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RHOC’s Vicki Gunvalson ‘will never forgive Bravo’ after learning of her mother’s death on camera
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RHOC’s Vicki Gunvalson ‘will never forgive Bravo’ after learning of her mother’s death on camera

Vicki Gunvalson will never forget how she learned of her mother’s death.

More than nine years later The Real Housewives of Orange County a former student learned on camera that her mother, Joanne Steinmetzhad died, Gunvalson, 62, shares his memories of this “traumatic” day of filming.

“We were playing Bunko at Shannon (Pearl), and my brother, my sister, my daughter, my son – everyone was trying to call me and the phone wasn’t working so they called production,” Gunvalson explained in Peoplea taste of Real Housewives episode of Vice’s The dark side of reality TV series. “(My daughter) Briana was calling, calling, calling, and they kept telling her, ‘Well, she’s filming right now, blah, blah, blah.’ She said, ‘I need to talk to my mother now.'”

According to Gunvalson, production set up Beador’s wrapping paper room with “lights and camera operators” to capture his phone call with Briana.

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In the fifth episode of season 10, viewers finally saw Gunvalson break down in tears when her daughter informed her of her mother’s death.

“I was really upset that production had known for an hour and they didn’t tell me,” Gunvalson said in The dark side of reality TV. “They crossed the line and I think they should have taken me aside and said, ‘Your mother died.’ Talk to your daughter off camera. If I was a producer, that’s what I would have done.”

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

Us every week has contacted Bravo for comment.

Vicki Gunvalson Slams Bravo for Handling Her Mother's Death 1Vicki Gunvalson Slams Bravo for Handling Her Mother's Death 1

Vicki Gunvalson Slams Bravo for Handling Her Mother’s Death 1

Gunvalson continued on the show until season 13. She has since made several appearances, most notably during season 18, currently airing on Bravo.

In 2015, Gunvalson appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and recalled the episode where she learned of the death of her mother. At the time, the host of “My Friend, My Soul Mate, My Podcast” said she hadn’t watched it.

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Additionally, she recognized that being a reality TV star would involve sharing the ups and downs of her life.

“I lost my mother and I committed to exposing all areas of my life, the good and the bad,” Gunvalson explained to the host Andy Cohen 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 , which I regret.”

“I don’t blame Bravo, I don’t blame (production company) Evolution, I don’t blame anyone,” she added in the 2015 interview. “It’s my life.”

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While celebrating Mother’s Day in May, Gunvalson paid tribute to her own mother via social media.

“I wish all those mothers still with you and I think of mine and those in heaven a happy Mother’s Day,” she wrote via Instagram. “I love being a mother more than anything and I am SO proud of (my children) Michael and Briana. My greatest gift in life is being a mother and grandmother .

The dark side of reality TV airs Vice Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

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