Roxanne 
Alexis Bellino is opening up about where she stood with Heather Dubrow — and admitting she once directly questioned whether Heather was her real friend or just her TV friend.
During an appearance on Reality with The King, Alexis reacted to former Bravo producer Carlos King’s claim that Heather is not truly friends with Tamra Judge and is instead afraid of being on Tamra’s bad side.
The conversation comes after The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 20 premiere, where Jennifer Pedranti accused Heather of talking negatively about Tamra with castmates at a dinner after the reunion.
Over the years, some RHOC fans have also accused Heather of avoiding calling Tamra out to her face, even when Tamra’s behavior becomes a major topic among the group.
Carlos did not hold back when discussing Heather and Tamra’s friendship.
“This is how Heather views Tamra: I keep my friends close, but I keep my enemies closer,” Carlos said. “She does not want the wrath of Tamra. And in Heather Dubrow’s mind, she feels like, ‘I would rather have Tamra as a fair-weather friend than an enemy,’ because we all know what happens when Tamra has an enemy.”
Carlos then accused Heather of being different on camera than she is behind the scenes.
“Heather is so fake on camera where she wants to appear, ‘Oh no, Tamra, I do call you out,’” Carlos continued. “Do you? Because all these ladies said, and they’re not lying, that you spent that dinner talking the most s**t about Tamra, only to call her the next day, saying, ‘Hey, how are you?’”
That is when Alexis shared her own experience with Heather and revealed that she has questioned the authenticity of their friendship in the past.
According to Alexis, when she was filming Season 18, she asked Heather directly whether their relationship was real or simply connected to the show.
“For the whole time I was on the phone, when we were filming back in season 18, and even years before, I would say, ‘Are you my TV friend? Are you my real friend? I need to know,’” Alexis said.
Alexis explained that she believed Heather may view some cast friendships differently than the women themselves do.
“I think, in Heather’s mind … she means work friend when she calls Tamra a ‘historical friend,’” Alexis said.
Alexis said her concern was about trust and how much she could actually open up to Heather.
“So I would always say that. I was like, ‘I just want to know. I want to know how much can I trust you with information? Are you my true friend?’” Alexis shared.
Alexis then recalled Heather’s response, saying Heather seemed to remind her of the history they had together.
“Heather probably said, when I asked it, ‘Well, Alexis, come on. Look at what we’ve gone through, what we’ve talked about,’” Alexis said.
According to Alexis, Tamra has claimed that she herself is Alexis’ “true friend.”
The comments add another layer to the ongoing conversation about Heather and Tamra’s dynamic on RHOC. While Heather often refers to Tamra as a longtime or historical friend, Carlos believes Heather is careful with Tamra because she does not want to become her enemy.
Fans have seen what happens when Tamra turns on someone, and Carlos seems to think Heather knows that better than anyone.
The Season 20 premiere already put Heather in the hot seat after Jennifer claimed Heather had talked badly about Tamra behind her back. Now, Alexis’ comments are adding more fuel to the question of how authentic Heather’s friendships are when cameras are rolling.
For Alexis, the issue seems simple: she wanted to know whether Heather was someone she could trust in real life or someone who was only a friend for the show.
And according to Carlos, when it comes to Tamra, Heather may prefer keeping the peace over risking the wrath of an enemy.
