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New RHOC cast member, Katie, stirs up drama with OC legend Heather Dubrow. Despite warm first impressions with the cast overall, Katie gets entangled in more than one feud this season. Katie enters the series having already dipped her toes in reality TV, but nothing could prepare her for the drama of Real Housewives .
Season 18 of Real Housewives of Orange County is here, and the drama is already juicy. While the premiere episode focused almost entirely on Shannon Beador and the aftermath of her DUI last year, the teaser trailer for the upcoming episodes of the reality show let viewers know soon the drama won’t just be about Shannon. In the first episode, Gina Kirschenheiter introduced Orange County newcomer Katie Ginella to the group, who she met through Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Sutton Stracke. And Katie already has a lot to say about her new co-stars.
Katie is no stranger to reality TV, having had her wedding featured on the popular TLC series Say Yes to the Dress. With that said, Housewives is an entirely different game that isn’t all love and romance. The teaser for the season has already set up a feud between the newcomer and OC legend, Heather Dubrow. When the season was filming, a fan also posted sneakily recorded behind-the-scenes footage of Gina yelling at Katie during an event at a vineyard. For a newcomer to the series, Katie is already showing signs that she is all about the drama on Real Housewives of Orange County.
Katie Teases First Impressions and Source of Feud
In a recent interview with PopCulture.com, Katie spilled her first impressions of the group. Despite the tense fan footage captured at the vineyard, Katie had only warm things to say about her friend and co-star Gina. She talked about how they met for coffee and spent 5 hours chatting, referring to Gina as a “ball of fun.” She was also full of praise for Shannon, noting how, after they first met, the OC veteran went out of her way to make the newcomer feel welcome by sharing her phone number and telling her “Text me if you need anything.” She described OC pot-stirrer Tamra Judge as a “ball of fun and energy,” and Emily Simpson as “very kind.” Katie also mentioned that she and Jennifer Pedranti “immediately clicked.” But the newbie was less enthusiastic about her feelings toward Heather.
In the first episode of Season 18, Katie mentioned in a confessional interview that she and Heather had briefly met at a Christmas party hosted by Sutton, where she felt she had been ignored by her new “friend.” At the time she was not a cast member of Real Housewives of Orange County, and so Heather may not have felt inclined to an introduction. When describing meeting Heather at the event she hosted for the season premiere, Katie acknowledged that Heather was “lovely at that party.” Emphasis on “that.” However, things went from pleasant niceties to feuding frienemies quickly when Katie apparently found out some “information” about her new co-star. While she was tight-lipped about what exactly she discovered, she claims to have thought the information was “very fun and lighthearted,” but apparently Heather did not agree.
In the trailer for the season, Katie and Heather are shown in a heated discussion where Heather tells the newcomer: “Stop saying the word lie. I didn’t lie.” Katie responds with a quick “You did.” Whatever “lighthearted” information Katie had uncovered clearly did not sit well with Fancy Pants. When speaking to PopCulture.com, Katie noted that the rift became “a very big focal and tension point” for the new acquaintances throughout filming the season. For someone new to the Housewives franchise, Katie is entering her first season as a true professional diva.
The Real Housewives of Orange County
A look at five families living in a protected Southern California enclave, and the real-life housewives who reside in one of the wealthiest planned communities in the country.
New episodes of Real Housewives of Orange County air Thursdays on Bravo. Past seasons can be streamed on Peacock.