Vicki Gunvalson is convinced RHOC killed her marriage.
The Real Housewives are getting brutally honest about what the franchise has done to their marriages and romantic lives.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Vicki Gunvalson, Kyle Richards, Luann de Lesseps, Gizelle Bryant and Porsha Williams opened up about whether being on Housewives can destroy relationships — or simply expose what was already broken.
For Vicki, the answer was simple.
“It killed mine,” Vicki said of The Real Housewives of Orange County and her marriage to Donn Gunvalson.
Vicki recalled that when Scott Dunlop first approached her and Donn about filming the original RHOC pilot, Donn immediately had concerns about putting their family on television.
“When Scott approached me and Donn at the time about doing this pilot, Donn’s like, ‘There’s no way we’re doing this in our family,’” Vicki shared.
According to Vicki, Donn predicted that reality TV would damage their marriage.
“He was like, ‘Anybody that goes on TV is going to get divorced,’” Vicki said.
At the time, Vicki did not believe that would happen to them.
“I’m like, ‘We’re not going to get divorced. We’re fine,’” she recalled. “And obviously, fast-forward, we got divorced.”
Kyle Richards then asked Vicki if she regrets doing the show.
“You regret that?” Kyle asked.
Vicki admitted that she does.
“I do,” Vicki said. “My family was more important than the show, and it broke apart.”
Porsha Williams offered a slightly different take, explaining that the show can put pressure on a marriage, but it can also expose problems that were already there.
“Two things can be true,” Porsha said. “The show can strain a marriage, but it can also reveal things about that marriage — or about yourself — that you needed to know.”
Vicki agreed that a weak marriage may not survive the pressure.
“If the marriage is weak, it’s going to fall apart,” Vicki said.
Porsha added that the men in these relationships should not always be viewed as the victims just because their wives became reality stars.
“And it’s not always just about the poor guy whose wife ran off to become a star,” Porsha said. “The show reveals people to themselves. It is a true mirror.”
She then used her own experience as an example.
“At home I might call myself submissive, but the audience says ‘No, he’s controlling!’” Porsha explained.
Kyle jokingly asked if Porsha was speaking from personal experience.
“Are you projecting by any chance?” Kyle asked.
Porsha laughed and admitted, “I’m projecting a little. But men aren’t always the victims here.”
Vicki then pointed out that the show can also change how husbands view their wives.
“But sometimes they realize the woman they see on TV isn’t the woman they married,” Vicki said.
Gizelle Bryant said her experience was different because she joined The Real Housewives of Potomac already divorced.
“I started divorced and stayed that way,” Gizelle said.
Gizelle also admitted that dating while being on Housewives is not easy, especially when it comes to finding someone who is comfortable with cameras.
“It’s difficult to find a man who wants to participate in all this — which is fine,” Gizelle said. “If he really wants to be on camera, he’s not for me.”
Luann de Lesseps also weighed in, saying she does not believe the show itself is what breaks marriages.
“I don’t think it’s the show that breaks marriages,” Luann said. “I think it’s the people that break marriages.”
However, Luann admitted that Housewives can speed up the inevitable.
“The show just speeds that up,” she added.
The conversation comes as several Housewives marriages have played out, unraveled or been questioned in front of Bravo cameras over the years.
Vicki’s divorce from Donn remains one of RHOC’s most memorable splits, especially because viewers watched the tension in their marriage unfold while Vicki’s career on the show grew.
Kyle Richards’ own marriage to Mauricio Umansky has also become a major topic on RHOBH in recent years, while Porsha’s romantic life has been heavily discussed both on and off RHOA.
The interview makes one thing clear: the Housewives do not all agree on whether the show destroys relationships or simply exposes the truth.
But they do seem to agree on one thing, if a relationship is already fragile, reality TV can make the cracks impossible to hide.
