The Real Housewives of Orange County newbie Braunwyn Windham-Burke is revealing she learned a lot about herself while filming season 14.
As we count down the minutes till the RHOC season 14 premiere tonight on Bravo, which will feature major changes in the cast and fresh faces like Braunwyn’s, the mother of seven is teasing what fans can expect in a new interview.
“The dynamics of the show shift a lot,” the 41-yr-old new reality star said to PEOPLE. “I think that, you know, friendships on the season are definitely tried and tested, and I think a lot of old issues come up that need to be worked through.”
While that all sounds great from a viewer’s standpoint, for the housewives, that meant having to deal with a lot of tension. And according to Braunwyn, she felt the most of it from Tamra Judge, who oddly enough, has expressed her love for the new housewife in recent weeks. While Branwyn admits she felt friction with Tamra, she also claims the RHOC star forced her to face a lot of her own issues and ended up helping her.
“If I had to pick the person I had the most friction with, it would probably be Tamra,” said Braunwyn.
“[Tamra] didn’t give me an easy time…but she really brought the best out of me even when I didn’t want it to be brought out,” the reality star dished. “I think a lot of it had to do with me just opening up and being honest really, just letting everyone know who I really was.”
And while castmembers like Tamra and Shannon Beador usually take a while to warm up to new blood on the show, that simply wasn’t the case with Braunwyn.
“I have to say, Tamra and Shannon, they’re like, ‘No, we want to get to know the real you,’ and they were really great at pulling it out of me and making me confront some uncomfortable truths about myself,” the blonde housewife said.
After filming the show, Braunwyn admits she’s changed for the better and has learned a lot about herself.
“I avoid conflict. Which sounds hilarious going onto a show that’s, you know, known for conflict,” the Bravo star joked. “I am a people pleaser and I hate conflict. And then I learned that I run from it, literally and figuratively, you’ll see as the season progresses.”
Braunwyn also learned quickly that when facing these opinionated housewives, she had to stand her ground and “stay in the uncomfortableness.” And since the busy mom has been married to her husband, Sean Burke, the CEO of tech center Channelstar since she was just 19 years old, doing the show forced her to “stand on her own two feet” for the first time ever.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 14 premieres tonight, August 6 at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
Photo Credit: Tommy Garcia/Bravo