More than a decade after one of the biggest scandals in Housewives history, Vicki Gunvalson is opening up about her former relationship with Brooks Ayers and revealing that there is still one part of the ordeal she hasn’t been able to move past.
Speaking exclusively with Us Weekly at the Season 20 premiere party for “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” Gunvalson reflected on her highly publicized relationship with Ayers, whose false cancer claims dominated the Bravo series during Season 10.
“I believed him, and who knows what the real story is because I never got to talk to him,” Gunvalson told the outlet. “He left me in the middle of the night, and that was it.”
She added, “I never got closure on that guy, never. And then he got married real quick. … When you give your life to somebody and financially give money to those people, and then all of a sudden they lie to you. It’s hard.”
Vicki Gunvalson Reflects on the Brooks Ayers Scandal
Gunvalson’s relationship with Ayers became one of the most controversial storylines in Bravo history after his claims that he had Stage III cancer came under intense scrutiny from her castmates.
In 2015, Ayers admitted to fabricating medical documents related to his cancer diagnosis, though he maintained that he had been ill. The scandal ultimately led to the end of the couple’s relationship and remained a defining chapter of Gunvalson’s time on “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”
Looking back now, Gunvalson said the experience permanently changed the way she approaches relationships.
“When I love, I love hard, and I trust,” she explained. “Now people say trust and verify. I don’t want to be a detective in a relationship. You tell me something, I’m gonna believe that. And obviously we know what happened with that.”
Vicki Gunvalson Says She’s Found Peace
Although Gunvalson admits she never found the closure she wanted with Ayers, she said she’s in a much different place today.
The longtime Bravo star has been in a relationship with Michael Smith for several years and said her priorities have changed as she’s gotten older.
“As I get older, it’s not just about the love tank. It’s about having peace and having quality relationships,” she said. “Back in my 40s and 50s, it was my love tank. Now it’s like, I love him. I want the best for him. I want him to never be embarrassed by me. He’s a developer. He’s very private, but this is my gig. Just respect it and he does.”
Gunvalson also shared that she’s excited for fans to see her long-awaited full-time return to “The Real Housewives of Orange County” after several seasons away from the main cast.
“I wanted to bring peace and fun back to the franchise,” she said at the premiere event. “It had gone dark for so many years and I was… I didn’t want to come back in that model.”
Season 20 of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” premieres Thursday, July 9, on Bravo.
