It’s the circle of life in action! On the July 13 episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County, the ladies got to experience both the joy of birth and the pain of death, as Tamra Judge welcomed a new grandchild while Vicki Gunvalson continued to mourn the loss of her mother.
In between these major milestones, the other Housewives dealt with their own life dramas ranging from marital affairs to school houses.
Vicki Gunvalson
It was a somber week for Gunvalson, who went to Chicago for her mother’s funeral. While Gunvalson was touched by the beautiful ceremony, she was saddened by the fact that neither her best friend, Tamra Judge, nor her boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, would be able to attend the funeral with her. “I’m all alone!”, she wailed during a prayer session with the two of them before she flew off to the Midwest.
Thankfully, Gunvalson was able to rely on the support of her siblings to get through the grieving period and made it back to Orange County still somber but working through it. Both Shannon Beador and Tamra Judge visited their grieving friend, helping give her comfort during the difficult time. Heather Dubrow also reached out with plans for a bowling night that had the aim of getting them all laughing again. “You’re many things, but you are not alone,” Ayers noted during a particularly low moment for Gunvalson.
Best Moment: During a visit from Shannon Beador, Gunvalson discussed her family’s plans to have a seance to connect with their late matriarch. However, the entire time Gunvalson was talking about it, she kept confusing the word “medium” with “median.” Beador tried to gently correct her, but she kept making the mistake.
Meghan King Edmonds
She’s not a regular stepmom, she’s a cool stepmom! Edmonds is closer in age to her stepchildren than she is to her husband, and she thinks that this is a real asset for her as a stepmother. “I can talk about Twitter! And Instagram! And Snapchat! I’m cool! I get it,” she boasted to the cameras about her ability to parent.
Edmonds decided to test out her “#Stepmomhood” skills through some bonding activities with her teenage stepdaughter, Haley. First she and Haley went paddleboarding, where they had a heart to heart about Hayley’s mother, LeAnn Edmonds Horton, and her battle with colon cancer. Later on, Edmonds teamed up with Haley’s mom to help prepare Haley for her winter formal. Edmonds noted that she had an unconventional family, but that she loved to be a part of it. Stepmomhood achievement unlocked!
Best Moment: Haley got into minor tiffs with both her mother and Edmonds while preparing for winter formal preparation. Thankfully, Edmonds was able to brush the drama off with a succinct and to the point, “Teenagers suck!”
Heather Dubrow
In case you weren’t aware, Dubrow is building a new house. Because of this she related to her son, Nicky, and his attempt to build a huge model house for school. Unfortunately, Nicky was about as interested in his model-building as Heather's husband, Terry Dubrow, is in the actual building of their house.
Terry's disinterest was noticed by his daughter, Coco, who decided to punish him for his lack of family bonding. When he was home from work, he asked from a hug from his daughter, who subsequently ran away and made faces. “You fart,” she accused her father, who was taken aback by her refusal to give affection. Dubrow was proud of her daughter and called her a smart cookie for finding a way to punish her dad for being away all the time. Maybe it’s time for Terry to start taking a more vested interest in floor tiling?
Best Moment: Dubrow took a stand for self-conscious women everywhere and decided to tease her husband about whether or not he needed a man boob reduction. Watching Terry worriedly check out his image on his phone while Heather laughed and walked away felt like a small victory for women who constantly are made to worry about their looks when they age — especially by plastic surgeons!
Shannon Beador
Beador continued to work on her marriage with her husband, David. Their most recent counseling session revolved around learning how to parent their kids better. When they came home from the event, their children were delighted to see what tips they learned and even got a few giggles from David’s inability to properly execute some of the lessons right away.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for the couple, though, as Beador started to cry about new details of her husband’s affair. She asked for a list of restaurants and hotspots he hit with his mistress, and the new information made her feel raw all over again. The cameras didn’t follow them into the room where they went to go talk about this development, as the Beadors closed the door on both their daughter and the audience. “That was awkward," their daughter noted before walking away.
Best Moment: Talk about #FriendshipGoals! After Gunvalson returned home from her mother’s funeral, Beador came over to talk to her — with a ton of homeopathic gifts in tow. As Gunvalson tearfully hugged Beador and thanked her for her efforts during the tough time, it was easy to get the sense that the friendship between the pair was not just for the cameras.
Tamra Judge
Welcome to the world, Ava! Judge spent the episode preparing for the arrival of her first grandchild, who was scheduled to be born on the day Gunvalson’s mother was being buried. The grandmother-to-be traveled up to Roseville, Calif. to meet up with her son, Ryan, and his fiancee, Sarah, before the big birth.
Once the little bundle of joy arrived, Judge introduced herself to the new baby with tears in her eyes. Maybe grandmotherhood really is the key to a newly softened Judge!
Best Moment: Back in the day, Judge was famous for declaring herself “the hottest housewife in Orange County!” Nowadays though, Judge has to take on a new title. “I’m the hottest grandma in Orange County,” she cheerfully exclaimed to the camera, proving just how far she's come through the seasons.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
