Vicki Gunvalson doesn’t believe Teresa Giudice was completely innocent in her and her husband Joe Giudice‘s fraud scandal years ago, which resulted in them both spending time behind bars.
While chatting with Andy Cohen on her podcast on Thursday, the former Real Housewives of Orange County cast member revealed she spoke to LeeAnne Locken after her Real Housewives of Dallas exit and discussed fiancé Steve Lodge‘s conservative views after addressing the Real Housewives of New Jersey star’s legal drama.
“It’s hard for me because I am a steward of money and I don’t lie, cheat, or steal,” Vicki said on Whoop It Up with Vicki after Andy asked for her opinion on Teresa and Joe’s bank and wire fraud case.
“There’s a lot I don’t know about it [but] I think [Teresa] knew more than what she’s leading onto. She had to. She’s not an idiot, right?” she continued. “There’s a lot I don’t know but I do know, if I’m paying my taxes at 100 percent of what I owe, everybody else should be doing the same.”
Although Vicki is an expert in finances, she didn’t feel it was her place to reach out to her fellow Real Housewives star. “But I could teach her some things,” she noted.
As for LeeAnne’s departure from the RHOD cast, Vicki said the two of them spoke earlier this week.
“[LeeAnne] just said, ‘How are you coping?’ and I said, ‘It’s a day to day thing. Some days I’m really good and some days I’m not good at all because I felt like my identity, part of my identity, was [RHOC]’ … I kind of helped her, ironically.”
According to Vicki, LeeAnne’s husband, Rich Emberlin, is a lot like Steve.
“Rich has the same career that Steve did. They are very protective. They look at it differently and Rich didn’t like some of the stuff that was being said about her,” she explained.
During the RHOC season 14 reunion, Vicki’s co-stars, Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador, suggested that because Steve is so conservative, Vicki’s relationship with the show was impacted and the way in which she presented herself changed.
When Andy asked Vicki if the ladies’ suspicions were correct, Vicki admitted there was “a lot of truth” to what they said.
“Because I don’t want to ever embarrass him or his family or our grandkids,” she shared. “Plus, I’m a little older right now. But he is conservative. He doesn’t agree with taking your top off and kissing another woman. That’s fine if you are a lesbian and you’re gay, that’s good. But if you are married, I have to say I don’t understand that either. So that’s like cheating on your spouse and I don’t do that anymore.”
“I hope that hasn’t affected my tenure on the show,” she continued. If it [has], that makes me sad because [Steve] doesn’t control me. He loves me for who I am.”
That said, Steve does encourage Vicki to be on her best behavior.
“He’s always like, ‘Don’t forget you have kids. Don’t forget you have grandkids. Don’t forget you have clients,’” she said.
New episodes of Whoop It Up with Vicki are shared every Tuesday by Westwood One.
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