Kelly Dodd

“I had a great five years on RHOC,” the Arizona native, who married Fox News correspondent Rick Leventhal in October 2020, wrote via Twitter when the news was announced. “I will miss working with the ladies and the crews from Evolution and I want to thank Bravo for all the opportunities they gave me. If it weren’t for the show, I’d never have found my husband Rick, the greatest love of my life and for that I’m eternally grateful. I’m also so thankful for the many thousands of fans who’ve shown me love and support since the news broke. Now it’s onward and upward! I’m super excited to be a free agent, not tied to a Bravo contract, and can’t wait to work with Rick on new projects. I wish the show nothing but success.”

Soon after, Rick announced he was moving on in his career as well.

“I’m so grateful to Fox for the incredible journey of the past 24 years & so thankful for the support from viewers! Stay tuned…” he wrote via Instagram. Kelly commented, “Now it’s time for us to do OUR thing. So proud of you honey.”

Braunwyn Windham-Burke

After a dramatic two seasons full of self-realization, Braunwyn revealed she was leaving the series ahead of season 16. The mom of seven, who came out as a lesbian in December 2020, revealed during season 15 that she was an alcoholic.

“I’m incredibly sad to not be able to come back to The Real Housewives of Orange County next year,” she said in a statement to People in June 2021. “I loved every moment of being a Housewife, and am so proud of my time on the show – the good, the bad, and the in-between. It feels revolutionary to say, but I was able to get sober and stay sober on reality TV.”

In October 2022, she filed for divorce from Sean Burke after 23 years of marriage. The couple had previously been navigating an open relationship after Braunwyn came out. “I don’t think we’re going to get divorced, honestly,” she told Us in September 2021. “I truly don’t think we’re going to. We get along great, we have an open marriage — it’s working for us. We’re happy.” (Their divorce was finalized in November 2023.)

Braunwyn started dating Jennifer Spinner in 2022 and proposed on their one-year anniversary in July 2023.

Elizabeth Lyn Vargas

One-season wonder! Elizabeth joined RHOC in 2019 for season 15, which was filmed during the coronavirus pandemic. In May 2021, her exit from the Bravo series was announced.

“COVID 2020 was a very unfortunate and tough year for all of us during filming but we made it happen and I’m very proud of what we accomplished as a team,” she wrote in a lengthy social media post announcing her exit. “Despite filming during COVID and not really getting to know all the ladies fully, this past year has been the most extraordinary, amazing and beautiful experience of my life. I am so proud of the work we have done and the friendships we were able to build.”

In the statement, the entrepreneur gave thanks to the show’s cast, crew and fans while also taking the opportunity to promote her latest business venture.

“Thank you for a memorable season and helping me to launch my new Vargas Vodka in which a percentage of every bottle sold goes to help save the animals!” she wrote.

Vicki Gunvalson Real Housewives of Orange County Where Are They Now

The RHOC OG star announced her departure from the series in January 2020. She exited the show after 14 seasons, the last of which she was demoted to “friend” status instead of her usual full-time role. Vicki, who got engaged to Steve Lodge in April 2019, has put her wedding on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic. Since pressing pause on her nuptials, the reality star has put her Orange County home up for sale and bought a new vacation home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She has also been remodeling her recently purchased lake house in North Carolina, which is located near her daughter Briana Culberson’s home.

Tamra Judge Real Housewives of Orange County Where Are They Now
Credit: Bravo; Shutterstock

Tamra Judge
Tamra joined the RHOC cast during season 3 and announced her exit in January 2020 after 12 seasons on the show. She chose to walk away after being offered a part-time role for season 15, which she declined. The Bravo personality has since focused on her Vena CBD products, including soaking salts and cooling creams and her health. Tamra has also been dealing with her ex-husband Simon Barney’s stage 3 throat cancer diagnosis. The reality star, who is a cancer survivor herself, told Us in May 2020 that “things are much better now” between her family after the diagnoses and noted that they’ve “all rallied together.”

In July 2022, Tamra confirmed she would return to RHOC for season 17 after Real Housewives of New York City alum Jill Zarin leaked the news. “The judge is back and drama is in session,” Tamra declared during an episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

Alexis-Bellino

Alexis joined the cast of RHOC in season 5, which aired in 2009. She left the series after three years ahead of season 9. The mother of three became a topic of conversation at the season 10 reunion after Alexis wrote an email to Andy Cohen accusing Tamra Judge of making a “mockery” of religion because Tamra got baptized on the series. After exchanging nasty texts, Tamra told Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in 2016 that the two women have made amends.

Since her exit from RHOC, Alexis split from her husband, Jim, after 13 years of marriage in June 2018. According to the court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Jim filed for divorce and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. Shortly after the divorce news broke, Alexis found herself in the news again when Jim filed a lawsuit against Tamra and Shannon Beador for allegations made about their relationship. Jim and Alexis denied any “ill will” or “bad blood” between the two of them in a joint statement to Us at the time. While Shannon settled in June 2019, Tamra and Jim’s legal battle is ongoing.

Five months after her divorce was finalized, Alexis debuted her new boyfriend, Andy Bohn, on social media. In June 2019, she gushed that she found her “best friend.”

“Thank you for loving all of me, for letting me be my quirky self, for showing me things in life I never saw before, for filling my heart with so much love and for making me laugh so dang hard all the time,” Alexis gushed at the time. That same month, she revealed Bohn met her kids — son, James, and twins, Miles and Mackenna.

In October 2022, Alexis revealed that her son Miles is transgender. “He’s now ready to ‘come out’ and to use this platform to stop any hate or questions,” she wrote via Instagram. “I know Miles truly wants me to post this because he’s tired of the misgendering and confusion people have, so we are setting the record straight and hopefully bringing clarity. I cannot imagine the strength and courage it took for my baby to do this, but I’m extremely proud of him and I want everyone to understand that love doesn’t change in these situations.”

After meeting her little ones, Bohn popped the question to Alexis in December 2020. In June 2021, Alexis told Us that Jim will “probably” be invited to the wedding despite not congratulating her when the proposal happened. He and Bohn “actually” get along, Alexis said happily. However, Bohn and Alexis called off their engagement in September 2023 per multiple outlets. She began dating former costar Shannon Beador’s ex John Janssen in late 2023.

Gretchen-Rossi

After four seasons on RHOC, Gretchen left the series in 2013 ahead of season 9. While she made a brief cameo during season 12, her focus has shifted to becoming a mother. The handbag designer opened up to Us Weekly on multiple occasions about her IVF journey with her fiancé Slade Smiley. “It was a very, very difficult process for me. A lot harder than I had anticipated,” the former reality star told Us in February 2018. “The first time that we did it, we actually had 14 embryos that six hours before we were going to implant them, or one of them in me, we lost all of them.” As for her relationship with Slade, Gretchen told Us in June 2018 that she is “thankful [she has] an amazing partner to go through [IVF] with.”

Gretchen announced in December 2018 that she and Slade were expecting their first child together. The couple welcomed daughter Skylar in July 2019. In April 2021, the former reality star told Us that while she wants more children, she’d like to wait a bit before implanting her remaining embryo.

“The thought of having another baby, absolutely, I love the thought of it,” Gretchen said. “We do have one more genetically sound embryo that, in a way, I kind of would feel guilty if I didn’t implant. God blessed us with this beautiful other embryo, but right now at this very moment, I still need a little bit more time to manage with Skylar. She’s a lot of work, bless her heart.”

Meghan-King-Edmonds

Putting the house in Housewife! Meghan joined the series for season 10 in 2015 and exited after three seasons. She announced her departure in January 2018 with a lengthy blog post, telling fans that she wanted to focus on her family. The reality TV personality and her husband, Jim Edmonds, welcomed twin boys, Hayes and Hart, in June 2018. “Hayes is so chill. If he’s ever fussy, he just needs to burp and that’s it. Hart is like a wild man and he wants to be held all the time. He’s really good too,” Meghan told Us at the time, adding that she still texts former costar Tamra Judge. Meghan and Jim are also parents of daughter Aspen.

The couple made headlines in June 2019 after Jim was caught sexting with another woman named Jennifer McFelia Villegas, who allegedly has a past with multiple professional athletes. Jim admitted to Us at the time that he had a “lapse in judgment,” but the former St. Louis Cardinals star maintained that he “never touched” Villegas. Meghan, for her part, detailed the betrayal in a lengthy blog post. She also gave an exclusive statement to Us after the scandal broke.

“I only blame my husband for his actions: he made the choice to betray my trust and jeopardize our marriage,” Meghan told Us at the time. “His recklessness also allowed this woman to profit from my heartbreak — but now that her name is out there, she won’t be able to shake down any other families as I rebuild mine.”

Months later, Meghan and Jim split for good in October 2019. Following their breakup, the blogger dated Christian Schauf from May 2020 to November 2020. Two months later, she confirmed her relationship with boyfriend Will Roos in January. The pair’s relationship fizzled out later that year, after which Meghan briefly married Cuffe Owens and was romantically connected to Trevor Calhoun, Mike Johnson and a man she nicknamed Kenny from Denver.

Meghan told Us exclusively in May 2021 that her divorce had been finalized.

“I think it’s, like, an energetic closure, which is important, but I mean, I’ve been learning how to be independent ever since we separated, ever since the divorce was filed, and so that’s almost, I guess, a year and a half now,” she said. “So it just — it feels good. It feels good to put that behind me and just look to the future. I want to spend my life with a partner. I’m a loyal, monogamous individual. I’ve been having a lot of fun dating, but I’m really hoping to settle down and find that partner.”

Heather-Dubrow

Heather was a series regular on RHOC for five seasons, joining the cast in season 7 before exiting the show in 2016. She continues to raise her four children with her husband, Terry, in addition to working on numerous projects.

The actress teamed up with her husband in 2018 to write The Dubrow Diet: Interval Eating to Lose Weight and Feel Ageless. Two years later, they released The Dubrow Keto Fusion Diet, which is both a book and a nutrition plan. In June 2020, the couple’s daughter Max came out as bisexual, which the pair fully supported. “I think as parents, what makes me so happy is that she is so confident and comfortable in who she is,” the former Bravo personality told Entertainment Tonight in July 2020. Terry added: “She felt free and the acceptance of her coming out was so amazing.”

After a five-year hiatus, Heather announced she’d return to RHOC in June 2021 during an episode of her “Heather Dubrow’s World” podcast.

“Timing is a big deal, but at the time that I left, the culture of the show had changed a bit since when I joined the show. I think we could agree on that. I wasn’t happy, and I think it was a good mutual decision that maybe my time on the show was done,” she noted in a conversation with Andy Cohen. “Now, things are a little bit different, right? My family’s in a different place, my kids are a little bit older, the [coronavirus] pandemic has sort of given me a different perspective on things. Then I started thinking about, ‘OK, how many times do you get to go back and try something again?’”