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Vicki Gunvalson recalled when she almost got arrested at a Mexican airport on suspicion of illegal importation. The Real Housewives of Orange County star claimed she was confined and wasn’t allowed a translator – as she revealed what landed her in trouble.
Though Vicki is known as the ‘OG of the OC,’ she has a condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she often travels. Last year, Vicki called the condo her “oasis” as she gushed about her renovations.
But on My Friend My Soulmate My Podcast, Vicki recalled when she almost got arrested in the country. According to Vicki, it all started over the car shocks she purchased in California but brought to Mexico on a flight.
“[After arriving in Mexico] we opened up the box and there was [only] three [shocks] in there,” said Vicki. “So I called [my boyfriend] Michael right away. I’m like, ‘Okay, there’s four shocks. Why are there only three?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know. … There must be one still up in L.A.’ I’m like, are you freaking kidding me!?”
“[Later on] I almost got arrested at the airport,” she went on. “I might have mouthed off a little bit too much. [The shocks] went through the conveyor belt, and all of a sudden three guys come over. And I’m like, I don’t speak Spanish. And then they said, we don’t speak English.”
Vicki claimed she opened her Duolingo app to translate her request for a human translator – but her request was denied. They continued to use Duolingo to communicate.
“[They asked me], ‘why are you bringing shocks to Mexico?'” Vicki added. “I’m like, ‘Well, it’s kind of a long story, but my friend [needed them]. … The guy [and I went] back and forth and back and forth, and he did not like my attitude. I said, ‘You know what, I’ve been flying for 3 hours!'”
“And I thought I better shut up because you can’t import things. So I said I bought a car here in Mexico, and it was an older car, an SUV, and it needs new shocks,” she went on. “And they said, ‘Yeah, we’re taking your passport, and we’re taking your resident card, follow us.’ I’m like, oh my God, I’m in trouble.”
Vicki said they “put me in a room” for nearly an hour and a half.
“I am in confinement right now. I don’t know what’s happening. … I thought they were going to arrest me,” she said. “He goes, you have to pay for them being imported. … [After paying], I said, ‘Am I free to go!?’ He’s like, ‘ándale! Go! Go! Go!'”