Bravo is shaking up The Real Housewives of Orange County.
With a very familiar face.
During a taping of The Bravos BravoCon in Las Vegas on Friday, November 14, Vicki Gunvalson was surprised by Andy Cohen in front of a legion of fans.
”Vicki, would you join us as a housewife for Season 20?” Cohen asked the OG of the OC.
The 63-year-old appeared emotional, giving the executive producer a hug and exclaiming, “Yes!”
Gunvalson — who was a full-time cast member when the franchise debuted in 2006 — appeared on 14 seasons of the series before announcing her departure in January 2020.
“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 in a lengthy statement at the time.
“I’ve been working on new projects that will be exciting, empowering and inspirational. My podcast with Westwood One will be launching soon and I will have much more to say about this on ‘Whoop it up with Vicki.’
“I hope you will join me with my new journey so please stay tuned. 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.”
This piece of casting news comes after Gunvalson and former co-star Tamra Judge squashed their feud.
“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs in our 20 years. I always say we’re like sisters,” Tamra told Us Weekly on November 5, adding:
“It’s that love-hate relationship all the time. I’m talking sisterly love, like, you have little arguments. And then, of course, being on a show together, there’s always ups and downs — especially the type of show that we were on together.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County cast from Season 19 included Judge (who may now be gone), Shannon Beador, Heather Dubrow, Gina Kirschenheiter, Emily Simpson, Jennifer Pedranti, and Katie Ginella.
Shannon Storms Beador, for her part, was asked about the aforementioned moment during the BravoCon 2025 panel Getting Lucky at the Love Hotel, claiming she was very pleased with the casting move.
“You know, I’m so excited for Vicki,” she said, before sharing an anecdote from BravoCon 2023.
“And it was really funny… Two years ago, when she won the Wifetime Achievement award, [Vicki] came back to the seat and said something like, ‘Oh, why didn’t Andy pull an orange out of his pocket?’ And he did that last night… I’m so excited for her.”