Gina Kirschenheiter Wants to See 'More Fun' on 'Real Housewives of Orange County' (Exclusive)

The 'RHOC' star opens up about her friendship with Emily Simpson and Season 18.

By Anna Rumer

Gina Kirschenheiter is looking to bring more fun back to the world of The Real Housewives. The Real Housewives of Orange County star opened up to PopCulture.com about the drama surrounding Season 18 as she teased trouble ahead with her and close friend Emily Simpson in Thursday's all-new episode of the Bravo show.

Watching this season back so far has been a lot of "mixed feelings" for Kirschenheiter, who announced on the show that she and boyfriend Travis Mullen had decided to live separately. "It's always scary whenever I have anything going on in my personal life to then have to watch it back," the real estate agent admitted. "Obviously those aren't my favorite moments to watch, but we're moving through it and it is what it is."

Kirschenheiter also teased that the tension between her and Simpson comes to a head in Thursday's episode of RHOC, but that she hopes it can serve as a model for Housewives fights to come. "As much as it's uncomfortable to watch, I also think it's kind of cool to watch because at the end of the day, we really are very close friends," the reality personality shared. "She's literally like my sister and friends fight."

The Real Housewives of Orange County – Season 18
(Photo:

'The Real Housewives of Orange County' Season 18 cast – Katie Ginella, Gina Kirschenheiter, Heather Dubrow, Shannon Storms Beador, Tamra Judge, Emily Simpson and Jennifer Pedranti.

- Bravo/Sami Drasin)

The Long Island native continued, "I think it's kind of cool and healthy to watch a normal fight between friends versus sometimes [when] we're getting to this place where it's like if you get in a fight with anybody, it goes from zero to 200 very quickly and oftentimes there's no coming back from it." She added, "I'm just not as comfortable even being around that or being involved in it. ... I want to see more fun."

Overall though, Kirschenheiter is enjoying having a "really good" season. "It's been really cool to be part of [RHOC] for so long," she noted, "but to recognize and understand that we've hit a sweet spot feels really good."

When she's not wrangling chaos on camera, the Bravo star is keeping things moving smoothly at home during the back-to-school season. As her three kids enter fourth, fifth and sixth grade and Mullen's children head into third, fifth and seventh, Kirschenheiter says she reaches for the Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to keep her family healthy. 

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(Photo: NBCUniversal)

"I think the more that you keep Clorox products around, the less you're going to have to deal with situations with germs," said Kirschenheiter, who even before partnering with the brand was "brought up by [her] mama to believe in Clorox." The experienced mom pointed to Clorox Disinfecting Wipes as the perfect back-to-school gift for teachers as well, noting that "the more they have to be able to work with and keep the school clean, the less crap your kids are going to bring home with them."

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Keeping the rest of the house running during the chaos of back-to-school comes down to organization for Kirschenheiter, including specific spots for everything from paperwork to backpacks. "I also think it's really important for you to make your kids accountable and make them do it," she explained. "I'm not going to put away six piles of papers and six backpacks and six lunchboxes and six water bottles. My children are capable of participating in their life, and this is their life!" The star added, " I think that the more that you can teach your children to be independent and accountable, the better the whole family will function in flow."

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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