Vicki Gunvalson, 60, has weighed in on her former The Real Housewives of Orange County co-star Tamra Judge, 54, returning to the show. “Of course I’m excited for her. I would be a bad friend if I wasn’t,” Vicki told E! News’ Daily Pop on August 18. Vicki was fired from the Bravo series after a whopping 14 seasons in 2020 and just reunited with Tamra on season 2 of Ultimate Girls Trip. But only one of them got the call to return to RHOC for season 17.
“She thinks I wasn’t supporting her enough by going back on,” Vicki added about Tamra. “That’s not the case. Yes, I have FOMO. I’m like any other woman that would be feeling that way. It’s been three or four weeks later that she called me and told me she’s going back on. The main thing I did was cry. I didn’t get the call. I thought, ‘What does she have that I don’t have?’ ”
Vicki went on to note that differences between herself and Tamra as television personalities. “We’re both individual people. She’ll show her tits, I won’t,” she explained. “But beyond that, I think we’re a good Lucy and Ethel together. But there’s obviously something Bravo doesn’t like about me and I had to accept it.”
Tamra officially announced her return to RHOC on the July 20 episode of Watch What Happens Live. She’s expected to join returning cast members Heather Dubrow, Shannon Storms Beador, Emily Simpson, and Gina Kirschenheiter. Dr. Jennifer Armstrong and Noella Bergener announced their exits from the show after one season on July 8. Taylor Armstrong, who was in the original cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and also appeared on RHUGT season 2 with Tamra and Vicki, is also joining the new season of RHOC, though in a “friend” role.