Not letting it get her down — anymore! Vicki Gunvalson wasn’t offered an orange for The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 — but the reality star is still thrilled for her friend Tamra Judge’s return.
“Of course I’m excited for her. I would be a bad friend if I wasn’t,” Gunvalson, 60, said during an appearance on E!’s Daily Pop on Thursday, August 18. “Yes, I have FOMO [fear of missing out]. I’m like any other woman that would be feeling that way.”
The Coto Insurance founder, who previously appeared on the series from 2006 to 2019, recalled going through various emotions when she first heard the news. “It’s been three or four weeks later that [Tamra] called me and told me she’s going back on,” she added. “The main thing I did was cry. I didn’t get the call [to come back].”
For Gunvalson, getting to reunite with Judge, 54, on screen during season 2 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip was a career highlight.
“Tamra and I had our nightly recaps in the bed every night, for at least an hour to three hours, and of course, they can’t show that, because it would be too boring and long, but that was really our reset time, [we] talked about the day, we talked about other girls — who we liked, who we didn’t like,” she shared.
Gunvalson’s comments come one month after Judge confirmed she would be returning to RHOC as a full-time cast member. “The judge is back, and drama is in session,” she said while taking an orange off a shelf on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
The Vena CBD founder was originally a cast member on RHOC from season 3 to season 14. After being offered a three-episode wrap-up arc, the California native left the show in January 2020.
Before her return was officially announced, Judge made headlines when fellow Bravo personality Jill Zarin hinted at the cast shake-up.
“Tamra’s coming back, and you know, my friend Vicki’s not happy,” the RHONY alum, 58, revealed in a since-deleted Instagram Live video in July. In response, Judge replied, “Go f–k yourself @JillZarin! You thirsty bitch!”
Judge later elaborated on her own social media account, saying via Instagram Story, “Hey guys, I have a big announcement. Jill is the thirstiest bitch I’ve ever met.”
Zarin, for her part, attempted to clarify her statement amid the online feud. “I just have to straighten something out. This morning I was on my way to the event and I use the expression often, ‘breaking news,’ but it doesn’t mean that there’s anything breaking that wasn’t broken to me,” she explained on Instagram. “I had read online that Vicki was not coming back and Tamra was — and I said that. I just repeated what I had read. I don’t have any inside information. Nobody talks to me at Bravo. I know absolutely nothing. I just repeated the news that was already printed.”
