Most of the former Housewives would do just about anything to be back on the show again. Heather Dubrow is not one of those Real Housewives alums. You won’t catch her making a cameo appearance to stir the pot or throwing shade at current cast members on social media. She is one of the very few ex-Housewives who is happily retired from the game.
Even so, that doesn’t mean that she’s retired in general. Heather is more than busy with all of her endeavors. Her podcast Heather Dubrow’s World just reached a major milestone of 30 million downloads. She already wrote one book with her husband, Botched star Dr. Terry Dubrow, and they are working on their second. Not only that, but she also has four kids and an immaculately decorated mansion to take care of. Heather doesn’t necessarily “miss” the Housewife life, but she emphasized that she is very aware of all the opportunities being on Real Housewives of Orange County has afforded her and how grateful she is in an interview with Reality Tea.
At this point hosting a podcast has become a rite of passage for reality TV stars, but Heather has been hosting hers long before that became a good-to move for reality TV personalities. How does she feel about so many people getting their own podcasts? Unlike some reality TV stars who have objected to others joining the podcast world, Heather says, “I think it’s great. It’s such an incredible outlet. It’s an incredible way to reach people in the community and to get your message across.”
Heather adds, “I think the best thing is how different they all are. Yeah, there’s a lot of reality show people out there. There are people doing recaps of other reality shows. There are a lot of people who do that really well, so I just try to stay in my lane. I do my best to learn, teach, inspire, and hopefully start a conversation.”
Heather Dubrow celebrates her anniversary in Utah
Staying in her lane has clearly worked for Heather since Heather Dubrow’s World has reached 30 million downloads. She says, “It was pretty cool. I think what’s so amazing is that I was only doing the show once a week and I just started doing it twice a week, so I hope we are going to get to the next 30 in half the time, which is incredible. I feel grateful for everyone’s support.”
Heather shares, “When people used to come up to me, they would say ‘I love Real Housewives’ or ‘I love Botched’ and now I get a lot of ‘I love the podcast.’” She emphasizes just how thankful she is for her fans many times throughout the interview, saying, “I always take a picture with someone, unless I’m chewing. Terry and I are both so grateful about the support.”
A lot of Heather’s listeners “met” her as a cast member on Real Housewives of Orange County, but she’s trying to establish herself on her own, and not just as an extension of the show that introduced her to so many loyal fans. She stresses, “It doesn’t mean that I don’t love my association with the show. I loved my time. I mean I didn’t love all of it. Let’s be honest. It was definitely a crazy ride. I’m so grateful for everything that it gave me and everything it gave my family.”
The mother of four admits, “When I look back on my time on Housewives, I think of it actually very fondly, but I didn’t want my podcast to be all about that. I stopped talking about Housewives and the people that stayed with me stayed with me for a reason.”
A Farewell To Heather Dubrow: A Retrospective Of Her Time On Real Housewives Of Orange County
Even so, there are actually some things that she does miss about being on the show. Heather shares, “I had never taken a girls trip before the show. Isn’t that weird? But I had never done that.” She continues, “Yeah there was drama and things happened, but we would laugh a lot. There was definitely a lot of fun points to the trips. I miss that and the comradery. It’s like being in a sorority. There’s ups and downs, but you all love each other basically.” She concludes, “You have a shared experience and it’s like a sisterhood.”
Heather cops to the fact that she’s not in close touch with most of the current cast members, but there is no animosity there. Heather explains, “The shooting schedule is so long. People don’t realize how long you shoot for. I think when I left the show and other girls obviously continued on, we sort of got off pace a little bit. I have been in touch with Tamra [Judge] on and off for the last couple years. I run into Shannon [Beador]. I see Kelly [Dodd] at the gym sometimes. I’m busy. They’re busy. I think of all of them with fondness.” What about Vicki Gunvalson? She was not mentioned during the interview, but maybe that says it all.
Another person who was not mentioned during the interview, although I tried my best to get some tea is Jeff Lewis, someone who has shaded Heather very publicly. Multiple times. When asked about that, Heather just pulled her best Mariah Carey impression and asked, “Who?” Case closed. For now at least. Or at the very least, it’s closed on Heather’s end.
The one question that Real Housewives alums are asked in almost every interview is whether or not they would consider returning to the show. Heather says, “I hate to sound so trite, but never say never.” How else are we going to see all of the décor at Chateau Dubrow? I need that champagne storage room and all of the other Dubrow-style modifications.
If Heather did decide to return, she would have a lot to catch up on since she admits she hasn’t kept up with the latest drama. She shares, “I feel like my time on the show was really good and complete. There are no loose ends. I don’t really think there’s a reason for me to come back. I haven’t watched the show since I left, but I’m sure they’re doing great.”
Heather explains, “Housewives is an interesting thing because it’s really that the show is greater than the sum of its parts. There are so many people who go on the show. There are some seasons that are better than others. But it’s really the show itself that’s the monster.”
It truly is. I can barely remember my life before Real Housewives and I cannot imagine my life without it. Hopefully, the franchise continues forever- or at least for the rest of my own personal existence. Sadly, I am not kidding when I say that.
TELL US- DO YOU WANT HEATHER DUBROW TO RETURN TO REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY? WHICH REALITY TV PODCASTS DO YOU LISTEN TO?
[Photo Credit: David Livingston/Getty Images]
