Heather Dubrow is all in on Vicki Gunvalson’s return to The Real Housewives of Orange County — but how does she think it is going to change the show’s dynamic?
“What I hope is — and what I’m manifesting for us is — that we’re moving forward,” Heather, 56, exclusively told Us Weekly at BravoCon 2025 on Saturday, November 15, after the network confirmed Vicki, 63, as a full-time Housewife for season 20 of the OG franchise.
Heather, who was a part of the solid for seasons 7 through 11 before making her comeback in 2021 during season 16, revealed she “loves” that RHOC has had “all these people come back,” including Tamra Judge starting in season 17 and Gretchen Rossi for season 19.
“It’s very nostalgic, and I feel there could possibly be a few of that in season 20 too,” she teased. “But, really, that is a couple of group of friends, and the conflict and determination comes between us.”
Heather mused, “So where are we now? And where are we going forward? Where are we entering into the longer term? We’re not going backwards any more.”
During “The Bravos” on the BravoCon panel on Friday, November 14, Andy Cohen surprised Vicki and fans alike when he joined her on stage to ask a vital query.
“Vicki, would you join us as a Housewife for Season 20?” the producer asked before handing her a coveted RHOC orange.
Vicki happily accepted, later telling Us she had no clue Cohen, 57, was going to increase the invitation to return to the show so publicly.
“When he asked me about season 20, I used to be really somber going on the market because I believed, ‘That is my last time on stage. That is my last time with BravoCon. They’re putting me out to pasture,’” Vicki confessed on Saturday. “‘I’m going to kick and scream the entire way out, but I’m going to do it.’ After which, when he asked me, it took some time for me to know that that is my next life now for not less than a 12 months.”
Vicki was an original RHOC solid member and continued on the show for 14 seasons before announcing her departure in January 2020.
While the best way her return was announced caught fans by surprise, Heather told Us on Saturday, “Am I shocked that she’s coming back for season 20? No. I feel it’s so exciting.”
Alexis Bellino, Vicki Gunvalson, Gretchen Rossi, Heather Dubrow and Tamra Judge. Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Heather noted it’s “so great” to be reunited with Vicki. Heather revealed that, amid the news, she and Tamra, 58, did a photograph shoot with Vicki, who would “not put the orange down.”
“She wouldn’t even allow them to take it for a photograph. She’s like, ‘Are you gonna give it back? Who’s got it?’” Heather teased. “It’s great. It’s really fun.”
When the Us reporter joked that Vicki once said she had a “long list of demands” before she’d come back to RHOC, Heather laughed.
“Here [is her] long list of demands: ‘Am I respiratory? Do I actually have a pulse? Did you ask? Yes, I’m in,’” Heather teased.
In keeping with Emily Simpson, Vicki Gunvalson’s The Real Housewives of Orange County return brought an underlying animosity. While speaking with Us Weekly at BravoCon 2025 on Friday, November 14, Emily, 49, revealed that she recently bumped into Vicki, 63, on the red carpet. “She was, like, ‘Well, I still don’t trust her. I don’t trust […]
Vicki’s return because the “OG of the OC” comes after she and Tamra — each a part of the Tres Amigas with Shannon Beador — mended fences following their recent feud.
“We’ve had a whole lot of ups and downs in our 20 years. I all the time say we’re like sisters,” Tamra exclusively told Us on November 5. “It’s that love-hate relationship on a regular basis. I’m talking sisterly love, like, you’ve got little arguments. After which, after all, being on a show together, there’s all the time ups and downs — especially the kind of show that we were on together.”
Despite putting their differences aside, Tamra told Us at BravoCon that she was “totally surprised” that Vicki was rejoining the solid.
“No, I didn’t realize it was gonna go down,” Tamra told Us on Saturday in Las Vegas. “I’ve been, you understand, spending just a little time with Vicki currently and talking together with her. And I’m like, ‘Have you ever got any news?’ You understand, normally we don’t get news about next season till about December or January. So she’s like, ‘No, I haven’t heard anything.’”
Tamra added that she is “so joyful” Vicki is getting her orange back.