Vicki Gunvalson made her first appearance on this season of The Real Housewives of Orange County, and she is not happy with her former amiga.
On the Aug. 1 episode of the hit Bravo reality show, Vicki, 62, and Shannon Beador got together to discuss how to move forward with their live show, Tres Amigas, after Tamra Judge decided she no longer wanted to be part of it. Following Shannon’s DUI arrest in September, Tamra, 56, was disappointed in her continuing to drink and decided not to go on with the rest of the shows.
“I’ve only had a very short convo with Tamra,” Shannon, 60, told Vicki, adding that Tamra didn’t want to sit down and work things out.
“She has vinegar running through her veins and a black heart,” Vicki replied.
The women went on to explain that they “had the show down” with skits and performances as a trio, although Tamra cited a reason for leaving the show was that much of it revolved around alcohol.
“I think we can still do it,” Vicki insisted, but Shannon seemed hesitant.
“Tamra didn’t have the balls to call me or Shannon to tell us that she didn’t want to be part of the show anymore,” Vicki then said in her confessional. “It’ll be like Thelma and Louise and Ethel and Lucy and Laverne and Shirley. There were only two all the time anyway.”
Vicki Gunvalson (left), Shannon Beador (middle), Tamra Judge (right).
Cindy Ord/Bravo via Getty, Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty, Albert L. Ortega/Getty
Once they agreed to keep going with what they decided to call The Shannon and Vicki Show, the friends sat down for a call with the show manager, where they asked how Tamra’s absence was going to impact the show’s popularity.
“I definitely think there’s some fall out,” the manager replied. Vicki then admitted that she still thought Tamra “owes it to us,” to rejoin the trio.
“I’m very upset with her,” she said. “You don’t do this in business.”
Shannon agreed: “It’s a way to make additional income. I’ve got three kids in college, I’m still single.”
“Just the two of us, we’re the dos amigas,” Shannon and Vicki then sang in unison before the scene came to an end.
Earlier this season, Tamra explained to her husband Eddie that she didn’t leave Tres Amigas because she disliked the show, but rather because being around Shannon was “too stressful.”
“I thought she was gonna get help, and it’s frustrating to me because she’s lying to everybody,” she noted of Shannon’s drinking habits following her DUI arrest.
“She says, ‘I’m just gonna have a drink, I’m just gonna have two drinks, I don’t have a drinking problem.’ I will be there in a heartbeat if she reaches out to me, but I’m going to choose me and my happiness,” she added.
She concluded, “I cannot deal with the day to day with her anymore.”
Tamra Judge (left) and Shannon Beador (right).
Jason Mendez/Getty; Ralph Bavaro/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty
Tamra has also had a rocky relationship with Vicki in the past, criticizing her for her relationships. In 2022, Tamra said Vicki had a chaotic encounter with her ex Steve Lodge.
“She ran into him with the girlfriend and she chased him out of the restaurant,” Tamra said. “She told me too, ‘I chased him out of the restaurant and he got into his car and took off.’ I said, ‘Vicki, oh my god, did someone take video of it?’ She said, ‘I don’t think so.’ “
A year later, Tamra defended Two T’s in a Pod podcast co-host Teddi Mellencamp’s comments suggesting Vicki was at the Jan. 6 insurrection. When Vicki asked her about it, Tamra responded, “Because I’m defending the truth. You went after her first.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.