Braunwyn Windham-Burke on RHOC Season 15 Finale, coming soon

When she was first announced as a new addition to the cast of The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2019, Braunwyn Windham-Burke didn’t look that different from the women who had cycled in and out of the series in the previous 13 seasons. The hair, the physique, the name – it all seemed like an Orange County classic. And yet Windham-Burke turned out to be a wild child who instantly rocked the boat, sealing his lips with his colleague Tamra Judge and earning the derision of RHOC AND Vicki Gunvalson.

Season 15 saw the departure of Judge and Gunvalson, and the arrival of a brand new Braunwyn. During the October season premiere she announced that she was an alcoholic and in Wednesday night’s season finale she stepped out as a lesbian in a confessional (she previously shared the news in a GLAAD interview of December which took place after the end of filming of the season.). Between these pivotal moments, Windham-Burke took refuge in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic; attended the Black Lives Matter events; sailed into an increasingly complicated 26-year marriage to her husband, Sean; and – in real life Housewives fashion – accused several women of lying.

With nearly a year of sobriety under his belt and many titles on his girlfriend, Wyndham-Burke told Vulture about one of the most eventful sophomore seasons of Real housewives the story.

Suffice it to say, this has been a great year for you. Thinking back to where you were before you started filming this season, could you have imagined ending up here?
My one-year abstinence date is January 30, in about two weeks. I can’t stop remembering, what was I doing around this time last year? Because right before I got sober, it wasn’t pretty. No, I don’t think I could have. When I stood on that ski slope and said to my producer, “I’m an alcoholic; let’s do this, ”I had no idea what I was really getting myself into. I had no idea how difficult it was going to be.

But it has been amazing and great, and there is strength in living your truth and being genuine. There is an inner strength that I found that really got me through the tough times.

In the beginning, sobriety can be a really precarious time, and you would do that in front of the cameras. But there is also a responsibility built into a reality TV show. Did filming make it easier or more difficult for you?
There were difficult times. There was a party in Shannon [Beador’s] house from which I fled. The film crew followed me to my house. I was planning on drinking that day when I left Shannon’s house. I tried to chase the film crews. So on the one hand, was it difficult to film that? Absolutely. The flip side is that the production stuck with me. They knew I was going to drink and they didn’t leave me, and they ended up taking me to one of my first AA meetings, which was wonderful.

Drinking has been a big part of Housewives universe for a while. When you joined the show, did that encourage you to drink more?
I think the part of the shoot that people don’t realize is that we’re in a bubble. We are in a very safe bubble. We are surrounded by people who will take care of us; we know we can go home safely. We’re sort of isolated when we shoot. People don’t come to us. There was a sense of security, and there was also a sense of, You can do whatever you want, and it’s okay. You ask for a bottle of tequila, it magically appears, and there is no judgment because it is not the job of the production. They don’t judge us; they just film us, as it should be. So there was definitely a feeling of, I can do anything I want. This was quickly replaced by many nights I passed out.

In the finale, Kelly [Dodd] stated that sober Braunwyn is not the same person as drunk Braunwyn. Do you agree that you are a different person than you were in your first season on the show?
Absolutely. I think this season has been a lot of growing pains for me, a lot. You were living my life with me in real time, getting sober for those first few months, so it was hard. Who I am now, as I approach a year old, has nothing to do with who I was a few years ago.

Does this unsettle people like Kelly? Yes, of course. A lot of times when you start to improve, people take that as an insult to them. They look at their own choices. And it’s a pretty common thing in sobriety that you lose friends, and the most critical people, for the most part, are those who don’t want to watch their own behavior.

You said you predicted people would have this reaction that getting sober was just a story for the show. Did knowing that this was going to prepare you for it prepared you and how did you deal with that reaction?
I knew it was going to happen, and I knew exactly which actors it was going to come from. They’re very critical, they’re a bit petty, and they’d rather take cheap photos to get their five seconds of their name broadcast rather than really taking the time to pick up the phone and call me.

It’s not false; this is not a story – find something else. It’s too important for me and for others. I worked hard. It’s been almost a year. I fought for each of these days, sometimes literally sitting on my hands not to drink.

Let’s talk about a more joyous public revelation. the Housewives The franchise obviously has a huge LGBTQ + audience. Why do you think it took so long to see a real lesbian housewife?
I think it’s very easy to get stuck in our comfort zones. Much of the country does not agree with this. I was telling my husband the other day when I walk on the beach with [girlfriend] Kris, holding his hand, it’s still very different to holding Sean’s hand. There is still a lot of criticism and a lot of judgment. And I think a lot of people don’t want to be the first to rock this boat.

I was wondering if you could comment on the timing of your GLAAD interview, which took place mid-season, but after filming.
TMZ had pictures of me and my girlfriend, and they have a policy of not taking people out. So they came to Bravo PR, and they said, “We have these photos, but we will not release them.” And [Bravo PR] came to me and said, ‘Okay, it’s over there; it will come out. “Because I wasn’t hiding it. Kris came out of the closet 12 years ago; I wasn’t going to push her away. How can we do this the best way? And I really wanted to find a respectful place that would tell. really history.

Was it difficult for me to say it the first time? Yes. If you watch the GLAAD interview, you can see me. I’m shaking. I am shaking through this whole video. But now that I have arrived on the other side, I am bright, lighter and happy.

You have become very outspoken politically over the past year. How did you end up – in this largely white and largely conservative city – protesting with Black Lives Matter?
We have had [the murders of] Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd so close to each other, and here I am at home, I have nowhere to be, and for some reason it was a light bulb moment for me. I couldn’t dismiss it. I thought, I have to post this. I had never posted anything on my Instagram that was controversial or that would bother people. I have always kept my political opinions silent. I didn’t want to tip the boat. But watching a man get murdered was like, I’m finished.

It just took off from there. How can I get involved? What can I do? [Activists] said, “You’re a middle-aged white woman, come on. Because your body can protect a person of color. You are not going to be beaten or arrested. And it’s true, I have never been beaten and I have never been arrested.

You also told the women about the BLM show and why you were protesting. It seemed that some were more receptive than others. Did you find this experience enlightening?
Talk to Gina [Kirschenheiter was] amazing, and that’s what you want. You want someone who – like me, like Gina – didn’t really know what was going on, OK I understand; What can I do? I wanna do all i can.

Talking to Kelly is like talking to a wall. It’s painful. Talk to Emily [Simpson], like a wall. They are so entrenched in their white privilege that they cannot even see another side to it. Kelly throws, “Well, I’m Mexican.” Now, you get all the privileges of a white person. When you were arrested, you were released. This wouldn’t have happened if you were a black woman, let’s be honest.

When I go to the beach, I am surrounded by Trump signs. So was I surprised? No, was I discouraged? Absolutely. Has it made me wonder why I live here and why I raise my children here? Yes. I think Kelly and Emily are pretty representative of how most people feel here.

Traditionally, Black Real Housewives speak most openly about their politics and support for progressive causes. White housewives tend not to talk about these things. Do you see this changing?
The more seasoned housewives, no, I don’t think they’re going to talk. I do not. I think they have found their rhythm. They have their followers; they have something that works for them. But I really think you’re going to have younger, progressive housewives. This is the direction I have seen on the other shows. And I hope that Orange County Is. There are a lot of progressive young people here who want change. It does exist, but not necessarily on our show.

Thinking about your future on the show, do you see yourself finding common ground with those women – and the people of Orange County in general – who might be passing more judgment on your politics or your identity?
If you voted for Trump, I won’t find common ground with you. I do not want. I do not. If homophobia, sexism and racism are not the deciding factors for you, I don’t want to know you. I do not. We’re never going to find common ground because – I’m sure we all watched last week. If you still support Trump after all of this, you are so inherently broken.

As for the cast members, we’ll see. Gina was awesome. Shannon and I will be fine. Kelly and I – no, I don’t think Kelly and I will ever get over it.

Everyone, yeah. This show has a way of taking twists and turns that you never saw coming. I think any long-term viewer knows that there are friendships and relationships that you never thought possible.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.