Vicki Gunvalson isn’t tuning into the latest season of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
While appearing on Tamra Judge and Teddi Mellencamp‘s podcast on Thursday, the longtime reality star shaded the drama of the Bravo show as “mindless” before admitting she’ll “never be over” ex-fiancé Steve Lodge, questioning Teddi about whether or not her famous father is single, and addressing the possibility of a reconciliation with ex-husband Donn Gunvalson.
“Right now I look at that sh-t like it’s so mindless and it’s so stupid. I’m all about building a solid quality mind,” Vicki explained on the January 13 episode of Two T’s in a Pod. “I’m not [watching]. I watched a clip but here in Mexico you can’t get it. I don’t feel good about [the direction of the show]. I want to be back on and change it but [Tamra and I] are never going to be back on.”
Although Vicki doesn’t see a return as a possibility, she is in touch with some cast members of the past, including Kelly Dodd.
“I reached out to Kelly two months ago and said, ‘Do you want to meet.’ And so we did,” Vicki revealed. “And it was nice. When I left her at the reunion we hugged it out and we never talked after that and it bugs me because I really liked Kelly and I thought, ‘What the hell happened?’ So I reached out to her and she goes, ‘It’s all good!’”
As for Heather Dubrow, Vicki isn’t feuding with her ex-castmate but isn’t friends with her either.
“I like Heather [but] I always thought Heather looks down on me because I don’t have an extra zero,” Vicki admitted. ‘It’s the way I feel. Sometimes it’s not what they say, it’s how they make you feel. She’s never made an effort to see me. I run into her at Maestro’s every now and then. There’s no effort. I’m not in her league.”
Now that she’s no longer featured on RHOC, Vicki is considering moving out of Orange County and splitting her time between Chicago and Puerto Vallarta.
“I’m buying another house in Chicago,” Vicki confirmed. “I don’t think I’m going to stay in Orange County. I don’t think I’ll live in [Puerto Vallarta] full time but I want to spend at least six months of the year here.”
When Vicki first bought her condo in Mexico, she was engaged to Steve. And looking back on their years-long romance and two-year engagement, the RHOC OG star confessed that she has still not recovered.
“I’ll never be over him. Because to me, when you fall in love with somebody as deep as I did, you don’t move out of somebody’s house and into the next one,” she shared. “I don’t like to be alone. Steve knew that. I said, ‘Whatever we’re going through, let’s work it out together.’”
But that didn’t happen. Instead, Steve suddenly broke up with Vicki and hasn’t spoken to her since moving out, aside from telling her that she “needs help.”
Despite her heartbreak, Vicki did ask Teddi, ”Is your dad single?”
“You do not want to date my dad. He’s not tall enough for you. I hear you need a six-foot requirement. He’s maybe 5’9”, maybe… [and] he smokes 24/7,” Teddi replied.
As she looks for her next partner, Vicki shared her list of ideal qualities, which she said included “only 20 things,” including “family man,” “self-sufficient,” “attracted to me,” “someone who’s not intimidated by my success,” has “good teeth,” “owns a home,” and “likes to have sex with me.”
“I want a non-lying, perfect relationship, which I thought I had with my fiancé,’ she added.
Luckily, she has the help of a matchmaker, who recently set her up with a man in Chicago, who “is picking [her] up from the airport when” she returns. And if things don’t work out with that mystery man, Vicki admitted she is open to giving her past marriage to Donn another try.
“Donn and I actually really have re-sparked a friendship. He just got recovered from COVID. He was alone so I did InstaCart, [ordered him] food, and medication, got up with my doctor, and he was really heartfelt. He’s like, ‘You know, Vicki? I’m all alone.’ [He was] very thankful,” Vicki revealed. “Of course [I’d consider reconciling]. I love Donn.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 16 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.