The Real Housewives of Orange County is not only the OG, but it is celebrating 20 years on the air. In honor of their two decades, some of the cast and crew are recalling stories from the show’s early days.
Premiering March 21, 2006, the show featured Orange County residents Jeana Keough, Vicki Gunvalson, Lauri Peterson, Kimberly Bryant and Jo De La Rosa.
In Season 1, the show only aired eight episodes. But it eventually grew into an entire franchise, which now highlights women from a dozen other U.S. cities.
The Real Housewives of Orange County OG Vicki Gunvalson almost wasn’t on the show
The show was the brainchild of one its original producers, Scott Dunlop. He got the idea when he moved into the now-famous gated community of Coto de Caza. Also, one of his first friends in the neighborhood was Jeana Keough, who became one of the original Housewives.
“Scott said, ‘I want to do this show about your family, kind of like The Osbournes,” she told The Los Angeles Times. “I want to do a Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Meanwhile, Vicki got involved after her then-teenage son Michael heard about the show. He wrote a letter to Scott, who got in touch with Vicki.
“I said, ‘I’m not interested,’ [and] I shut the door in his face,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I have a headphone in my ear, and I’m really busy working. You’re kind of bugging me right now.’ He knocked on my door again. Here we are.”
Even though her husband at the time, Don Gunvalson, wasn’t interested, Vicki said, “You can’t tell me what to do!” So they did it.
And now, 20 years later, Vicki’s back. She’s recovered her orange, despite the haters accusing her of paying for it.
The Real Housewives of Orange County is now streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO RHOC SEASON 20? WHICH OF THE OG’S WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE RETURN?
