Braunwyn Windham-Burke discusses the call she received about her Real Housewives of Orange County firing, reacts to Andy Cohen‘s statement, and basically confirms her pal Noella Bergener has been cast on season 16. Plus, she also confirms she’s dating Fernanda Rocha.
In a recent interview, Braunwyn recounted the dreadful phone call she received — while on a date at the beach — from a showrunner who was asked to deliver the bad news to the mother-of-seven.
“He just said, ‘Hey, how are you?’ I said, ‘I’m good, I’m hanging out with so-and-so at the beach,” she told Entertainment Tonight on June 17. “He’s like, ‘OK, good. I’m glad you’re in a happy place.’ And once he said that, I was like, OK, all right. And he’s like, ‘The network decided to go another way. They’re not going to be renewing your contract.'”
Braunwyn admitted she was devastated before pretty much confirming her friend Noella was offered a contract, which she says was like a smack in the face.
“I was a little bit heartbroken, to say the least,” she shared. “And then I said, ‘Is my girlfriend who’s been auditioning, is she on?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ And so it was like a double hit.”
“I was really looking forward to filming with her,” she continued. “I’ve never done the show with a friend. I’ve never really done the show with anyone that even liked me a little bit. So I was really looking forward [to that] after how hard last year was. And so, I made it off the beach. I went and grabbed my stuff, got my towel and stuff, and then I got to my car and I just broke down crying. Just sobbing.”
It should be mentioned that Braunwyn wouldn’t confirm she was referring to Noella, but it’s fairly obvious at this point.
Braunwyn — who says she was blindsided by the news and initially believed her “life was over” — also reacted to Andy Cohen’s statement regarding her exit as the host explained he didn’t think the show was currently the “healthiest spot” for the star and her family.
“I remember reading that, I’m like, well, that was last year. And you had no problem filming me?” she said. “Now I’m through it all. And I’m good. Not one person reached out to me during this hiatus to see what was going on. So that’s, yes, I’m doing great and things are normal. So what do I think? I think I’m a lot. I think my story is insane because I’m not… I know it’s a lot. I know. And it’s hard to– in the Housewife world, you go into the show, and ideally you have your main storyline and then one other. You have two. And it’s hard to narrow me down to two things right now.”
Braunwyn went on to say she’s leaning on her friends, including Fernanda and Tamra Judge, as she processes her new reality. She also admitted that Fernanda was the person she was with when she received the phone call from the showrunner. Though she confirmed she’s dating Fernanda, she wants fans to know she is not a “homewrecker,” which recent reports have suggested.
“So Fernanda is in the midst of a divorce right now,” she noted. “I will say this: Although we were friends before her divorce, we were never anything more than friends ‘til after she filed. So she filed for divorce in January. So what you’re reading isn’t true.”
She added, “I’m trying to respect her boundaries right now with her marriage, and her divorce right now that’s going on.”
As for her longtime marriage to the father of her seven children, Sean Burke, Braunwyn now admits that divorce will come one day, but they’re in no rush to file. In fact, though they were planning to live separately if her RHOC contract was renewed, they’ve now decided to take off to Hawaii together for a few months.
Braunwyn says she doesn’t have a real plan right now, but she claims she has been flooded with other television offers, which her assistant is currently keeping track of. And for now, she’s taking things “one day at a time.”
