Prior to the Real Housewives of Orange County reunion, Brooks Ayers sat down with Melanie Bromley of E! News to defend himself against the “faking cancer” accusations that plagued this past season. Brooks insisted that nothing about his storyline with Vicki Gunvalson had been manufactured.
About Meghan King Edmonds, Tamra Judge, Briana Culberson, Shannon Beador, and anyone else who has called him a gold digger, a liar, or a con artist or has accused him of faking cancer, Brooks declared, “Nobody can ruin my life. Nobody can ruin my reputation.” Wait, what? I was under the impression his reputation was already in the crapper, but, okay. Maybe Brooks and Farrah Abraham should go on a “my reputation is my brand” redemption tour together.
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Brooks said, “I think Meghan has made herself relevant – at 30 years old – by being the mouth piece for some of the ladies on the show. Given the fact that Tamra made the comment she did after season nine, that this was going to be Vicki‘s year ‘in the box’ so to speak, it made me an easy target.”
“I don’t fight like those ladies fight,” added Brooks. “They fight below the belt. I was brought up a little differently, and that’s sad for me on the outside, but what am I supposed to do? Argue, fight, cuss with women? I don’t do that. It’s not gonna happen. I am not gonna bring up that Simon hates Tamra and that she has issues with her 16-year-old daughter. I am not gonna bring up Meghan‘s past relationship issues. She’s been divorced once already at 30.”
Does Brooks regret sharing his story on RHOC? “I don’t believe in regrets.”
“When we first started filming the last week of January, Vicki and I made the decision to tell the ladies that I was dealing with cancer, on camera, even though I had been dealing with it for four months prior,” continued Brooks. “Quite frankly, in December, Vicki had not yet signed for the season. She was basically told, ‘Hey, if you don’t film your total reality, with Brooks dealing with cancer, we’re going to reduce your role.’ I did it for her. I’m a grown man. Vicki did not talk me into it.”
Isn’t it suspicious that Brooks broke up with Vicki the same day the “psychic” episode aired? “There’s never a good time to break up. Am I going to wait, put my life on hold in real time until after everything airs?”
Brooks said he’s “absolutely sticking by” his claim to have cancer, specifically Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “I wish it wasn’t true,” he added. “It would be a lot easier if I didn’t have cancer to be honest with you, from the daily grind to the routines of reminding myself that I am sick and that I need to do certain things and not do certain things.”
Does Vicki believe Brooks? “When Vicki gets in a box, Vicki is a peace keeper as opposed to a peace maker. Prior to the reunion, Vicki was via email telling me, ‘Listen, I’m feeling very weak. I’m going to be on an island by myself. I’ll do my best.’ Post the reunion, she said to me, ‘I truly believe everything you have told me and the ladies just backed me into a corner.'”
More From Brooks’ Interview with E! News
Brooks said he’s “improving,” adding, “I went from stage 3 initial diagnosis now down to stage 2. I have no more inflammation – lesions in my lymphatic system. Just have some blood work numbers that need to come down and normalize.”
Why didn’t Brooks share his medical records? “I did show Tamra, and she was convinced at the time, until she changed her mind for the story line.” Why just Tamra? “They [the others] weren’t sincere in wanting to know about my good health. They were interested in trying to catch me in a lie and Vicki in a lie or a cover up.”
I disagree – Meghan, yes. Shannon and Heather, no, not initially.
“Newport Imaging referred me to Hoag Hospital, which is where I did the actual test,” insisted Brooks. “The results came back on Newport Imaging letterhead. That’s pure and simple.”
Briana claimed Brooks lied in the past about having pancreatic cancer. “I am happy to clear that up,” he said. “When I first was diagnosed, I was speaking to Vicki as professional to professional. I shared with her that I had a mass, a legion, around my pancreas. She communicated that to her daughter, whom I had never met at the time, that I had pancreatic cancer. I never said I had pancreatic cancer. I never had a conversation with Briana directly about cancer. She took something her mother shared with her and twisted it and said I said all that stuff, and that’s just not true.”
Will Brooks take a lie detector test to prove he has cancer? “My attorney has said under no circumstances will I do a lie detector test. It’s too broad.”
Is Brooks paying child support? “Absolutely. Every month.”
Meghan accused Brooks of faking cancer to avoid paying child support. “If that was the case, I would have a warrant for my arrest and my ex-wife would be yelling,” he shared. “Come on, that’s a stretch. We sent her a cease and desist letter with pretty strong language in it.”
At the end, Melanie couldn’t say whether or not she believes Brooks. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I did believe him until I asked about the lie detector test. If you have an opportunity to actually prove you’re telling the truth and you don’t take it, I don’t understand why you’re not taking that opportunity.”
Maria Menounos offered, “Because they don’t always work?”
“Sitting there face-to-face with him, I believed him,” added Melanie. “But there are avenues where he could absolutely prove it (producing his medical records, taking a lie detector test, etc.) and he hasn’t taken them.”
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Photo Credit: E! News
