As many The Real Housewives fans know, the franchise has a habit of making one housewife the Big Bad for the season. Heather Dubrow was unfortunately dubbed the “villain” throughout Season 17 of The Real Housewives of Orange County, but that’s what newly rehired Tamra Judge wanted us to think. However, after having caught up with the entire season, I can confidently say that Heather didn’t do anything wrong, and I am definitely on her team.
It’s not the first time these two reality TV stars have gone at it, and it definitely won’t be the last, given they haven’t resolved their issues yet. In fact, I’d argue the finale made things worse. After going the mean girl route and attacking her own friends for taking a picture with Heather, Tamra exchanged blows with her in the middle of Gina’s party. In the end, it was Heather who took the high road, choosing to walk away from the argument after letting Tamra know she doesn’t “give a shit how you feel.” Now, maybe that doesn’t make Heather sound like the hero in that situation, but when you look at the season as a whole, it’s very clear that Heather didn’t do anything wrong.
Heather Didn't Owe The Ladies Details About Her House Sale
Tensions between Heather, Tamra, and the other ladies on the show reached a pivotal point in the season after they learned that she sold her Orange County house. When confronted, Heather explained that they had signed an NDA with the buyer and that she didn’t feel comfortable sharing the news with the ladies because they always seemed to judge her.
There’s always drama in The Real Housewives when it comes to how much or how little the women choose to share. However, in this instant, I don’t think Heather was in the wrong. After all, she did film aspects of the house sale; she just didn’t mention it to the ladies. And why should she after the way they treated her this season?
She Went On A Genuine Apology Tour
Many fans have been hard on Heather in the past about her inability to give genuine apologies, but she finally made progress this season. At least, I think she did!
She had lunch with Gina to address their issues and apologized for not telling Gina what Tamra had said behind her back. Later, at the finale party, Heather sat down with Emily and hashed out their own complicated issues. She even apologized for any wrongdoings she did to Emily despite not doing anything to her at all. And she did the same with Shannon, too!
Tamra Is The Real Villain
The main reason I’m Team Heather, though, is because she’s not the villain at all; Tamra is, for jumping into this season only looking to come out on top, even if it meant taking the other ladies down. She started by going after her so-called friend Jennifer Pedranti and her complicated marriage history. And then she moved on to Heather.
What Tamra seemed to forget, though, is that cameras were following her everywhere. She claimed Heather was the one to doubt Emily’s career, but footage showed it was Tamara who started the discussion on their trip in Montana. She claimed Heather was the one to call Emily and Gina losers, and yet it was Tamra who said those words on a podcast. In fact, Heather openly admitted this season that the only person she might have called a loser was former castmate Noella Bergener, whom she was accused of getting fired. Maybe Tamra is out of practice, but it's time she remembered if you’re going to throw shade, make sure you’re not videotaped throwing it first.
At the end of the day, Heather has shown this season that she’s nothing but a class act, and I can’t wait to see her tackle the drama head-on in the three-part finale special that begins airing Wednesday, October 4th on Bravo. If you miss it live, you can catch it the following day and the following day with a Peacock subscription or a Hulu subscription.
