Vicki Gunvalson is getting candid about her departure from The Real Housewives of Orange County. “I was ready to go,” she told PEOPLE. “I have to say, I had a little bit of FOMO, I have to say, of not filming right now. Those last few years doing the show, for me, were really toxic, and when anything becomes toxic in my age at life — be it your career, relationships, friendships — you have to cut it out.”
“Personally, I can’t be around that anymore,” Gunvalson said. “I can’t do the mean girls s—. I’m over it. And about halfway through last year, when my castmate was criticizing my appearance and calling me ugly, I really had a revelation. ‘What, am I going to cry every day because you think I’m less than? No, I’m not less than. We all do the very best we can with what God gave us. And I’m beautiful the way I am.’ I just had to get away from it and say, ‘You can’t hurt me anymore. No one can hurt me.’ “
Since exiting the series, Gunvalson has kept herself busy with new business ventures such as her new podcast, Whoop It Up with Vicki.
“I’m not missing a beat,” Gunvalson says. “I’m in a good place. My future, as long as everything keeps going the way it is, is looking really bright. I’m super excited about what’s to come.”
Gunvalson claims that her podcast will be more authentic than RHOC. “The show really got off course from what we were supposed to be doing,” explains Gunvalson. “In the beginning, it was about showing your real lives; your family, your friendships, your work. It was about really opening up and letting the world in. But it stopped being that and it started being about fighting. And they never showed my real life anymore. It just became fake. Why do you want to go on an internationally famous show and be mean? What we’re supposed to be doing is really helping each other! It’s a tough world out there!”
“I want to show my real life,” Gunvalson continued. “My real life is incredible, exhausting and exciting. I’m helping people every day in my business [Coto Insurance]. I’m a loving mother and grandma. I have this great relationship with [fiancé Steve Lodge]. That’s the reality of my life, not that fake stuff.”
Vicki went on to slam some of her former co-stars for creating fake sotrylines for the camera, though didn’t name names.
“I don’t create a storylines, like so many of these women do,” Gunvalson says. “I read somewhere that someone said ‘My storyline was over.’ Hold on. Last time I checked, this is a reality show. There is no storylines. Some of the other girls create fake storylines. I never have, I never will. Maybe one day I’ll come back to the show, but only when the show wants to create real TV. In the meantime, we’ll see if any of these women last 14 years. I’m good with my tenure.”
Late last month, Gunvalson and Judge teased on social media that they were filming a new show after exiting the Bravo hit reality series. While she insists she has to stay mum about show and network details for now, she did tease that the program would leave viewers inspired.
“It’s going to be an incredible show,” Gunvalson says. “Tamra and I, we’re good together. We have great chemistry and we’re having fun. We’ve got a really special journey happening. It’s something that will really inspire people. I can’t say much more, but I know it’s going to be a show people love.”
“My love tank is very filled,” she told PEOPLE. “And it’s not filled because I have a man, or filled because I have a podcast, or filled because I have a reality show, or filled because I have a loving family: it’s filled because I’m happy. I’m super, super blessed and happy. I’ve been able to create my happy. I’ve dictated what I want it to be. And when I look back at my life in the next 20 years, I’ll be proud of myself for doing just that.”
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