Here’s the proof! Well, kind of.
On the Sept. 28 episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County, Brooks Ayers finally revealed his medical records — but Tamra Judge et al remain unconvinced he’s telling the truth about his cancer. Plus, Heather and Terry Dubrow launched their skincare line on a home-shopping channel, and Vicki Gunvalson proved that she is the queen of passive-aggressive text messages. Oh, and during a meeting with her pastor, Tamra compared baptism to coming out of the closet and called for a “blonde version of the Bible.” Read the recap for more ridiculous(ly amazing) moments! Click here to see current pics of the Real Housewives’ kids.
Date Night
Shannon and David Beador have made repairing their marriage their first priority this season, and during this episode’s date night, their relationship looked stronger than ever. After the couple got settled at a beautiful beachside restaurant (aka Shannon ordered her signature Grey Goose soda with lime), they began to chat about their day.
“I talked on the phone a lot to Tamra and Heather,” Shannon said to David’s surprise. “Three months ago, I didn’t know if I could even trust Tamra or if they were my friends, and now I feel like both of them are really getting along.”
“You were pretty close with Vicki and Brooks,” David responded. He mentioned the lunch that Shannon and Vicki had the day before and asked, “So you’re still close, aren’t you?”
“That’s questionable,” she answered, reaching for her vodka cocktail.
After Vicki had left the lunch in tears the previous afternoon, she had sent Shannon a lengthy — and sassy — text message. Because what’s a sit-down with the OG of the OC without backlash?
“I’m extremely upset and hurt from lunch,” Shannon read to the camera. “Yes Shannon, I’m pissed and saddened by this BS. By the way, I never said that you were nasty and threatening. I said the lunch was nasty, which in my opinion, it was.”
“I’ve only tried to help and I know that I’ve been a good friend,” Shannon told David, referring to the emotional support and medical references she had given Vicki after Brooks first claimed that he had cancer. “If she doesn’t think so, then that’s a real shame.”
Doctors and PET Scans and Health Coaches, Oh My!
It’s about time!
After months of gossip, viewers finally saw Vicki, Brooks, and his health coach, meet with a doctor to discuss treatment plans.
“I got your PET scan,” the doctor started. “And it shows here that you have a large mass on the upper part of the abdomen.”
The doctor lead Brooks to a table on the other side of the room and began to examine his stomach. “He has a large mass about 14 cm in the abdomen,” the doctor concluded. “It’s pushing your kidneys on the side.”
“It just really makes me feel sorry and sad for all these people that are saying that Brooks doesn’t have cancer,” Vicki told the camera. “Are all these doctors lying that Brooks has cancer and he really doesn’t?”
Once Brooks was sufficiently prodded, the doctor began to outline his proposed treatment plan. “Part will be nutrition,” he explained. “We have to replenish all the nutrients that you’ve been missing. The second thing is that we have to remove stress.” Good luck with that one, doc!
“Sorry, I try not to be stressful!” Vicki said. “It’s not me, it’s all the people I hang around with. They’re accusing Brooks of faking cancer.”
“It’s really showing that you have a large mass,” the doctor responded, pointing to Brooks’ PET scan results. “Unless someone faked this.” He then suggested a blood oxygenation procedure (which Vicki described as a “syfy movie gone bloody”).
Although she was there for emotional support, Vicki was still all about business. “Let’s get that IV started,” she told the doctor. “I’ve got to get back to work!”
Some things never change.
Don’t Confuse the Messenger
Vicki invited Tamra over to her house so she and Brooks could finally reveal his medical records and prove once and for all that he has cancer. But their plan backfired. A lot.
“You’re the longest tenured friend that Vicki has, and it makes sense for us to solicit your help,” Brooks explained to Tamra. He reached over the coffee table and handed her a blue folder. “So I recently had another PET-CT scan done a couple weeks ago. This is the results and it shows the masses.”
Tamra skimmed the documents — which were riddled with spelling and grammatical mistakes — but it was no use. She just couldn’t understand them. “I wasn’t aware that you could get masses with blood cancer,” she told the camera. “All of it is really confusing to me.”
“I wish you ladies were right and it was a big hoax,” Brooks said to Tamra. “But the reality is that it’s not and this is the third time in my life that I’ve dealt with this.” He continued in an interview and explained that he chose to reveal his medical records now because he could no longer stand seeing how poorly the other women were treating Vicki. “I’m hoping that this will shut them up and show them that they were wrong.”
“Why don’t you just show everybody?” Tamra asked Vicki. “If it was me, I would be like, ‘Suck it bitches!’”
“I’m surprised that he’s even doing it with you,” Vicki responded. “You’re my friend, so if it comes up, you stand with conviction and tell the ladies, ‘We’re done.’”
But Tamra was still not convinced. “This is so difficult because I want to support Vicki, and I want nothing more than to go to these girls and say, ‘He does have cancer,’” she said to the camera. “But I really can’t because I don’t know what I read.”
Live With the Dubrows
Heather and Terry were far away from the Brooks drama this week as the couple traveled to Minnesota for the launch of their skincare line, Consult Beaute, on Evine Live. They arrived at the home shopping network’s studio a day before the live show in order to get some extra practice, which it turns out, they needed a lot of.
“This is the first time that we’ve ever been on a shopping channel before,” Heather confessed in an interview. “Quite frankly, I’m nervous.” She discussed her plethora of experience with live television and hosting from her many years of acting, but apparently Terry’s time on screen didn’t prove as helpful. “It’s a skill set that Terry just doesn’t have and I hope he can rise to the challenge.”
Heather of course blew it out of the water during the rehearsal and was an absolute hit. Terry, however, was not as lucky.
“I don’t understand why Terry seems so far out of his element,” she said in an interview. “He’s talking about products that he created, he believes in. He knows all the science backwards and forwards, and he’s used to being on TV.”
After the rehearsal, Terry vented to the producer about his “clunky” performance and he became even more nervous for the live show. He and Heather went back to their hotel room and recovered the best way they knew how. “I need a drink,” Terry told her. “Something strong.”
Heather made a quick toast — with a glass of champagne, obviously — and tried to comfort her husband. “Let’s put it into perspective,” she said while sitting on his lap. “We’ve been working on this for over a decade and a half. How lucky are we? Sink or swim, what a great life experience.” Heather should also add “motivational speaker” to her resume.
The next day, Terry’s nerves hadn’t settled, but as soon as the cameras turned on, Terry was a true pro. “I’m so proud of my husband,” Heather gushed in another interview. “This is who he is. This is exactly how he should be.”
The two-hour live broadcast was a success.
“We survived, honey!” Terry joked when they returned to the greenroom.
“We didn’t just survive,” Heather said. “We sold a sh-t ton of product.”
The couple celebrated another Dubrow success, and you could definitely feel the love (and money) in the room.
Detective Edmonds Returns
Back in the O.C., Meghan Edmonds invited Tamra, Shannon, and former Housewife Lizzie Rovsek over to cheer on the Dubrows together. Although they were at the viewing party to support Heather and Terry, these blondes (and Lizzie) couldn’t resist having a little fun.
“Hi Terry and Heather. My name’s Cinnamon and I wanna tell you, Terry, that you are hot,” Tamra said in a shoddy Southern accent during a crank call to the studio. The Dubrows immediately recognized the caller’s voice.
Tamra started to ask about the possibility of mixing vodka with the products and if she was eligable for a friends and family discount, but the producers hung up on her before Terry had time to respond. As Heather so eloquently articulated in an interview, “The more time I spend on the phone with you, the less time I have to sell my products. So bye, gotta go!”
After the broadcast, Shannon started telling the women about undergoing a CAT scan at Newport Imaging six weeks prior for her bronchiectasis. So naturally Brooks’ name came up.
“Speaking of Newport Imaging,” Tamra said, interrupting. “Do you remember that text we got yesterday?”
“We got his results from his recent PET-CT scan, done at Newport Imaging, which still shows cancer. We ask for your continued prayers,” Tamra and Shannon said as they took turns reading the group message to the camera. “We ask for your continued prayers. Our goal in sharing this initially was to inspire people, not to give up hope. Hope you all have a nice day.”
Tamra then discussed seeing Brooks’ medical records at Vicki’s house earlier that day, which read, “Newport Imaging, Brooks airs history of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.”
But when Tamra mentioned the masses on his pancreas, Meghan became suspicious.
“When Vicki said that Brooks got a PET-CT scan from Newport Imaging, I called and they said that they stopped doing PET scans for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2008,” she continued. Meghan called the office back — because a good sleuth always double-checks — and was told, “No. We will refer you to HOAG [Health Network]. You need to go to the hospital to get that.” And just like that, Detective Edmonds returned.
“If Vicki and Brooks decided to show one person a medical record so that that person could advocate for them, it would make absolute sense to ask me to do it,” Shannon explained to the camera. “I have been nothing but an advocate for the both of them.”
Meghan also thought that choosing Tamra to show the medical records to was fishy, especially since all of the other Housewives have some level of experience with medicine — not to mention that Heather is married to an actual doctor.
“I’m starting to feel like I’m being played by Brooks and Vicki,” Tamra said before she and Shannon tilted back their heads and asked Jesus for guidance.
