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Vicki Gunvalson is firing back at claims that her boyfriend, Michael Smith, took back a marriage proposal.
As she also called out Carmella Garcia, 44, over her habit of gifting their Real Housewives of Orange County castmates with very pricey presents, including Emily Simpson‘s $3,000 Dior bag and her and Shannon Beador‘s Dior wallets and scarves, Vicki accused Tamra Judge, 59, of lying about her relationship, as she shared her true feelings about getting engaged and married.
“Tamra makes up sh*t in her mind, and she spits it out of her mouth. I don’t know why everybody’s so concerned about my life and my relationship with Mike,” Vicki confirmed on the September 3 episode of the RHOC: After Show. “There is no fact to what Tamra’s saying, that I got a ring and he took it back. If I got a diamond ring and he took it back, we wouldn’t be together. So, I don’t know what the point is of her doing this.”
While Vicki previously revealed that Michael bought a ring and was keeping it in a safe until she “[shapes] up,” she insisted that his “90-day rule,” in which she was expected to behave for that long to get the ring, was a joke.
“Well, when is it a joke and when is it a warning?” wondered Heather Dubrow, 57, as Tamra described the alleged dynamic as “confusing” and “weird.”
According to Vicki, her castmates were “a dog with a bone” when it came to her relationship.
“They have nothing else to talk about. So, they’re talking about my life,” she explained.
Vicki then revealed that she would “gladly accept” the engagement ring whenever Michael gives it to her.
“I’m not needing to get married again,” she explained. “Financially, nope. He’s got his money; I’ve got mine. Morally, probably more so, yes, to show my children, you know, I’m in a committed relationship, and I’m married again. It’s gonna be a joint decision when [I do] get engaged, and I might just stay engaged forever and never get married. I don’t know.”
“We’re not gonna have a wedding. If we get married, we’ll go to the church in Puerto Vallarta and get married,” Vicki continued. “It’s not even on the forefront of our mind. He bought a ring he fell in love with. He bought it. It’s in the safe. Done. Everybody else needs to shut the F up. It’s not their business. I haven’t seen it; I have no knowledge about it. When he wants to put it on my finger, I will gladly accept it. Until then, I’m good.”
At another moment of the RHOC: After Show, Vicki said Carmella “was trying to buy [Shannon’s] love a little bit, maybe a lot a bit” when she gave her the Dior wallet and scarf.
“I’ve been friends with some of my friends for 40 years. We don’t gift-give like that. I don’t care how much money you have,” Vicki declared, adding that she “exchanged [her scarf] for [gym shoes] because I’m not a scarf person.”
After Vicki clarified that she appreciated Carmella’s generosity, Heather admitted that Carmella “buying those gifts when clearly Vicki hates her … [was] odd.”
“It’s an expensive gift to give somebody,” Tamra agreed, as Heather added, “That you really don’t know.”
Still, in her own segment, Carmella said that providing friends with elaborate gifts was “who [she is].”
“It’s what I wanted to do, and I just went to the mall and picked out something. I actually went to two malls for Vicki,” she shared. “I don’t feel like I’m disingenuous. [If] I’m going to a 50th birthday party, of course I’m bringing a nice gift.”
“I’m definitely not bringing a hoodie,” Carmella continued, seemingly dissing Gina Kirschenheiter, 42, who previously gifted Emily a hoodie.
As for Jennifer Pedranti, 49, she pointed out that buying one another expensive presents was simply how Carmella’s friend group operated.
“It’s not even outside the box for you,” Jennifer told her co-star.
“We’ve done it for years,” Carmella replied.
Then, as Tamra said it would make more sense if Carmella was buying for “friends that [she’d] known for years,” Shannon defended the newbie.
“My birthday gift from Carmella is beautiful … There’s no hidden agenda, I don’t believe … She’s just generous, super generous. Is it a lot? Yeah. It is,” she declared.
Elsewhere, Gina seemingly suggested that Carmella’s gift-giving was only for the show.
“My birthday was a week after we stopped filming and I didn’t even get a text message … and we’re friendly,” she pointed out.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 20 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo.