With Season 18 of the Real Housewives of Orange County premiering, I just had to take a walk down memory lane. While viewers have all of their fan favorites, there has always been a Grade-A villain to hate during each season. These women made being mean look easy as they tore apart their competition. But who will reign supreme as the worst villain in RHOC history?
Kelly Dodd – RHOC Villain Season 11
Even though Kelly Dodd thinks highly of herself, most fans would agree that she pulled the franchise down into the gutters. The mother of one was volatile, rude, and vulgar. Kelly often used foul language, which particularly enraged Heather Dubrow. During one scene, Heather was forced to leave the party early, noting that Kelly’s outburst was a “vulgar, vile display.” Heather and the rest of the women couldn’t stomach Kelly’s toxic personality, noting, “I’m done. This is not okay. This is low-based bulls—, and I am not doing this. I don’t even want to be associated with this.” It seems Bravo also felt the same way and chose to fire Kelly.
But that didn’t stop Kelly from reigning supreme in the villain category. During the worldwide pandemic, Kelly chose to reply to a fan’s comment about her flying during the COVID-19 outbreak, writing on Instagram via People: “It’s God’s way of thinning the herd! If you are vulnerable or compromised, stay inside.” Those comments didn’t land well. Kelly was then photographed at her bridal shower posing next to her friends without masks and sporting a “Drunk Wives Matters” hat, which was a dig at the Black Lives Matter movement. Kelly has always been known to be insensitive, but this crossed the line for many fans of the series.
Braunwyn Windham Burke – RHOC Villain Season 14
The one-hit wonder that was Braunwyn Windham-Burke was a bit of an anti-hero. I found myself wanting to root for her, but she made it so damn hard. She came across as sweet and tried to make fans believe that she lived a very nonconventional life, which she and her husband, Sean Burke, agreed upon. But it turns out poor Sean was just being used as a doormat. The couple might have had an open relationship, but Braunwyn was the one with all the perks. Eventually, she even started a relationship with a woman while still wanting to have a marriage with Sean.
After departing the Real Housewives of Orange County, her children started speaking out against her on Page Six. They called their mother a “narcissist, abuser, manipulator, and a liar.” When watching Braunwyn on the series, most fans found her to be entitled, narcissistic, and completely fake. So it is no wonder she only lasted one season. I mean, anyone who says, “Hey, Lemonade Boy, can you find my husband?” probably isn’t that great of a person to begin with.
Lynne Curtin – RHOC Villain Season 4
This next villain is tricky because I, unlike the two women above, don’t believe Lynne Curtin meant to do any harm. But I have her on the list because she was so checked out on her two daughters. It also didn’t help that she would often play the victim, blaming her husband for their eviction. Lynne, in all reality, was hard to embrace. Instead of figuring out a budget, she was off buying Botox and getting a facelift. Perhaps the worst was that she was complicit in her daughters’ crappy behavior.
Let’s all remember she also let her children drink while underage. Lynne was the type of woman who kept self-sabotaging her life and then wondering why things were going bad. Her stupidity, at times, was infuriating to watch.
Vicki Gunvalson – RHOC Villain Season 1
The OG of the OC has given us some amazing TV moments. But it is hard to deny that Vicki Gunvalson was also one of the show’s greatest villains. Her hazing of the new girls alone solidified her place on my list. Vicki was the Queen of Schadenfreude as she derived pleasure from the other girl’s misfortunes more often than we like to admit. Vicki was almost always green with envy whenever a new kid on the block arrived.
The mother of two showed her true colors as she often became jealous of anyone who had something she wanted, i.e., a loving marriage, a good body, and youth. She also made it very clear early on that she despised any of the wives who were supported by their husbands. Thinking back, Vicki actually got pleasure from Tammy Knickerbocker being left with nothing when her husband died. We all remember her living for Lynne being evicted. Vicki just had a natural inability to be happy for someone else’s good fortune.
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