Having second thoughts? Heather Dubrow returned to The Real Housewives of Orange County after a five-year hiatus, but it hasn’t been a smooth transition back to reality TV.
“I think we certainly didn’t expect the way it began. [Returning to the show] was a conversation in our house. I think we left the show and I felt like I had checked the box, but again, you know, talking about our family, our unique family, it’s not so unique actually, but you know, we wanted to be able to show our version of a normal family and what’s going on here so we could start conversations in other people’s homes,” Heather, 53, exclusively revealed on the Tuesday, March 1, episode Us Weekly’s “Getting Real with the Housewives” podcast. “I have to say, with all the BS and everything that goes on and how difficult emotionally it is to do a show like this, those scenes [are special], you know, with me and [my daughter] Max and watching her launch her book and being able to talk about her anxiety and all of that, watching Kat talking about being a lesbian and what it’s like on social media.”
Heather’s 15-year-old daughter, Kat, came out as a lesbian during an episode of RHOC, two years after her 18-year-old daughter, Max, came out as bisexual.
Heather told Us, “I’m so proud of them and opening their lives and being able to continue these conversations and these dialogues out there, that it was worth it.”
As for her husband, Terry Dubrow, he called the RHOC return a “double-edged sword” since “Twitter is a lot meaner now” than it was before
“There’s a lot more acceptance of hate online now, but you know, you have an opportunity to show and to help so many people with things that are in your lives,” the Botched star, 63, told Us. “We thought this is a unique time, our kids are going through anxiety issues, through sexual identity issues. We are very accepting [of the fact] that we’re struggling, but we’re helping them through it, we think, in a positive way. If there was a better time than now to go on this show, I can’t imagine it.”
He added, “There’s been an outpouring of people saying, ‘Thank you. You’re the best mom, thank you guys.’ As parents, we’re showing you what it’s like to be normal and live in a modern family. That alone is the reason why we went on the show and that’s worth it.”
The couple are now guiding others with their E! special, 7 Year Stitch, which has the pair helping a couple on the brink of divorce.
“We take these couples who are at that seven-year mark and the honeymoon’s over, and real life has set in,” Heather told Us. “We give them our resources, open up our rolodexes and separate them for seven weeks. We give them full internal, external makeovers, body, mind and soul, to make them the best individuals they can be.”
7 Year Stitch premieres on E! Tuesday March 1, at 10 p.m. ET