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Vicki Gunvalson Doesn’t Regret Cameras Rolling When She Learned of Mom’s Death

Vicki Gunvalson
Vicki Gunvalson told Andy Cohen that she does not regret Real Housewives of Orange County cameras filming her reaction to her mom's death.

Vicki Gunvalson has allowed The Real Housewives of Orange County reality TV cameras to capture her in her best and worst moments, and on the Bravo hit's July 6 episode, Gunvalson took viewers along as she hit rock bottom. Receiving a phone call while at RHOC star Shannon Beador's Bunco party, the veteran OC'er was bereft with grief at the news that her mother, Joanne Steinmetz, had passed away at age 83.

However, Gunvalson — who has yet to see the episode — does not regret having cameras rolling to capture her reaction to Steinmetz's February death. (In fact, the show devoted close to 15 minutes of airtime to capture her reaction and its aftermath, as her costars comfort her.) "It's part of my reality. I lost my mother. I signed up for all areas of my life to be exposed — the good and the bad. There's been a lot of great moments that have been aired and there's a lot of moments that I wish I wasn't on a reality show," Gunvalson, 53, told Bravo's Andy Cohen in a pre-taped Watch What Happens Live interview that aired after Monday's episode.

Related: PHOTOS: Stars who have opened their lives up to reality TV cameras

"This is not a moment that I feel, as of right now, that I regret, because statistically people are going to lose their parents, right? We're going to be alive when our parents die, statistically," the twice-divorced reality star continued. "I don't blame Bravo, I don't blame [RHOC's production company] Evolution, I don't blame anybody — it's my life."

Though Gunvalson told Cohen she does not remember the day that she found out her mom died, she never thought she'd have to bury her mother in the middle of filming Housewives' 10th season. In fact, Gunvalson thought that it would be her longtime boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, who would lose his battle with cancer this year. "I thought I'd lose Brooks. I thought he was going to be the one who died this season," Gunvalson candidly told Cohen. "That's the hard part of doing this — you don't know what your reality is going to be like tomorrow."

Related: PHOTOS: Stars we lost in 2015

After Monday's episode aired, Gunvalson posted a heartfelt tribute to the woman she called "her rock" in her Bravo blog. "It's been five months since my mom died and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't want to pick up the phone to ask her a question or tell her I love her," the grieving daughter wrote. "I miss her so much, but know one day I will be with her in Heaven and at peace. I want to stress the importance of not putting off talking to or spending time with the ones you love. You never know when they will be taken from you."

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