You don't mess with the OG of the OC! On the Aug. 24 episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County, Vicki Gunvalson struck back after learning that the other ladies were insinuating that her then-boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, was faking his cancer. How did Gunvalson handle the accusations and which Housewives did she come to blows with? Read our recap!
Tamra Judge
She's back in the game! After five long years away from real estate, Judge decided that it was time to jump back into the business. She was already nervous about returning after such a long absence — and that was even before her new boss told her that she had to sell three homes in the next three months. Judge hoped that she could make major in-roads on this goal by selling a house to the perpetually moving Meghan King Edmonds, and even showed her costar a few houses. The Edmonds family may not be the best people to bank your career goals on though, because Meghan admitted that her husband, Jim, was a very picky person and would probably have issues settling on any house. Maybe Judge will be able to crack him and get him to really plant some roots!
There were even bigger real estate-based decisions for Judge to make this week as she chose to bankroll her son, Ryan's, new Orange County house for more than $7,000. While she seemed to have no regrets, the other Housewives were skeptical of her decision not to inform her husband, Eddie Judge, about what she was doing. Would this all come to blows when he found out? Judge didn't care. In the moment, she was just happy to guarantee that her new granddaughter would be close enough to dote on constantly.
Best Moment: When showing up to Heather Dubrow's house-touring party, Judge noticed that her outfit matched both Shannon Beador's and Vicki Gunvalson's. She wanted to comment on the fact that they were “twinning," but she kept forgetting the word. Instead she kept saying that they were all “Twinkies.”
Meghan King Edmonds
It pays to have connections! Edmonds admitted that one of the best parts about being married to a famous baseball player like Jim Edmonds was landing backstage passes to major events. This week she decided to flaunt those connections a bit and invited all of the other ladies to a NASCAR event.
The day started out in an exciting manner as the Edmonds joined the Dubrows in the NASCAR pace car for a 125 mile-per-hour lap around the track. Heather was scared at how close the driver was coming to the race track's barrier but still managed to keep it together for a mid-lap self.
Things got even more exciting for Edmonds when the topic of Gunvalson's reaction to her insinuations about Brooks Ayers' cancer came up, as it was revealed that Gunvalson had sent Edmonds a slew of nasty texts about how awful and ignorant she was for saying that Ayers' cancer may be fake.
Edmonds was adamant that she did nothing wrong by bringing up what the psychic said, claiming that she was only acting out of concern for Ayers and that all the drama was Beador's fault since she was being “consistently inconsistent” by telling Gunvalson what happened.
While Edmonds complained about her situation and the awkwardness that was bound to ensue at Dubrow's party, Judge advised her to just own her business and apologize for what happened.
“So wait, I have to be the a–hole now?” a dismayed Edmonds asked. Beador comforted her by saying that she was already “the first a–hole,” while Judge cheerfully admitted to “always being an a–hole.” Edmonds may just have to embrace her inner a–hole in order to survive in Orange County!
Best Moment: Judge took Edmonds on a tour of Heather Locklear's old home. Judge was thrilled by the celebrity connection, but Edmonds was more confused. So while Judge prattled on and pointed out the places where Locklear had sex with her celeb exes like Tommy Lee and Richie Sambora, Edmonds tried to piece together who it was Judge was talking about. “I think Heather Locklear was an older model. Somebody pretty… and older. Was she in Baywatch?” No, Meghan, she was not, but good try!
Shannon Beador
Beador celebrated her 51st birthday week, but there was more frustration involved than celebration. First, her daughters dragged their feet about attending their mom's birthday dinner. They begged their mom to consider going on a date with their father instead so that they could stay home and watch TV. Beador was confused as to why they were so obsessed with watching that particular show. “Three letters! DVR! Tweens these days!” she complained while rolling her eyes.
Eventually, she was able to convince her daughters to celebrate with her, but her husband, David, seemed to be just as thoughtless. Instead of taking the group to a family restaurant like Beador wanted, he brought them to a sports pub. Beador was unhappy with the fattening food and the messy vibe. In her confessional, Beador admitted that her previous birthday was a disaster and as a result she hoped that her birthday this year would make up for it. As she glumly blew out the candles on her cake, it became obvious that this celebration didn't make up for anything. Hopefully her 52nd birthday will be better!
Best Moment: When learning that Dubrow's new house was going to have 14 bathrooms, Beador was appalled. “I have 13 bathrooms, that's fine!” she declared. “Fourteen bathrooms? That's obnoxious!”
Vicki Gunvalson
Beador wasn't the only Housewife celebrating a birthday this week! Gunvalson also celebrated the anniversary of her birth, and her party seemed to go a lot more smoothly. Ayers rented a dinner cruise for them to take solo. Gunvalson was touched that even though he had cancer, Ayers was able to find the time to plan something so elegant for her.
During the dinner, Gunvalson mentioned to their waiter how she was always going to remember this day because it was her first birthday since her mother had died suddenly six weeks earlier. She expected this day to be incredibly difficult but she felt blessed that she was able to begin “a journey without [her] mom.”
Gunvalson also took time to talk to Ayers about the new conflict regarding his cancer. “I'll take a bullet for you,” she assured Ayers as she discussed the rumors. She said that she would defend him against anyone because he was the love of her life and she couldn't imagine life without him. Given their recent split, this scene felt weird to watch in retrospect, but it was a nice sentiment for the time!
Best Moment: Gunvalson got all dreamy-eyed talking about why she loved Ayers' birthday gestures. “It's all about me right now, and not him. I love it to me about me. Just now!”
Heather Dubrow
In case you've forgotten, Dubrow is building a new fancy mansion. It may not be finished yet, but that didn't mean she couldn't celebrate its construction and show it off to her friends! So the Housewife decided to hold a luncheon at the construction site to do exactly that. The ladies were awestruck by the grandiose home, which included 14 bathrooms, a butler's kitchen, a luggage room, an elevator, a powder room for her children, a theater and 2300-square-foot closet with a sliding ladder.
"It's so over-the-top big that you need, like, a map!" Judge exclaimed after finishing the tour.
During the luncheon, Edmonds decided to face the tension head-on and asked Gunvalson about her feelings on Beador's accusations against her boyfriend. Gunvalson claimed that she was happy with what the psychic said because she believed that it meant her boo's cancer would be cured soon.
But she wasn't happy with Edmonds' insinuation that she and Ayers were lying about their struggles. “What, do you think my mom's alive?” she angrily asked. “No, she's dead,” Edmonds responded, adding that she was just trying to show concern for Ayers and his health. Gunvalson called B.S. on that, countering that she was actually trying to create conflict.
Edmonds brought up her personal experience with cancer in the form of her husband's ex, LeeAnn Edmonds, and how hard LeeAnn was trying to beat the disease via any path possible. That's why Meghan thought it was sketchy that Ayers was willing to give up on on treatment options available to him.
But that wasn't a good enough response for Gunvalson, who berated Edmonds for being a little girl and getting involved in personal matters that did't involve her. Tensions only skyrocketed from there, as Edmonds countered that if the Housewives weren't allowed to comment on each other's personal lives, than why was Gunvalson always making mean comments about Edmonds' relationship with her stepchildren?
Vicki's response was to insult Edmonds for being 30 and not having experienced enough of life and its pain. That's when the tears began to fall, as Edmonds began to cry and tell Gunvalson not to judge her on the pain she was feeling about LeeAnn. Vicki told Edmonds it was wrong of her to judge Ayers on how much he wanted to live and to shut up, but Edmonds got the final word: “You're just an old woman who's pissed off and bitter at the world, so you shut up!”
As Dubrow silently looked onto the chaos, she took a long sip from her customary glass of champagne. This housewarming was not going as expected! And it appears the drama will only get worse, thanks to a dreaded "to be continued" card at the end of the episode.
Best Moment: The Dubrows were out to dinner when the topic of STDs come up. Terry admitted that he once contracted crabs from a girl he used to know. Heather was shocked for a second, but quickly managed to get over the grossness of the situation. In a calm manner, she stated, “I mean, it's not like syphilllis! It's like head lice, right? It just goes away!” Dubrow might be the chillest Housewife after all!
Tell Us: Do you think Meghan was wrong for her insinuations about Brooks?
