Kelly Dodd is publicly apologizing for claiming she contracted coronavirus from Heather Dubrow’s 16-year-old son after receiving a letter from her former Real Housewives of Orange County costar’s attorney.
“I got this letter from an attorney for the Dubrow family reminding me I made a statement that may sound like truth, when in fact it was a joke and for that, I am offering my sincere apology,” Dodd said via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, July 6, according to Us Weekly.
Kelly previously said that she caught COVID-19 from Heather’s son, Nicholas, 17. However, she revealed on Tuesday that she didn’t mean her statement to be taken seriously.
“I did get COVID at a party New Year’s Eve, and Heather Dubrow’s son and his friends were all there. And while I had information leading us all to believe we could’ve gotten COVID from them, because we all — like, 24 of us — got COVID that night, we obviously have no way of proving or knowing for sure he or his friends were the source of our infection,” she said. “And for that, I apologize. I’m going on the record right now to be very clear: Rick and I don’t know how we caught the virus, and we’re both very very sorry for any trouble we caused the Dubrow family.”
In the video, Kelly is holding up the legal letter which was sent by the L.A. law firm, Russ August & Kabat. The subject line reads, “Defamation of Terry and Heather Dubrow and Family.” According to Radar Online, the letter is dated June 25, only days after Dodd originally made her remarks.
Dodd’s 15-year-old daughter Jolie was also diagnosed with COVID at the end of June.
“My daughter has COVID,” Dodd said in a video on her Instagram Story at the time, showing Jolie sitting at the kitchen counter.
It was unclear whether Jolie has been vaccinated against the virus or not.
“I thought it was over,” she added of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to PEOPLE.
According to data from the New York Times, the virus is still ongoing and has killed more than 601,000 people in the United States alone.
As previously reported, Kelly along with Braunwyn Windham-Burke and Elizabeth Lyn Vargas will not be returning to RHOC for Season 16.
“The last five years have been an amazing experience. The next five years will be even better,” she wrote on Twitter about her exit from the series. “I am so grateful for all the love and support and so excited about the future #RHOC.”
Dubrow, however, is returning to the show. She previously joined the show in season 7 but left after season 11.
“Timing is a big deal,” Dubrow said on her podcast, about why it felt right to return to the franchise, according to PEOPLE. “Now things are a little bit different. My family's in a different place. My kids are a little bit older. The pandemic has sort of given me a different perspective on things. And then I started thinking about, 'How many times do you get to go back and try something again?' ”
“I am excited,” she added. “I'm mildly terrified. It seems so surreal.”
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