man charged with stabbing his girlfriend Loredana Nesci to death was 'afraid' and 'intimidated' by the reality TV star, a friend of the couple has told Daily Mail Online.

Real estate broker Todd Bernstein, who worked with the pair on a handful of property deals tells Dily Mail Online that suspected killer Robert Reagan is a 'sweet guy', but his girlfriend was the 'boss' and 'definitely wore the pants' in the relationship.

'Robert was intimidated by Loredana which makes this all the more surprising. 'While it's sad she's not with us any more, she was bossy, bitchy, dangerous, a real piece of work.

'She was also a tactical fighter, she trained, she kick boxed, she used to be a cop.

'Yes they were in love, but he was afraid of her, he told me as much.'

This comes as Reagan's attorney said in a statement that he killed Nesci in self-defense as he wrestled a hunting knife away from her.

Lawyer Shepard Kopp says it was in fact Nesci who attacked him with the knife first and Reagan defended himself.

And Daily Mail Online can also reveal that handsome suspect Reagan was once a supermodel in the late 1980s appearing in a string of high end advertising campaigns for the likes of Hugo Boss, Armani, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

Bernstein said he first met the former male model turned building contractor when he was renovating a property in Tarzana in 2013.

'I remember speaking to Robert outside the house I was selling, we were talking about the project,' he said.

'Then he told me Loredana Nesci was handling the deal and asked if I knew her.

'I said I didn't and he just said: 'She's tough, she's a killer in business, she's a killer attorney, a badass. I'm afraid of her and I'm her boyfriend.'

Bernstein said Reagan worked full time as a contractor renovating houses while lawyer Nesci - who starred in her own show Legal Diva - would handle the legal side of the property deals.

He said the pair had been renovating their home in Redondo Beach but Reagan had told him that he rarely found the time to finish the building work because he was always so busy.

Bernstein said: 'They weren't wealthy people and as you can see in the show they lived in the garage while the renovations were carried out.

'Robert never had enough time during his day to finish the house as he was working on other projects, so it's no surprise they argued about the renovations.

'She was horrible to him, but he loved her and was stuffed because he didn't have a lot of money.

'I did a real estate deal through Loredana and she was really short with me on the phone, aggressive, she was like, 'are you gonna sell the f***ing house or what', she was really gruff, really pushy.'

Mr Bernstein, who said the couple has a teenage son called Rocco, concedes that he doesn't know what happened the night Nesci died, adding: 'Robert is a very sweet guy, he was always real accommodating, he helped me a lot. He said to me, 'Listen, Loredana's really smart, but you've got to talk to her a certain way', I quickly found out what he was talking about.'

In a statement Reagan's attorney Shepard Kopp said Nesci, a bodybuilder and former fitness competitor, attacked her boyfriend with a hunting knife.

'She was also an avid bodybuilder, and was exceptionally strong. She attacked Robert with a hunting knife in the midst of a domestic dispute,' he said.

'Robert tried to disarm her... and in the intense struggle that ensued she tragically suffered a fatal wound.

'Loredana Nesci was a former LAPD officer, highly trained in the use of deadly weapons.'

While defending himself against her assault with a deadly weapon, Reagan tried to disarm her, and in the intense struggle that ensued, she tragically suffered a fatal wound. Robert is not guilty of committing any criminal offense,' he added

Friends told ABC that Nesci had a tougher side but she was never violent.

'Loredana was just the nicest person you have ever met,' said friend Tori Moorhead.

'She helped so many people. You'd come in and ask her for help and she would never tell you no and it was never about money with her clients.'

Nesci and Reagan were heard arguing before she was found dead in her Los Angeles home, Dailymail.com exclusively revealed last week.

On Wednesday morning, 47-year-old Loredana's body was found in her Redondo Beach home, and Robert, 51, was arrested on suspicion of murder and held on $1m bail.

And neighbors of the pair reveal they had a fiery relationship that in the final month of her life turned into regular rows.

Neighbor Adam Gorelick, 28, revealed that he overheard the couple shouting at each other about renovations for the beachside property.

He also shared that he overheard loud, sex noises coming from the property the night before Loredana was found dead.