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The Real Housewives of Orange County has become one of the most talked-about shows after the infamous lie detector episode. Now, the woman at the center of the drama, Katie Ginella, is opening up her treatment from the ladies, what she regrets from her first season, and her relationship with bloggers.
As fans are aware, Katie’s status on the show going forward is uncertain. It has been reported that she will be away for a while and missed the trip to Amsterdam. The midseason trailer was recently released, and she’s hardly in it.
Katie, 41, was on the September 4 episode of The Viall Files. While on the podcast, they asked her why she thinks the other women ganged up on her.
“If I were to guess, it’s because last year I maybe embarrassed them a little bit with things that they may have lied about or skewed,” Katie said.
She continued, “And so this was their way of getting back at me.” Katie then cited examples, such as the nanny reaching out to her, her daughter discussing the show on a podcast, etc. She added that her doing that “embarrassed Emily.” She also mentioned the paparazzi drama involving Heather Dubrow, 56.
Nick Viall then asked Katie about what she regrets from season 18 of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
“You know, at the end of season one, I was regretful of a few things, but now I’m not,” Katie responded. “Just like this season, I wish I would stick up for myself more. Be a little bit more vocal, but this is who I am.”
Katie added, “I am very much in person the same as I am filming. I do need to get more confident in standing up for myself, but in those moments, I was very authentic and very real.” She then said, “I don’t really regret anything from the first season.”
When asked if the ladies are trying to get her to leave the show, Katie responded, “That’s what it feels like.”
Elsewhere in the interview, she was asked who she would say are the biggest hypocrites on the show when it comes to talking to bloggers. Katie explained, “Well, it would have to be a toss-up between Gina and Gretchen.” She cited the sit-down with Kiki Monique when she told Gretchen Rossi, 46, that they’d met before.
She was also asked if she’d changed her relationships with bloggers since this ordeal started, and she said, “Yes.” Katie also said she felt “used,” but she admitted that she made some “rookie mistakes.”
When asked about her friendship with Jennifer Pedranti, 48, and how it felt for her to not own up to what she knew, Katie said, “It is really hurtful because the reason you saw me go, ‘Jenn, like come on,’ is because she was there, and she could have backed me up and given me some accountability with these ladies.”
She went on, “And that hurt. I left that Persian New Year party gutted. I was seriously depressed. For days, I lay in bed and cried, and weeks after, anytime anyone would mention her name, I would just burst out in tears.” Katie added that she loved Jenn and that their kids even became friends. She also said they don’t speak.
In speaking about the situation with the lie detector, Katie explained, “It definitely felt like a pile-on. I thought it was a setup.” She then discussed the research she did on the guy running the test and how often he’s been featured on television. Later, Nick brought up how some of the other ladies were found to have lied, and they just brushed past it.
“They just brushed past everybody’s,” Katie responded. “They brushed past Tamra’s statement about being on the spectrum. We brushed past Jenn, saying she was uneasy about marrying Ryan, and then me, it was like, ‘Get out. You need to go.'” Katie then highlighted that the “only three people to pass with flying colors” were Gina Kirschenheiter, 41, Emily Simpson, 49, and Gretchen.
From there, after saying she hasn’t gotten apologies from anyone, she remembered that she actually got one from Gretchen. However, it was from ChatGPT.
She also said the apology came “the morning [she] was doing press in New York.” Specifically, it was for the offensive video. Katie also said it was Gretchen who she felt was being inappropriate in the video, despite Jenn being the one to post it. Katie was also asked about her relationship with Tamra Judge, 57, and said they have been in touch.
RHOC airs on Thursday nights.