“Real Housewives of Orange County” star Vicki Gunvalson opened up about her split from her second husband, Donn Gunvalson, whom she officially divorced in 2014 after 20 years of marriage.
During the October 21 episode of her podcast, “My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast,” Gunvalson said that joining the Bravo series during its first season in 2006 caused her to be more aware of her issues in her marriage to her second husband.
“When I was married to Donn, the show got in our marriage’s way. And I started traveling more. I started becoming, like, ‘Oh I can do this alone,’” said Gunvalson on her podcast episode. “‘And there’s all these cute rich boys out there’ And I divorced him and we went sideway. He was doing his thing. I was doing my thing. We woke up one morning and we were like, ‘We don’t even like being with each other.’”
According to Gunvalson, she and her ex-husband “stopped trying” in their marriage.
“That’s one of my biggest things if I could turn back the clock and learn from now where I’m at, 14 years later, the grass isn’t greener on the other side. You’re just trading in another set of problems,” said Gunvalson while recording her podcast episode. “I just gave up and he did too because we were out of love. We weren’t intimate anymore. We were just kind of hanging, you know. Doing dinner. I was, like, miserable.”
Vicki Gunvalson Said She Divorced Her Second Husband for Brooks Ayers
According to People Magazine, Gunvalson said she left her marriage to her second husband to pursue a relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, during BravoCon 2022. Gunvalson said she regretted her decision.
“I divorced my husband for Brooks [Ayers] and it’s the biggest regret I ever had. I will never, ever cheat again. It destroyed my family,” said Gunvalson during the BravoCon 2022 panel in October 2024, per People magazine.
As fans are aware, Ayers was a controversial figure on RHOC. People magazine reported that Ayers confirmed that he “forged medical records relating to his cancer diagnosis” in November 2015, a few months after his breakup from Gunvalson.
In a September 2024 episode of her podcast, Gunvalson said she was upset that some RHOC fans believe that she had faked Ayers’ cancer. She said she “was scammed” by Ayers.
“Don’t blame me. I didn’t know one way or the other. So all of you all, stop it! It’s ridiculous. It’s disrespectful to me as a woman,” said Gunvalson on her September 2024 podcast episode.
In addition, Gunvalson said she believed that Ayers was her “soulmate” while they were dating.
“I was head over heels with him. He was chivalry, he was from Mississippi, he was my knight in shining armor. He was everything Donn wasn’t,” said Gunvalson while recording the podcast episode.
Michael Smith Shared His Thoughts About Dating Vicki Gunvalson
Gunvalson is currently in a relationship with Michael Smith. During a March 2024 interview on Jeff Lewis‘ radio show, “Jeff Lewis Live,” alongside Smith, Gunvalson shared that she and her boyfriend met through her former RHOC co-star, Kelly Dodd. According to Gunvalson, she was about to leave Orange County before being introduced to Smith.
“I was ready to head back to Chicago where I’m from because I was starting to think that California people were not my gig,” said Gunvalson to Lewis.
Gunvalson also said she gave Smith a list of what she was looking for in a romantic partner during their first date. Smith also shared that he “was not looking for a girlfriend” when he decided to go on a date with Gunvalson.
During the “Jeff Lewis Live” interview, Smith shared what he appreciated about Gunvalson. He said they are “best friends” and “spend almost every minute together.”
“It’s been awesome, honestly, she is genuine. She has a huge heart. We’ve been dating a little over two years now,” said Smith.
Gunvalson also said she and Smith “laugh a lot” together.
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