Part two of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” reunion kicked off with Vicki Gunvalson and newcomer Braunwyn Windham-Burke feuding.
Vicki said she found Braunwyn to be boring and felt she was trying too hard to be over-the-top. Gina Kirschenheiter agreed, but Braunwyn maintained she was just being herself.
In giving Andy Cohen an update on her complicated family life, Tamra Judge said she thought her son, Ryan, was back with his baby mama, Sarah. To put it lightly, the two have had a tumultuous relationship over the years, so Tamra didn’t seem thrilled. She did, however, smile as she explained that her relationship with her once-estranged daughter was “better,” but she didn’t want to go into detail. As she spoke, cameras panned over to Kelly Dodd, who was rolling her eyes.
The cast briefly spoke about the sex train rumor involving Kelly that took up the majority of the season. Shannon Beador said she heard it from Vicki, but Vicki said it came from Shannon. That’s the impression Kelly was under, and Tamra seemed to agree.
Tamra was then forced to address the moment she called Emily Simpson “Shrek” while she was out to lunch with Gina. Tamra quickly pointed the finger at Kelly and said she called Emily “Fiona.” Dodd copped to it and maintained she at least said it to Simpson’s face.
Tamra did say she regretted telling Vicki about Kelly’s funeral comment, adding that she was wasted. (Turns out there was tequila in those teacups!) Then Kelly accused Shannon of hiring a private investigator during the latter’s first season as a Housewife, which was in 2011. Shannon maintained she didn’t “have time for that shit.”
The whole Jim Bellino lawsuit came up, and Kelly admitted what sparked her to reach out and offer to be a character witness for Jim (who was suing Tamra and Shannon for defamation) was the leaked footage of Tamra telling Shannon that Dodd pushed her mother down the stairs. Tamra still claims the snippet was edited by a fan and did not make it clear that she was repeating a statement Vicki had made.
Kelly wondered why Shannon was still so angry at her considering she was dropped from the case, but Beador claimed she was still a good “two-to-three years out” from being completely financially free of the situation. She said she had lost four years worth of tuition — “a quarter of a million dollars” — in the legal battle.
When Andy asked Tamra if she could lay out the grounds for the suit, she said she and Shannon were on Heather McDonald’s podcast and were asked some questions about pop culture, their co-stars, etc. When she asked them about Jim and Alexis’ divorce, Tamra said they “answered her questions, and he didn’t like what we said, so he sued us.”
Next, Andy brought up the horrifyingly contentious relationship between Vicki and Kelly. Vicki swore she thought that mean DM Jolie got was crafted by Kelly, who swore that wasn’t the case. Then Vicki doubled down and said, “Too many people, including her brother, have said, ‘Kelly did cocaine.'”
When Kelly denied the claim, Vicki barked back, “Do you not say, ‘I’m gonna go get the big dick and be wet,’ hurts her daughter? A lot hurts her daughter. Jolie is hurt because of your mouth.”
Shannon tried to chime in a few times, which infuriated Kelly. She called Shannon a “drunk.” When the room got silent, she added, “Let’s talk about how your daughter called me at 3 o’clock in the morning — and you [Tamra] know it — [saying] you’re drinking and driving and like hanging out with guys.”
Shannon said she was tired of people accusing her of drinking too much and said she couldn’t have lost 40 lbs if she were consuming all that alcohol. That’s when Dodd alleged it’s because she had liposuction. Shannon swore she didn’t, that it was “body tight.”
“My boyfriend did it. My ex-boyfriend did it,” Kelly insisted, as Andy asked, “Brian Reagan?” Kelly confirmed.
That’s when Shannon confessed she got “blackout drunk” about “eight or nine times” when she was in the thick of her divorce. She said she lost her phone once and only had Kelly’s number memorized by heart, so she had her kids call her. “I was a mess,” Beador said, urging Dodd not to dredge up stuff from two years ago. “Shut the f–k up!”
Kelly came around and said some really complimentary things about Vicki, which made her tear up. Then during the break, Kelly complimented Vicki’s dress, and the two hugged it out. They agreed to be kinder to one another, but we’ve been down this road before, so we’ll have to wait and see.
The episode came full circle when the topic of Braunwyn’s love of raunch and the occasional threesome with her husband came up in conversation. Vicki, once again, maintained that it was her show and that she disapproved of Braunwyn’s behavior.
“Just because I choose to kiss women doesn’t make me classless,” Braunwyn said, but Vicki barked back, “Do it off camera!” Kelly wondered why Vicki didn’t share the same message with Tamra, but her question went unanswered.
Hilarious faux pas of the evening: Tamra said free range instead of free reign, and Kelly said barrade instead of barrage.
Good times!
“The Real Housewives of Orange County” Season 14 reunion concludes Thursday, December 26 at 10 p.m. on Bravo.
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