Fans of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” have been taken aback by an online rumor claiming that fan-favorite Housewife Vicki Gunvalson won’t be returning for the reality show‘s upcoming 21st season.
As the speculation continues to spread, Gunvalson is now breaking her silence about the claim.
Breaking Her Silence
On Saturday, October 3, Gunvalson took to Instagram to confront the rumor head-on.
“Well, this is news to me 😂🍊,” she wrote in the caption, accompanying a video in which she’s seen stating, “Not true.”
Continuing, she wrote, “But in all seriousness, no decisions have been made yet. So back to your regularly scheduled programming… whether that’s whooping it up or working. Whichever one y’all were doing… for me, it’s back to surgery recovery 🙏🙏.”
She also shared a series of other videos in which she jokes about the rumor. “Showing up to film RHOC despite rumors suggesting otherwise,” read one, while another was titled, “When you read something on the internet about yourself that’s entirely untrue.”
Accompanying those videos was a copy of the speculative report, which read: “Between filming ‘UGT’ & Season 20 back to back, and being off the show for many years, Vicki has learned her desire to come back wasn’t all she hoped for. Despite being invited back, Vicki is deciding not to not return for Season 21. Bravo is leaving it up to her, but mutually they agree she will enjoy being involved with the network more through ‘WWHL,’ BravoCon and occasional events rather than as a Housewife.”
How the Rumor Began
According to reports, the speculation began via a Bravo fan’s Instagram account.
That report claimed that Gunvalson had been offered a spot in Season 21, but decided to turn it down.
The rumor spread like wildfire throughout the internet, with fans fretting that she’d be leaving the show a second time (she previously exited after Season 13, and returned as a full-fledged Housewife for Season 20).
A Breakout Star
When “The Real Housewives of Orange County” premiered back in 2006, Gunvalson quickly emerged as the show’s breakout star.
According to former Bravo executive and “Real Housewives” mastermind Andy Cohen, that was something he hadn’t expected.
“I don’t know that in Season 1 we would’ve put all our money on Vicki being the housewife whose story we’re still telling,” Cohen admitted in an interview with The New York Times for a feature about the 20-year legacy of the “Real Housewives” franchise.
“As much as her life has changed, she has not changed,” he added, noting that some of the women cast in a “Real Housewives” series tend to exaggerate their personalities whenever the camera is turned on.
That, he observed, has never been the case for Gunvalson. “Some people feel like they have to do a different personality when they’re on,” Gunvalson told the Times. “I don’t, because I can see right through it.”
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Vicki Gunvalson Responds to Rumor She’s Exiting ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’