Bravo is home of some of the best reality TV shows of all time, namely the Real Housewives franchise. That property is celebrating a whopping 20 years on the network (and streaming with a Peacock subscription) with Ultimate Girls Trip Season 5. But I have to admit that watching Vicki Gunvalson on both that show and Orange County is a bit too much for me. I simply can't handle that much of the OG of OC!
Vicki Gunvalson is one of the first Real Housewives ever, and her tenure on Orange County is truly iconic. Fans were thrilled when she got her orange back as a series regular, but after Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip's premiere, it's become clear that I can only handle one episode of Vicki per week. Because two is making me a little crazy.
Vicki's Personality Is Too Much To Watch Twice A Week.
Vicki Gunvalson has the ingredients of all great Real Housewives. She's a tad delusional, has no self-awareness, and usually doesn't admit that she's wrong. This combination has created some truly hilarious moments of television, as well as some emotionally devastating scenes. I mean, who can forget when Vicki found out about her mother's death on camera?
But she's been a bit of fun sucker on both Orange County and Ultimate Girls Trip so far. Despite her wanting to "whoop it up", she keeps sucking all the air out of the room. Whether she's distributing life insurance paperwork to other Housewives or hyper-fixating on being called a "Debbie Downer" by Emily Simpson, it feels like Vicki isn't necessarily happy to be on camera and with the rest of the women.
While she's got history with the cast of Orange County and will put in some effort (she did that zip line in Vegas, after all!), I'm having an especially hard time watching her on Ultimate Girls Trip. Case in point: the scene where Gizelle Bryant is trying to confront her on a sprinter van, while Vicki is literally working on her computer. She refuses to engage in the conversation at all, despite both Gizelle and Teresa Giuidice trying to argue with her. There are a ton of beloved Housewives that could have taken her spot on RHUGT, ones that wouldn't be literally working other jobs while in the midst of filming.
Over on RHOC Vicki is more palatable, but seeing her twice a week is making my patience for her shenanigans low. Maybe if she was more fun on RHUGT I wouldn't mind her hazing newbie Carmella Garcia or leaving events early. But the combination of both shows is making the longtime reality TV icon almost unwatchable for me.
New episodes of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip air Sundays on Bravo as part of the 2026 TV schedule, and Orange County does the same on Thursday nights.
