Vicki Gunvalson is standing by Tamra Judge — even as she admits she wasn’t a fan of how her longtime pal treated Shannon Beador.
The “Real Housewives of Orange County” OG, who counts both women among her friends, tells Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” that she found herself playing peacemaker as tensions between Judge and Beador exploded while filming the upcoming “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.”
“You’ll see this season, I did my very best to just kind of be the intermediator, but also say, ‘We gotta stop this!’” Gunvalson says of the current “RHOC” installment. “In the real picture of the world, what are you guys fighting about?”
She continues, “OK, let’s say you don’t respect each other, let’s say you don’t like each other — but we’ve gotta work together, we’ve got to be able to do this. So you’re gonna see, I think things evolve a little bit.”
The latest chapter in Judge and Beador’s fractured friendship unfolded during a filmed scene at Newport Beach hotspot The Quiet Woman, where Judge told her former best friend she would never own a home or find lasting love.
Despite the harsh exchange, Gunvalson believes viewers will see a different side of Judge on this season of “RHOC.”
“I know Shannon wasn’t wanting to apologize because she didn’t feel like she did anything wrong,” she explains. “Tamra did really show some softness of herself this season — which I loved — because Tamra is a quality person.”
Still, Gunvalson says she didn’t always agree with Judge’s approach.
“I love Tamra and I just didn’t like the way she was treating Shannon,” she says. “When you’re friends with both of them, like, why are you being so mean?”
Gunvalson also weighed in on another premiere episode dust-up involving Jennifer Pedranti, who informed Judge that Heather Dubrow had allegedly been speaking negatively about their friendship.
“I didn’t like that either,” Gunvalson says. “I just want everyone to get along and whoop it up. … I think maybe she’s trying to find her way a little bit, which is fine, but it wasn’t Jenn’s position to do that.”
After appearing only as a “friend of” in recent years, Gunvalson says returning to the fold in a more substantial capacity for Season 20 has given her a different perspective on the cast dynamics.
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“I haven’t filmed with these ladies in four years,” she says. “I was a ‘friend’ a couple seasons and that was the worst thing to do because you didn’t know what was going on and I’m like, ‘OK, what are we doing now? Why is everyone mad at each other?’ So I come from a different place.”
These days, the Bravo veteran says age has taught her that holding onto grudges simply isn’t worth it.
“As you age, you also look at what is really important to stand true to yourself. You can’t continue fights for season after season after season. Resolve it and move on,” Gunvalson says.
“And I think you’re going to see some resolve this year.”
“The Real Housewives of Orange County” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo with new episodes available to stream the next day on Peacock.
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