Vicki Gunvalson on Her Mother's Death: I Don't Regret Having Real Housewives Cameras Rolling

Bravo's original Housewife opens up about the real moment captured for TV

By Chris Harnick Jul 07, 2015 2:03 PMTags

Vicki Gunvalson was filming The Real Housewives of Orange County when she learned of her mother's death. Does she regret having filmed that scene? Not a chance.

"It's part of my reality. I lost my mother. I signed up for all areas of my life to exposed—the good and the bad. There's been a lot of great moments that have been aired and there's a lot of moments that I wish I wasn't on a reality show," Vicki said in an interview with Andy Cohen taped before the episode aired. "This is not a moment that I feel, as of right now, that I regret because statistically people are going to lose their parents, right? We're going to be alive when our parents die, statistically...I don't blame Bravo, I don't blame [production company behind RHOC] Evolution, I don't blame anybody—it's my life."

Vicki's mother, Joanne Steinmetz, passed away in February, and there are still moments that are hard for the reality star, like when she overheard somebody on the phone with their own mother. "I was like, 'Oh my god, I would give anything right now to call my mom and tell her I love her,'" she said. "Anything. I would give my life to be able to call her."

Vick's Real Housewives of Orange County costars were with her when she found out about her mother's passing and she praised the ladies in her Bravo blog. But after 10 seasons, Vicki said her mom was still not a fan of the Bravo series.

"She didn't like it. She thought I was different on the show. She had an opinion about [Heather Dubrow], she had an opinion about [Tamra Judge], she had an opinion about everybody," she said. "It was always, 'You're too good for that show. You need your own show,' or 'How do you socialize with those women? They're so nasty to you.'" In the end, Vicki said the show made it possible for her to give her mother gifts and go on trips.

"It's life. And we're all going to die," Vicki said. "We're all going to die one day."

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)