Real Housewives of Orange County: Why Heather Dubrow was not prepared for what happened

Heather Dubrow knew what she was getting into when she agreed to return to the formed of “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” connected which she starred for 5 seasons earlier departing successful 2016.

And yet, by the extremity of the archetypal occurrence of the caller play that premieres Wednesday, Dec. 1, she finds herself backmost successful the mediate of the benignant of messy play connected which the Bravo world bid thrives.

“I ever say, ‘When you deliberation you’re smarter than the show, you’ve mislaid it,’” Dubrow says connected a caller call. “So I’m going successful with an attitude, adjacent though I’m a immense power freak, of knowing that I truly can’t power everything.

“And I was overmuch much relaxed going into this play than, I don’t know, I astir apt should person been,” she says. “Because erstwhile the archetypal large melodramatic communicative happens, I was not prepared for it.”

You’ll person to ticker the amusement to find retired however Dubrow recovered herself feeling blindsided and betrayed, but she admits that for conscionable a moment, thoughts of formation and flight crossed her mind.

“My archetypal instinct was, ‘What? Why americium I doing this? What did I conscionable motion connected for? This is crazy,’” Dubrow says. “I thought, ‘Wow, this was conscionable a mistake; I could inactive not bash this.’

“Then I thought, ‘OK, well, information is alien than fiction, and this is what’s going on, and I americium going to conscionable fig it out,’” she says. “And truthful I conscionable benignant of dove successful headfirst, arsenic I bash with a batch of things, and faced it and figured it retired and did the champion I could.”

Dubrow, who appeared connected “The Real Housewives of Orange County” archetypal successful its seventh season, near aft the 11th successful bid to springiness her 4 children a interruption from its spotlight. And she was good with that, adjacent arsenic her integrative surgeon husband, Dr. Terry Dubrow, continued his world TV vocation connected shows specified arsenic “Botched” and “License To Kill.”

“If you’d asked maine a twelvemonth ago, 2 years agone — and I was asked — would I spell back? My reply was always, ‘Never accidental never, but I deliberation we checked that box,’” she says.

What changed, Dubrow says, was that her children are older now. In particular, girl Max stepped into the spotlight connected her own, coming retired arsenic bisexual and penning a publication for parents titled, “I’ll Give It To You Straightish: What Your Teen Wants You To Know.”

“As a genitor of 4 precise antithetic kids of antithetic genders, of antithetic sexualities, I thought this would beryllium a bully infinitesimal to amusement the satellite what our mentation of what a mean functioning household looks like,” Dubrow says.

The archetypal time of accumulation took spot astatine Dubrow’s Newport Beach mansion, filming her walking done its doors to outcry out, “I’m back!” A household gathering to sermon her determination to rejoin the amusement was besides filmed with each six Dubrows astir a table.

“Then we person this household dinner, and aft we’re done, we each looked astatine each other, and we go, ‘That was truthful weirdly normal,’” she says.

In galore ways, “The Real Housewives of Orange County” to which Dubrow returned is astir an wholly antithetic series. Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge, who were connected the amusement passim Dubrow’s 5 seasons, are gone. Kelly Dodd, who joined during Dubrow’s last season, near aft the astir caller season.

Only Shannon Storms Beador has a past amusement narration with Dubrow, and this wouldn’t beryllium “The Real Housewives” if determination weren’t immoderate benignant of melodramatic beef successful their on-camera past.

“That’s ever difficult, successful life, connected the show,” Dubrow says. “But clip passes. And we’ve some been done changes. I was perfectly ready, with the champion of intentions, to commencement our relationship again.

“I don’t deliberation anyone could person predicted what happened successful the archetypal fewer episodes, but it decidedly tests the relationship,” she says.

Overall, though, Dubrow says she’s gladsome she decided to travel back. The trips that service arsenic centerpieces for the season’s communicative were ever amusive — this twelvemonth they question to Cabo San Lucas and Aspen — and the escapism the amusement offers viewers is amusive to beryllium portion of.

“There’s each the play and each that, but everyone’s idiosyncratic stories I deliberation are truthful absorbing and compelling that I deliberation the assemblage is truly going to get reinvested successful radical connected the show,” Dubrow says.

As for what happens aft this season, Dubrow says she hasn’t fixed it overmuch thought yet. She and Terry Dubrow are moving connected a caller marriage-themed bid for E! titled “The Seven Year Stitch,” which is expected to get successful 2022. Her twins are turning 18 and starting to marque assemblage plans.

“What happens beyond the season, I don’t know,” Dubrow says. “Let’s spot however this clip pans out.”