My, how times have changed since the glorious days when Heather Dubrow graced our screens on The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Though it’s now been four years since the fancy brunette last held an orange, that doesn’t mean she’s without opinions about the casting mistakes changes RHOC has subjected fans to since her exit in 2017. In a new interview, Heather offered her take on longtime pals Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge leaving behind the show they made famous ahead of the upcoming season.
“I was a little surprised,” Heather told HollywoodLife of the duo’s rather unceremonious ouster following Season 14. “You know, Tamra and Vicki have been on the show a long time. They’re both incredible women, and they always have something going on. [There’s] never a shortage of stories with either of them. So I was a little surprised at first.”
Truth be told, there’s no denying the decision to ax the two longest-running Housewives in franchise history turned the entire Bravoverse on its head. Yes, Vicki had made it crystal clear she wouldn’t accept anything less than a full-time role for Season 15. But even if you saw the writing on the wall for the OG of the OC, Tamra‘s choice to leave just one day after her BFF was a stunning blow to the show’s legacy. (For context, the reigning veteran in the cast is now Shannon Beador, who joined RHOC back in Season 9, two years into Heather‘s run as a Housewife.)
RELATED: Heather Dubrow Says Vicki Gunvalson Tried To Get Her Back On Real Housewives; Vicki Said “We Need More Class”
However, despite essentially wiping out the first eight years of the show’s history in one fell swoop, Heather is keeping her former castmates’ exits (er, firings?) in perspective. “Honestly, I feel like as far as the Housewife franchise goes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” she surmised. “And there comes a time where the show needs to keep moving and shifting and changing, I think to stay current.
“[Vicki and Tamra] both had amazing runs,” she continued. “Who knows, maybe they’ll be back. I mean, people have certainly left and come back before, but maybe they’ll, you know, pick up other opportunities as well. I’m not really sure but I adore them both. I speak to Tamra often and I think that they both made such an incredible contribution to the show that’s just gonna live on.”
RELATED: Terry & Heather Dubrow Address Backlash Over Selling Expensive Hand Sanitizer During Coronavirus Pandemic
The worst part about the two veterans leaving — particularly Tamra — is that any possibility of Heather ever coming back to save the show has now become nothing short of impossible. (Because with all due, RHOC has been gone from bad to worse to basically unwatchable since she left…But some fans just aren’t ready to have that conversation yet.)
Even Heather herself recognizes that the once-great show has turned a corner from the days she was bringing real wealth, elegance and an extra dose of champs to the table. “I feel like I’ve checked the box,” she told HollywoodLife of whether a return was in the cards. “So I’m not really sure what it would take to go back and I think that show – as it should – is going into a different direction.”
RELATED: Terry & Heather Dubrow Are Casting For A New Reality TV Show
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH HEATHER ABOUT HOUSEWIVES BEING GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? WOULD HEATHER RETURNING AS A HOUSEWIFE FIX RHOC?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
