“The Real Housewives of Orange County” alum Vicki Gunvalson has had many meltdowns and screaming matches featured on the Bravo reality series. She was taken by her ex fake cancer scam, she screamed too loud for her own good and gagged on camera more times than we care to count too. But she thinks the cable network went too far in 2015 when they recorded her learning of her mother’s death in real time.

In an upcoming episode of Vice’s “The Dark Side of Reality TV” series, the former Bravo star shed some light on the production of this episode, sharing that her family members, including her daughter Briana, called her multiple times to tell her that her mother, Joanne Steinmetzwas dead. But Gunvalson was filming Season 10 of the franchise’s launch reality series, specifically playing Bunco at her friend Shannon Beador’s house during those calls. So her family finally called the production team to reach her on the phone.

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According to a clip obtained by PeopleGunvalson said the production team outfitted Beador’s wrapping paper room with lights and camera operators to film her receiving the emotional phone call.

“I was really upset that production knew for an hour and they didn’t tell me. They crossed the line and I think they should have taken me aside and said, ” Your mother passed away. ‘Talk to your daughter off camera,'” Gunvalson said. “If I was a producer, that’s what I would have done.

“Let me scream and cry alone and be angry. It was very, very traumatic. I will never forgive Bravo for that.”

Representatives for Bravo had no comment Monday when contacted by the Times.

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The 62-year-old, who starred in 14 seasons of the franchise since its debut in 2006, left the series in 2020. She still appeared in recent seasons in a lesser “friend” capacity, but is no longer a series regular. .

In the harrowing scene from her mother, Gunvalson collapsed to the floor and began screaming after receiving the fateful phone call. THE devastated reality TV star said through tears that she had just spoken to her mother that morning, that Steinmetz was not sick and that she wanted her mother back.

She had already spoken about the scene in an episode from 2015 from Bravo’s late-night talk show “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.” Although at the time she said she had not yet seen the episode, she expressed gratitude that Steinmetz was not present in the scene and that the cameras did not show her mother on her deathbed.

However, the businesswoman said at the time that she would not be upset by the scene because it was part of her reality. She also said she “blacked out” during the call and didn’t remember much about that evening.

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“I lost my mother and I signed up to have every area of ​​my life exposed, the good and the bad,” she said at the time. “There were a lot of great moments that aired and there were a lot of moments that I wish weren’t on a reality show. It’s not a moment that I feel, yet , I regret.”

The episode “The Dark Side of Reality TV” dedicated to the “Real Housewives” franchise will air Tuesday on Vice. The series has previously tackled reality series “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Joe Millionaire,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and season 1 of “Survivor.”

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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.