‘RHOC’ Star Shannon Beador Still Considers Vicki Gunvalson ‘Full-Time’ Housewife After Demotion

Vicki Gunvalson may not be holding an orange this season of The Real Housewives of Orange County, but Shannon Beador and Tamra Judge are sticking with her to whoop it up, Beador told Us Weekly Tuesday ahead of the Season 14 premiere.

“The Tres Amigas are alive and well,” Beador reassured. “And Vicki is on the show throughout the entire season. I filmed with her a lot. Vicki’s always going to be a part of the show. She’s the OG. … I don’t look at her as not being a full-time Housewife. I really don’t. She is in the mix.”

When Bravo announced last month that Gunvalson would be appearing on the show as a “friend of” the Housewives, the Coto Insurance businesswoman wrote on Instagram, “For the past 14 years I’ve opened up my life, my loves, my ups and downs on The Real Housewives of Orange County and I am proud to be the ‘OG of the OC. I am back again this season right in the middle of the action, and I hope you have as much fun watching the show as I did living it in front of the cameras.”

Gunvalson even appears to be at the center of some serious drama this season, with Judge telling PopCulture.com earlier this month, “I kind of played peacekeeper between [Kelly Dodd] and Vicki throughout the season. But near the end, Kelly turned on me.”

“I’ll never speak to her again,” she added. “Sometimes people go too low.”

Beador echoed her friend’s sentiments about Dodd, telling Us, “There are a lot of things that happen with Kelly Dodd this season. … Between she and a few people.”

Shannon added: “It’s a shame because we started out the season being close friends and we did spend time together off-camera. I did consider her to be a friend.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 14 premieres Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Photo credit: Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images