The Real Housewives of Orange County is set to air its twentieth season on July 9th, 2026. As the cast prepares for this epic milestone, they are also welcoming back the OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson. She’s been gone for several seasons, popping in as a friend, but now on RHOC full-time. Yet, there is one person that she still thinks about, and that is her scamming ex-boyfriend, Brooks Ayers. Keep reading for more details on why she cannot let him go.
Vicki Was Scammed & Abandoned
After Vicki Gunvalson’s marriage to Donn ended, she found love with Mississippi-based Brooks Ayers. He said and did all of the right things and kept her love tank full, which is all she really wanted. However, her RHOC co-stars were skeptical of him and his motives. They felt that he was using her for her money, as she let him drive her cars, and she even bought him teeth. Additionally, her daughter, Briana Culberson, found him sketchy. He allegedly made some passes at her and said some off-putting things about abuse to her husband.
Then, Brooks claimed he had cancer, but it appeared his paperwork was all fabricated. The final straw was when a psychic told Tamra Judge and Meghan King that he did not “see” cancer. Ultimately, it looked like Brooks had been caught scheming and took Vicki along for the ride.
He moved on and got married while she had a failed engagement and now has a long-term boyfriend, Michael Smith. Despite her happiness, the RHOC OG admits that she never moved on from Brooks. The reason is that she never felt she got closure from him. She shared her feelings on that and how she wished she had been able to officially close that door:
“I believed him. Who knows what the real story is? I never got to talk to him. He left me in the middle of the night, and that was it. I never got closure on that guy, never.”
However, Vicki admitted that she loves hard, so she had blinders on with Brooks:
“When I love, I love hard, and I trust. Now people say to trust and verify. I don’t want to be a detective in a relationship. You tell me something, I’m gonna believe that. And obviously we know what happened with that.”
Back & Better Than Ever
Vicki Gunvalson is synonymous with Bravo and RHOC. She started her insurance business in her home and built something incredible, which viewers saw. Although she was on a hiatus, she was still a presence, and now she is back full-time. However, it won’t be easy, as she has some unfinished business and drama with the only newcomer, Carmella Garcia. As for the Brooks situation, fans still question if she was truly in the dark about it:
- I don’t believe for one second she didn’t know he was lying.
- Vicki is still in the victim and denial mode. No matter what, she should have believed her own daughter when she recounted his abusive words!
- If Vicki were in front of me, saying this, my response is “you didn’t believe your daughter when she said he assaulted her. That’s not blind faith, that’s broken promises to your child over a man.”
- Oh please! Just cry me a casserole already!
Do you think that Vicki knew what was going on with Brooks, or was she really blindsided? Let us know and stream RHOC on Peacock.
Amanda has been a professional freelance writer for over a decade, holding both a BA and an MA. Her passions include animals, iced coffee, gnomes, summer, music, and ‘Vanderpump Rules’.