Former ‘RHOC’ Stars: Where Are They Now?
Every orange can’t last forever! Following exits from OG star Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge and Jo De La Rosa, Us Weekly is revisiting favorite former Real Housewives of Orange County stars.
After 14 seasons on the Bravo series, Vicki announced in January 2020 that she was leaving the show.
“I will always be the OG of the OC, but it’s time to say goodbye to The Real Housewives of Orange County. It’s been an incredible ride for 14 years and I want thank all of you for your support, for your love and for ‘whooping it up’ with me along the way,” she wrote at the time via Instagram. “I love all my fans, and I want to thank Bravo and Evolution for this incredible experience which my family and I have will never forget.”
That same month, Tamra, who joined the show in season 3, announced her departure. The news came after Tamra was offered a part-time role for season 15, which she promptly declined. She opted to leave the show after 12 years after receiving a call from production saying they “decided to go in a different direction” and didn’t need her as a full-time cast member.
“They even said, ‘We’re shocked. We’re completely shocked at this,’” she exclusively told Us in May 2020. “’They know that you said you’d never become a ‘friend,’ so they want to give you a limited role.’ And I’m like, ‘No, thank you.’ That’s not what I said. I said, ‘F off!’ And then I just took a week or so and I just absorbed it. … I cried and I was scared.”
Over the years, many faces have come and gone on the first Housewives series.
Gretchen Rossi walked away in 2013 ahead of season 9. Heather Dubrow stepped away in 2016 after joining the cast in season 7. Meghan King, meanwhile, exited the series in 2018 after three years on the California-based show.
Scroll down for an update on all of the ghosts of Orange County’s past!
The RHOC OG star announced her departure from the series in January 2020. She exited the show after 14 seasons, the last of which she was demoted to “friend” status instead of her usual full-time role. Vicki, who got engaged to Steve Lodge in April 2019, has put her wedding on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic. Since pressing pause on her nuptials, the reality star has put her Orange County home up for sale and bought a new vacation home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She has also been remodeling her recently purchased lake house in North Carolina, which is located near her pregnant daughter Briana Culberson’s home.
Bravo; Shutterstock
Tamra joined the RHOC cast during season 3 and announced her exit in January 2020 after 12 seasons on the show. She chose to walk away after being offered a part-time role for season 15, which she declined. The Bravo personality has since focused on her Vena CBD products, including soaking salts and cooling creams and her health. Tamra has also been dealing with her ex-husband Simon Barney’s stage 3 throat cancer diagnosis. The reality star, who is a cancer survivor herself, told Us in May 2020 that “things are much better now” between her family after the diagnoses and noted that they’ve “all rallied together.”
Bravo; Shutterstock
Alexis joined the cast of RHOC in season 5, which aired in 2009. She left the series after three years ahead of season 9. The mother of three became a topic of conversation at the season 10 reunion after Alexis wrote an email to Andy Cohen accusing Tamra Judge of making a “mockery” of religion because Tamra got baptized on the series. After exchanging nasty texts, Tamra told Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in 2016 that the two women have made amends.
Since her exit from RHOC, Alexis split from her husband, Jim, after 13 years of marriage in June 2018. According to the court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Jim filed for divorce and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. Shortly after the divorce news broke, Alexis found herself in the news again when Jim filed a lawsuit against Tamra and Shannon Beador for allegations made about their relationship. Jim and Alexis denied any “ill will” or “bad blood” between the two of them in a joint statement to Us at the time. While Shannon settled in June 2019, Tamra and Jim's legal battle is ongoing.
Five months after her divorce was finalized, Alexis debuted her new boyfriend, Andy Bohn, on social media. In June 2019, she gushed that she found her “best friend.”
“Thank you for loving all of me, for letting me be my quirky self, for showing me things in life I never saw before, for filling my heart with so much love and for making me laugh so dang hard all the time,” Alexis gushed at the time. That same month, she revealed Bohn met her kids.
Mitch Haaseth/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank; Milla Cochran/startraksphoto.com
After four seasons on RHOC, Gretchen left the series in 2013 ahead of season 9. While she made a brief cameo during season 12, her focus has shifted to becoming a mother. The handbag designer opened up to Us Weekly on multiple occasions about her IVF journey with her fiancé Slade Smiley. “It was a very, very difficult process for me. A lot harder than I had anticipated,” the former reality star told Us in February 2018. “The first time that we did it, we actually had 14 embryos that six hours before we were going to implant them, or one of them in me, we lost all of them.” As for her relationship with Slade, Gretchen told Us in June 2018 that she is “thankful [she has] an amazing partner to go through [IVF] with.”
Gretchen announced in December 2018 that she and Slade are expecting their first child together. The couple welcomed daughter Sky in July 2019.
Mitchell Haaseth/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Sara Jaye Weiss/StartraksPhoto.com
Putting the house in Housewife! Meghan joined the series for season 10 in 2015 and exited after three seasons. She announced her departure in January 2018 with a lengthy blog post, telling fans that she wanted to focus on her family. The reality TV personality and her husband, Jim Edmonds, welcomed twin boys, Hayes and Hart, in June 2018. “Hayes is so chill. If he’s ever fussy, he just needs to burp and that’s it. Hart is like a wild man and he wants to be held all the time. He’s really good too,” Meghan told Us at the time, adding that she still texts former costar Tamra Judge. Meghan and Jim are also parents of daughter Aspen.
The couple made headlines in June 2019 after Jim was caught sexting with another woman named Jennifer McFelia Villegas, who allegedly has a past with multiple professional athletes. Jim admitted to Us at the time that he had a “lapse in judgment,” but the former St. Louis Cardinals star maintained that he “never touched” Villegas. Meghan, for her part, detailed the betrayal in a lengthy blog post. She also gave an exclusive statement to Us after the scandal broke.
“I only blame my husband for his actions: he made the choice to betray my trust and jeopardize our marriage,” Meghan told Us at the time. “His recklessness also allowed this woman to profit from my heartbreak — but now that her name is out there, she won’t be able to shake down any other families as I rebuild mine.”
Months later, Meghan and Jim split for good in October 2019. Meghan has since moved on with businessman Christian Schauf. Us confirmed in May 2020 that the former reality star sparked a romance with Christian after meeting on a dating app.
Tommy Garcia/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Heather was a series regular on RHOC for five seasons, joining the cast in season 7. After her departure in 2016, she returned to her acting roots and guest-starred on an episode of Freeform’s Young & Hungry in 2017. Heather also launched two podcasts, "Heather Dubrow’s World" and "Dr and Mrs. Guinea Pig" with her husband, Terry, with whom she continues to raise their four children. And while fans got a glimpse inside Heather’s infamous home, which was under construction for the majority of her time on the series, on her YouTube channel, she has yet to show it off in its entirety. Terry did, however, tease chateau Dubrow during an interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish in June 2018: “So the house has been done for two-and-a-half years. Heather always says, 'Let's go on vacation.' I go, 'I don't want to go on vacation. My house is like a resort — except my house is bigger.' It's perfection. It's 22,000 square feet. It's got a 22-seat movie theater. It's my haven."
The actress teamed up with her husband in 2018 to write The Dubrow Diet: Interval Eating to Lose Weight and Feel Ageless. Two years later, they released The Dubrow Keto Fusion Diet, which is both a book and a nutrition plan. In June 2020, the couple’s daughter Max came out as bisexual, which the pair fully supported. “I think as parents, what makes me so happy is that she is so confident and comfortable in who she is,” the former Bravo personality told Entertainment Tonight in July 2020. Terry added: “She felt free and the acceptance of her coming out was so amazing.”
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An OG. Jeana was a full-time cast member on the first five seasons of RHOC and has made multiple guest appearances since then. The mother of three became a grandma in January 2016 when her daughter Kara gave birth to a baby girl named Decker with her husband, NFL player Kyle Bosworth. The real estate agent also made headlines in December 2017 for documenting her facelift in a short video for People Magazine called Jeana Keough: A Real Housewife Goes Under the Knife.
After decades apart, Jeana finalized her divorce from ex-husband Matt Keough in November 2019. They initially split in 2004. The family suffered a heartbreaking loss in April 2020, when Jeana’s daughter Kara lost her son during childbirth. The following month, Jeana’s ex-husband and the father of her three children died. The former MLB pitcher was 64.
Chris McPherson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
Jo starred on RHOC for the first two seasons and made cameos during season 3 and 4, before briefly starring on her own spinoff, Date My Ex: Jo & Slade. Since her departure from reality TV, Jo launched a career in advertising and moved to Los Angeles. She opened up about her career change during a March 2018 interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish. "It's like being an astronaut; you go to the moon, then you come back and you're, like, working in advertising," she explained. "I know, I know, I just compared being a Housewife to going to the moon." As for her personal life, Jo announced her engagement to the CEO and founder of Empire Digital Mark Lovette in 2015. It’s unclear if the pair ever made it down the aisle, however, as Jo has since deleted her Instagram photos with him and has not updated her account since December 2016.
In October 2020, Jo opened up about watching her ex-fiancé Slade Smiley start dating former friend and costar Gretchen Rossi. “I don’t think anybody likes to see their ex move on. Not that they don’t like to see it, but it’s always weird when they do,” she exclusively told Us during an episode of the “Getting Real with the Housewives” podcast.
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Kimberly is one of the OGs of The OC, but she only starred on the series for one season. The former Bravo star has kept a low profile since leaving reality TV, moving her family, including her daughter, Bianca, and son Travis, to the suburbs of Chicago. She did make brief guest appearances on seasons 3 and 4 of RHOC, but skipped the cast’s March 2016 reunion in honor of 10-year anniversary of the inaugural Housewives franchise. In a 2010 interview with the Daily Herald, Kimberly told her local newspaper that she still gets recognized when she’s out with her family, but revealed she has shifted her focus to Chicago-area charity events.
Chris McPherson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Lauri was a full-time cast member on RHOC for the first four seasons and made appearances on seasons 5 and 8. Since her exit, Lauri has frequently shared photos of her husband, George, her two adult daughters and her son Josh’s daughter, Kennedy, whom she adopted in 2015 amid Josh’s struggles with substance abuse. Josh was arrested for allegedly shooting a man in California and leaving the scene with a stolen car in 2016. Lauri broke her silence on the drama in a series of tweets in March 2018. “After keeping silent for nearly 2 years in regards to my sons arrest, I am going to begin laying out the facts of his case and how easily it is to be falsely accused!” she tweeted. According to the Los Angeles Times, Lauri took the stand during Josh’s court hearing in April 2018. He faced multiple life prison sentences if convicted, the outlet reported. Josh was released from jail in March 2020 after accepting a plea deal in his attempted murder case. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his release, People reported.
Isabella Vosmikova/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Milla Cochran/startraksphoto.com
Lizzie was a full-time Housewife for season 9 and switched to a friend role for season 10. She left the show before season 11 started filming. After her exit, Lizzie filed for divorce from her husband of eight years, Christian Rovsek, in December 2017. She also continues to work on her swimsuit line.
Rudy Martinez/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Milla Cochran/startraksphoto.com
After exiting RHOC after one season in 2013, Lydia shocked fans by returning for another season in 2017. She left the series for a second time in February 2018 after just one year. Lydia opened up about her decision to leave exclusively to Us Weekly. “The decision to film and sign on for season 13, like my husband and I were talking a lot and so we included our kids in the conversation and we did a family vote and I was kind of on the fence … obviously they would support me if I really decided to do it again, but I just felt like that was a really good indicator of maybe just the stress it puts on them,” she told Us, referring to her husband, Doug, and their three sons: Stirling, Maverick and Roman.
Since her second departure, Lydia frequently updates her fashion and lifestyle blog and still works on Nobleman magazine with Doug. Lydia teamed up with Bravo again in September 2020 for a digital series called Glitter Town, which also stars Lydia’s mother, Judy Stirling. The show focused on the mother-daughter duo enjoying life and spreading joy and glitter everywhere they go.
Alex Martinez/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Nobu Newport Beach
Lynne starred on the Bravo series for seasons 4 and 5. After her exit, she filed for divorce from her husband, Frank, in 2012 after 22 years of marriage. While she revealed to Bravo in September 2017 that she “found a new love” after her split, Radar Online reported in January 2018 that her divorce case was thrown out after Frank never appeared in court or responded to her divorce filing. She filed for divorce for the second time in April 2019.
Lynne’s daughter Alexia, meanwhile, made headlines in February 2018 after she was charged with possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia, according to Page Six. Lynne’s other adult daughter, Raquel, has maintained a lower profile. Lynne continues to work on her jewelry line.
Mitchell Haaseth/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Milla Cochran/startraksphoto.com
One and done. Peggy made history as Bravo’s 100th Housewife when she debuted on the premiere of season 12 in 2017. It turns out reality TV wasn’t for her, however, as Us Weekly exclusively revealed in February 2018 that she was not returning for season 13. “What an exciting experience it was to be part of The Real Housewives of Orange County!” she told Us in a statement at the time. “It was an honor to be the 100th housewife and to be part of the Bravo family. I am extremely proud of being the first Armenian-American Housewife and sharing my culture with the world.” Since her departure, Peggy has launched a tease spray for hair and celebrated her 23rd wedding anniversary with her husband, Diko, with whom she shares three children: Giovanna, Gianelle and Koko.
Tommy Garcia/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Peggy was a full-time cast member on season 6 of the series and switched to a guest role in season 7 before leaving the show all together. Peggy shifted her focus to helping women who struggle with postpartum depression. “When I first left, I kind of just focused on the family a lot. Part of my departure was the anxiety I have and my bouts with postpartum depression and everything," she told Bravo’s The Daily Dish in August 2016. "So I felt overwhelmed, and so I took some time to just really be with my family and spend some time with the kids and that kind of thing." She also served as an executive producer for the June 2016 documentary When the Bough Breaks, in which she and other moms, including Carnie Wilson and Brooke Shields, detailed their struggles. Peggy, who released a fitness DVD in 2013, frequently shares photos of her daughters, whom she shares with her husband, Micah, on Instagram.
Tommy Garcia/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Milla Cochran/startraksphoto.com
A one-season wonder. Quinn appeared as a Housewife on RHOC during season 3 and made guest appearances for the following three seasons. Quinn keeps a low profile and moved to Northern California but updates fans on her family life via Twitter. In May 2018, she revealed she had “4 full grown grandkids!”
Kelsey McNeal/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Tammy was only a full-time Housewife during seasons 2 and 3, but appeared as a guest during seasons 4, 5, 6 and 10. After taking a step back from the series, she moved to Balboa Island in Newport Beach, California, and told Yahoo TV in April 2014 that she continues to coparent with Duff Evans, the father of her youngest son, Ryley. “Duff Evans and I live down the street from each other. We always surprise people when they realize we're not a couple still,” she told the outlet. "I always kid with them and say the secret to our relationship is we date other people." She also told Yahoo TV that she remains close to her older daughters, Lindsey and Megan.
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