The stars of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County have fought, talked about divorces, thrown drinks in each other’s faces (okay, that was just a few times), and generally lived super public lives. But you have to draw the line somewhere, and an OG cast member shared that the network made a baffling decision to air a devastating moment in her personal life.

According to People, Vicki Gunvalson explained in an episode of the Vice series The Dark Side of Reality TV that Bravo’s producers acted poorly when her mom ed away. When Vicki’s daughter Brianna, who fans have gotten to know since the show’s premiere in 2006, attempted to phone Vicki, the star didn’t pick up since she was shooting a scene. After an hour had ed, producers agreed to let Brianna talk to Vicki, who wasn’t pleased about that.

Vicki said, “Let me scream and cry on my own and be mad.” She added, “It was very, very traumatic. I will never forgive Bravo for that.” Vicki also said the producers were “out of line” as they shouldn’t have sat on this tragic news for 60 minutes before relaying it to her.

RHOC fans posted on X that this was a disturbing scene to watch and that Bravo never should have aired it. As People reported, Vicki said back in 2015 when she was on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, “I don’t blame Bravo.” She explained, “I signed up for all areas of my life to be exposed, the good and the bad.” However, given what she’s saying now, it’s possible she changed her mind about that.

Some viewers shared on X that, after this scene aired in 2015, Vicki continued on the show for several more seasons before leaving after season 14. She also appeared as a “friend” on seasons 17 and 18. A few fans think, if Vicki really hated the way that Bravo handled this storyline, why not quit and never look back?

As a huge fan of most Real Housewives cities, I’d argue that perspective is unfair. Agreeing to star on a reality series doesn’t mean wanting every single thing that you go through to be captured on camera. It makes sense that Vicki wanted to hear and process this heartwrenching news in private. I watching RHOC season 10, episode five, “Game Changer,” when Vicki got the call about her mother Joanne Steinmetz while at Shannon Beador’s home. It felt wrong to watch Vicki’s emotional response. I’m sure Brianna would have rather dealt with this without a camera crew as well. It would have been fine to cut the scene and then explain what happened later.

Vicki has been criticial of Bravo’s producers other times. She spilled her POV on a RHOC season 18 scene and said on her My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast that they asked if she would tell Katie she shouldn’t have been gossiping about Heather DuBrow. Vicki said, “Not going to do it. Not my business.” She also said she was “freezing” so she she went home early from the engagemnet party celebrating Ryan Boyajian and Jennifer Pedranti, even though producers hoped she would stick around.

Vicki has talked at length about her distressing health news, her feelings about the current and past Real Housewives of Orange County cast , and the ups and downs of her dating life. Whether she’s your favorite Housewife or not, it’s hard not to empathsize that this was a painful moment that didn’t need to be part of an otherwise fun episode.

For almost two decades, The Real Housewives franchise has graced our airwaves with a never-ending onslaught of petty feuds, high-stakes melodrama and luxurious, eye-watering escapism.

The crown jewel of the Bravo network, The Real Housewives has sustained its loud-mouthed run by offering an insight into the lives of ladies who lunch from regions all across the country, be it the glitz and glamor of Beverly Hills or the frosty mountains of Salt Lake City. 

Spawning countless catchphrases that have seeped into the pop culture vocabulary and creating a universe on par with (or even better than) Marvel’s, The Real Housewives is a touchstone of reality television and society writ large.

In celebration of this beloved franchise (can you tell I’m a fan?), we’re sorting through all the staple iterations of The Real Housewives, ranked from worst to best. 

9. The Real Housewives of Dubai

Given that it is the most recently-launched iteration, RHOD needs some time to establish itself before it can reach the heights of its peers. The first season was entertaining enough, and heralded a bonafide star in the form of castmate Chanel Ayan, but we need to let the friendships develop before anything truly jaw-dropping can occur.  

8. The Real Housewives of Potomac

In its heyday, RHOP certainly would’ve been higher on this list. Seasons one to five are top-tier, and established the ladies of Potomac as somewhat novel given the relative obscurity of their hometown. However, even the most diehard of fans will it that the last few seasons of this once-beloved show have been lacklustre, thanks in large part to an assortment of women who simply refuse to move past their issues (ahem, Gizelle). Bravo’s recent cast shake-up might help this fan favorite franchise rise the ranks once more. 

7. The Real Housewives of New Jersey

I’ll it that having RHNJ so far down the list is bound to ruffle a few feathers, especially given that this iteration is home perhaps the most iconic moment across the entire franchise (Theresa Guidice’s table-flip). But, like RHOP before it, the ladies of New Jersey are suffering from a stalemate that has slowed the momentum of the show, forcing tired storylines to continue without resolution. We hope the most recent season’s lack of a reunion isn’t the final nail in the coffin. 

6. The Real Housewives of Orange County

It’s the franchise that started it all, but it’s also the franchise that suffers from a lack of consistency. RHOC has certainly had its golden years (who can forget the Cancer-gate scandal that rocked the reality TV universe?), but it languished during the pandemic, and its rotating door of castmates in recent years (good riddance, Kelly Dodd) has left it feeling untethered. The return of staples like Heather Dubrow and Tamra Judge, however, has made it feel as though things are looking up.

5. The Real Housewives of Atlanta

This is again a case of the near-perfect earlier seasons making up for the more recent dull ones. RHOA is undoubtedly the funniest of all Housewives franchises, and is home to quotable moments that are surprisingly applicable in everyday life (“gone with the wind fabulous”), but the departure of Bravo icons like NeNe Leakes, Kenya Moore, and Kandi Burruss has left RHOA struggling to rediscover its footing.   

4. The Real Housewives of New York City

Seasons one to ten of RHONY should be studied and hung in the Louvre, but even that isn’t enough of a tribute to the sheer brilliance of this show from 2008 to 2018. Every single Housewife was perfectly cast, delivered hilarious antics, and kept the drama consistently engaging. It also boasted the franchise’s best backdrop in the Big Apple, and created household names like Bethenney Frankel. 

Unfortunately, the declining quality of this unanimously adored franchise saw Bravo’s biggest fall from grace, resulting in a recent reboot with an entirely new cast. While they have Herman Munster-sized shoes to fill, the new ladies of NYC show lots of promise, so here’s hoping those glory days return soon enough.

3. The Real Housewives of Miami

RHOM came back from a years-long hiatus firing on all cylinders. Since its return to screens in 2021, the show has not faltered, somehow outdoing itself with consistently captivating seasons. The cast is pitch-perfect, the drama is enticing, and the Miami lifestyle is fabulously enviable. It’s an underrated iteration, but it deserves all the flowers and then some. 

2. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

Housewives fans should stop and take stock, because we are currently in the midst of RHOSLC’s glory days and we need to savour every minute. Despite entering the Housewives universe somewhat recently, the ladies of Salt Lake City have not yet put a foot wrong. It is undoubtedly the most outlandish franchise — with a cast that feels like a parody or caricature of what it means to be a Housewife — but that’s what makes it so fun. 

Oh, it’s also home to the franchise’s most juicy storylines. Jail time for federal crimes, alleged religious cults, and running troll social media s are all just par for the course in Salt Lake City.

1. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

I will concede that RHOB might not be the most jaw-droppingly dramatic Housewives franchise, but something about it is consistently engaging, to the point where each new season maintains, or sometimes supersedes, the quality of its predecessor.

It gets points for having the starriest and richest cast, from child actors to Bond girls and restaurateurs, as well as for boasting the franchise’s best ratings. When someone wants to start the Herculean task of watching Housewives for the first time, you probably suggest RHOB — and for good reason. 

Are things getting more matrimonial on the latest season of The Real Housewives of Orange County? In the latest preview for the show, we get some hints that Gina  Kirschenheiter and longtime boyfriend Travis Mullens could be tying the knot.

The signs are all there! Romantic locales, a candlelit dinner, and some ribbing over whether Kirschenheiter is going to propose to Travis instead.

Kirschenheiter appeared on the Pay Attention Puh-Lease podcast and gave everyone a little insight on what is (and isn’t) in store for the famous couple.

“[Travis and I] always kick [the idea of marriage] around. We’re very open, as you can see, and we’re very practical, and I think that really factors into this. I think it’s interesting because we’re both trying to be level-headed. We both married young, and obviously selected partners that were not compatible for us. We obviously f***ed that up. Our relationships s*** the bed. And we know that we’re committed to each other, but we are trying to be responsible.”

What an answer, although an honest one. It’s hard to jump into a new relationship when you struggled a lot in the last one. They’ve both been through harsh breakups apparently, so no need to rush into things.

Right now, Kirschenheiter is more concerned with other things. She’s in a “building our life together” phase, she said, adding that the couple has six kids between them.

“We’re never going to split up. We are a family. We are life partners. Eventually, I would love to have a wedding and I would love to spend a bunch of money on a party to celebrate our love, but right now, it’s just not our top priority.”

However it plays out, we’ll find out in the next episode on Wednesday, 8 p.m. on Bravo.