Opening herself up for the world has become second nature to Vicki, the reigning queen of The Real Housewives of Orange County, which begins its eighth season today. Vicki has been captured by cameras since 2006, back when Anna Nicole Smith was still alive and tweeting was still for the birds.
Why has she continued to allow cameras to document her life? “I have a sense of responsibility,” she said. “I would've been (expletive) at myself if I backed out of season five or six and saw the success of the franchise keep going. There's nothing I can't handle. I just have to figure out a way not to crumble when times get tough.”
Creator Scott Donlop remembers her apprehension about joining the show. Nobody had an inkling The Real Housewives, marketed as a reality Desperate Housewives would last for eight seasons, let alone ignite a cultural phenomenon.
“I remember sitting in Vicki's dining room with her then-husband Donn and her asking me, ‘Why would you put me on a television show?” Donlop said. Gunvalson isn't sure if the network will invite her back to yelp her signature "WOO HOO!" for a ninth season.
"There will be a day when the curtains close or Bravo tells me they're going with a younger crowd or that I don't have a story anymore," she says. "I'll never not have a story. I'm Vicki Gunvalson. I'm not boring. There's going to be a story. The question is does Bravo want it?"
Later this year, it will reach a milestone: its 100th episode. Bravo is planning a two-hour special that will pull back the curtain on the series and revisit past cast members.
Ocala