11 hours Ago By mliss1578
Katie Ginella wasted no time getting into trouble in her first season of The Real Housewives of Orange County . The former golf reporter joined the show as a full-time cast member in Season 18, where she came in through longtime star Gina Kirschenheiter . However, loyalties were quickly tested when Ginella dared to face off against Heather Dubrow , revealing a lackluster “receipt” in which a friend who works with paparazzi seemingly confirmed that Fancy Pants and her husband staged their infamous Disneyland photos.
Now, she’s in hot water for accusing Kirschenheiter of encouraging her to bring up paparazzi gate on camera and allegedly saying she wants to keep Dubrow close for her real estate contacts. “I did not see that coming,” Ginella said when asked if she expected to be fighting with the person who brought her onto the show. “But, you know, I think that’s kind of how it goes with friendships.
Sometimes you have peaks and valleys. And we went through a lot of peaks and valleys.” While Ginella is “getting through” her differences with Kirschenheiter, she teased that she and Dubrow will remain rather cordial through the rest of the season.
“We can coexist really well,” the rookie reality star told DECIDER, noting that Dubrow “can be very kind.” Ginella, who admitted it’s “been a little daunting” starring on the long-running Bravo show, also revealed whether she would be open to returning next season. “I think I want to get through the rest of the season, watching and filming the reunion and then make a decision,” she said.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of 50/50 right now.” When we sat down with Ginella in the DECIDER studio, she discussed the upcoming cast trip to London, her friendships with her other co-stars and the best advice she received from a fellow Real Housewife.
Check out the full interview below. DECIDER: I’m loving this season so far! How are you feeling about your first season? And who would you say you became the closest with outside of filming? KATIE GINELLA: It’s been a lot. It’s been a little daunting, but I got through it.
I made it. Jenn Pedranti and I are truly, in real life, really good friends. We talk three or four times a day, all day long.
It’s been fun getting to know your family on the show as well. What has their experience been like? Well, my husband’s been on TV for a really long time, so I think it was kind of natural for him. My daughter, being able to talk about her past a little bit, she’s told me has been really cathartic.
So I think she’s really enjoyed it. And then our seven-year-old, Bandon, he loves seeing himself on TV. We don’t let him watch the episode.
We just let him watch his little scene and he thinks he’s famous. What was the best piece of advice you received from a fellow Housewife? Both Sutton and Gina from my cast both told me to just be authentically who you are. Because then it’s easy and they’re completely right.
If you just make your decisions and you say the things that you’re comfortable with and you’re never going to go wrong just being yourself. I know you came into the show through Gina. Did you ever expect that she would be the one you’re feuding with? I did not see that coming.
But, you know, I think that’s kind of how it goes with friendships. Sometimes you have peaks and valleys. And we went through a lot of peaks and valleys.
But we’re seeing our way through it. We’re getting through it. Things get pretty heated between you two in tonight’s episode.
Were you surprised by her reaction to your revelation that she allegedly wanted to remain friends with Heather for her real estate contacts? When we initially had that conversation, it didn’t really shock me. Why wouldn’t she want Heather’s help? Heather has a lot of friends that can buy a lot of big homes. And Gina’s growing her business.
That’s not that shocking. And they’ve been friends for a long time. Longer than we have.
So it wasn’t that shocking. Where do you two stand now? Would you say the show has strengthened or weakened your friendship? Goodness. Well, right now we’re okay.
I mean, we don’t talk as much as we used to, but I think we’re okay. We had a very frank conversation a couple weeks ago that we were both going to talk a lot about each other, and there’s going to be a lot of hard times to watch, but that we’re okay. We’re just going to get through it.
I feel like it’s weakened [our friendship] because you wouldn’t normally have these kinds of tiffs in a normal relationship. So I think it’s weakened it a little bit. But we’re making it.
In her confessional, Heather says Gina came to her with a lot of information about you, which she feels you haven’t taken accountability for. What’s your response to that? I’m not sure what she’s referring to. To be honest with you, I feel like I’ve been pretty open and honest even about not great things.
So I’m really not sure what she’s referring to. I was a little confused too since you tried to apologize and have several conversations. Like, I don’t think we need to be best friends, but I did want her to know that I was sorry it made her feel a certain way.
And then for us to move on. But I just wasn’t given the opportunity to finish the apology. How will we see this play out? Will you and Heather keep the peace or will we see things blow up again? I think you’ll see that I try to make things really easy when we’re together.
We can coexist really well. We’re respectful to each other. And there are moments like when we go on our big cast trip, she’s so kind.
We thought we were going to die on an airplane, and she was holding my hand. She can be very kind. And so I think that after now we kind of try to stay okay.
Regarding the Alexis and Shannon drama, how do you feel about Shannon turning down a conversation with Alexis at Heather’s event? I think it was really hard for her. Both of them are trying to get something different out of that whole situation. Alexis, kind of like I do, really wants to apologize for hurting and try to move on.
But I think Shannon is hurt herself for a different reason. So they both tried their best, I think. We’re 10 episodes into the season.
From what you’ve seen so far, is there anything you regret doing or anything you wish you had done? When it comes to the stuff with Heather, I really wish I could have talked to her woman to woman about it. And I was like, “Tamra, why did you tell her?” But it just worked out that way. She had to find out some way, I guess.
But I really, looking back, wish her and I could have had that conversation together. Just the two of us. We all loved Tamra’s Traitors -themed dinner party.
Aside from Tamra, who from your cast do you think Peacock should tap for the show? That’s a good question. I mean, Heather did a really good job not letting us know. And I think Emily would be really fun, actually.
She’s super fun, so I think she’d be great for it, too. We have the London trip coming up, which is super exciting. What can you tease about that? Well, there’s going to be a lot of things that come up.
I’m really proud of Jenn Pedranti and the way she handles herself and sticks up for herself on this trip. So I think you’ll see a lot of conflict maybe come to a resolution. I know it’s still super early.
But how are you feeling about next season? Do you think you’d want to come back? I think I want to get through the rest of the season, watching and filming the reunion and then make a decision. I don’t know. I’m kind of 50/50 right now, and I’d like to honestly talk to my family about it, too, because it’s not just a commitment for me.
It’s a commitment for my entire family. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The Real Housewives of Orange County airs every Thursday at 9/8c on Bravo.
New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock ..
