It is still early, but Season 16 of Real Housewives of Orange County is bringing it. Heather Dubrow and her never-ending supply of champs returned to the franchise amid a welcome cast shake-up.
RHOC co-star Gina Kirschenheiter is in a good place. Gone are the messy hair extensions that haunted her last season. In 2018, Gina filed for divorce from her husband, Matt Kirschenheiter. Viewers later learned that Matt cheated on Gina. In June of 2019, Matt reportedly attacked Gina while their children were in the house.
In 2019, Gina finalized her divorce from her ex. Matt was sentenced to 180 days in county jail after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury of a spouse and one felony count of false imprisonment by fraud, deceit, violence, or menace.
Gina moved on with a new man, Travis Mullen. Last season, the couple moved into a three-bedroom condo together with their combined six children.
There were whispers that Nicole James, who began filming this season as Heather’s friend, was reportedly demoted. All because Nicole allegedly was unhappy with the results of her breast augmentation, which was performed by Heather’s husband, Dr. Terry Dubrow.
During the Season 16 premiere, Shannon Beador told Gina and Emily Simpson off-camera that Nicole had sued Terry over her supposed botched boob job years ago. Since Heather was very chummy with Nicole, the trio surmised that Heather wasn’t aware of what Nicole had done. Shannon swore her RHOC co-stars to secrecy.
RELATED: Shannon Beador Says She’s “Really Good With” Emily Simpson; Denies Being Jealous Of Gina Kirschenheiter’s Friendship With Heather Dubrow
Heather threw a fabulous dinner party, and of course the entire cast attended, including Nicole. Gina broke the news to Heather about Nicole’s lawsuit, while Emily and Nicole engaged in an argument over whether Emily was sitting. Seriously.
Heather covered the camera with her hand and went upstairs to fetch her husband. The guests never even glimpsed the main course and were sent home. Heather and Terry did know about the lawsuit, which Nicole had dropped. As far as the Dubrows were concerned, there was no issue. But Heather was furious and slammed Gina for playing the messenger, and Shannon for intentionally trying to cause trouble. Both Gina and Emily apologized, and Gina acknowledged that her timing was abysmal.
In a video interview with Entertainment Tonight, Gina revealed that she thought that Heather’s party was also Heather’s swan song on the show. “Yeah, a hundred percent [I thought she quit]. That sucked. And I honestly understood, though, where Heather was coming from,” Gina stated. “I mean, this was a big decision for them, honestly, as a family, right? To come back to this show, to welcome this back into their lives and to hear that you don’t know what’s happening, right?”
RELATED: Shannon Beador Claims She Regrets Talking About Lawsuit Against Heather Dubrow’s Husband Terry Dubrow
Gina continued, “Heather knows none of it, and now, boom, we’re at her house, and now I’m telling her, ‘Oh, by the way…’ And she doesn’t even know that this girl really sued her!”
She added, “And I think in the moment she felt very vulnerable and very set up by everybody. … I think she was conflicted in her mind. She’s trying to source it out, figure it out. ‘What is going on? Did everybody really know all of this? And I’m being put on the spot like this?’ Like, it felt to her, I’m sure it felt very wrong.”
It was obvious that Heather was angry and caught off guard, but she managed to maintain some composure. Unlike Emily, who had a complete meltdown. “And I understand that nobody knew — production did not know — nobody’s trying to piss off Heather Dubrow like that, no!” Gina added.
Shannon, of course, said that she never wanted the story about Nicole to become part of the show. Sure, Shannon. “Then she shouldn’t have talked about it,” Gina remarked. “Even if she didn’t have a calculated intention going into it, just laying it out like that, she should acknowledge that that puts me in a very bad position and it’s wrong.”
RELATED: Shannon Beador, Gina Kirschenheiter, & Emily Simpson React To Heather Dubrow’s Return To Real Housewives
In the Season 16 RHOC trailer, Heather and Gina are seen hanging out and having fun together. Shannon denied being jealous of their relationship, but it is obvious that she is.
It looks like Gina and Heather are the dynamic duo that we didn’t know that we needed in the OC. “I’m really excited for everybody to see me and Heather stirring it up, mixing it up in New York, because that was such a special, fun, amazing trip. Imagine this: A Housewives trip where there’s nobody fighting and it’s fun,” Gina told Entertainment Tonight. “I actually think there was a coast-to-coast fight. … . It was like Biggie and Tupac and then it was all over.”
I can’t wait to see Heather and Gina’s exploits, and watch Shannon try to crawl back into Heather’s good graces.
TELL US- DID GINA DO THE RIGHT THING BY TELLING HEATHER? WHY WAS EMILY SO ANGRY AT HEATHER’S PARTY? WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT TERRY AND HEATHER WERE SO KIND TO NICOLE?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]