Vicki Gunvalson ran into Steve Lodge at an Orange County restaurant at the end of last year, and shortly thereafter, Tamra Judge revealed that the Real Housewives of Orange County alum had chased her ex-fiancé and his new fiancée, Janis Carlson, out of the venue.
Although Vicki, 59, has discussed the matter a number of times since, she has insisted that she did not chase him at all. Instead, as she’s revealed in a new interview, she followed Steve, 63, and Janis, 37, outside while on a date with a man named Rich Dowdall because he supposedly owed her money.
“He ran like a coward with the bimbo,” Vicki told Page Six on February 2. “There was no screaming. There was no chasing him like a madwoman. I was more disgusted seeing [Steve]. I got off my bar stool and walked calmly outside and did not yell or scream but did say, ‘Steve, we have some unfinished business to take care of.’ He did not answer and quickly got into her car.”
“Steve and I were engaged and I loved him very much and was committed to ‘us,’” she continued. “He elected to cheat on me and use me and didn’t have the courage to tell me he was cheating on me. He moved from my bed to hers the same day. Tell me any woman that would be ‘OK’ with that. It hurts… The fact that this guy Steve can move on as fast as he did, it’s disgusting.”
While Vicki claimed she was acting out of hurt and in an effort to remind Steve of his alleged past due balance, Rich said otherwise, arguing that the RHOC alum did, in fact, go “chasing after him.”
“He walks in with his new fiancée, and he does an about-face because we’re right at the edge of the bar, right at the last two seats, and he runs out,” Rich shared, noting that Vicki got upset with him when he told her she wasn’t “ready to date” after she returned.
“She said, ‘That’s not true,’ and I go, ‘You’re carrying a torch bigger than the Olympic torch,’” he recalled.
As for Vicki’s thoughts on Rich’s statements, she said she “was not interested in pursuing anything with him” because “he’s a loser,” and she confirmed she’s dating someone new.
“I dodged a bullet [with Steve] and am finally in a great place dating an incredibly honest man that I will keep private as long as possible,” she shared.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 16 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.