Braunwyn Says Drama with Gina at Shannon's Housewarming Was Her "Emotional Rock Bottom"
Braunwyn Windham-Burke and Gina Kirschenheiter reflect on their RHOC argument.
The tension that had been brewing between Braunwyn Windham-Burke and Gina Kirschenheiter this season of The Real Housewives of Orange County finally came to a head at Shannon Storms Beador's housewarming party in the October 28 episode (clip above).
Braunwyn entered the party feeling a little uneasy while adjusting to her new sober lifestyle, in which she was 30 days in at that point. And then the event didn't get off to a great start when Shannon denied Braunwyn's claim that she had called Gina's new home "sad and depressing."
Braunwyn then approached Gina at the party to address their own issues with each other after Braunwyn had been talking about Gina's home and Gina had been talking about Braunwyn's husband, Sean Burke. As things started to get heated between them, Gina, not knowing that Braunwyn had decided to get sober, called Braunwyn out for her drinking. Braunwyn got very upset and suddenly exited the party as the words "to be continued" appeared on the screen.
Gina said during a recent interview with ET that she texted Braunwyn to apologize after watching their drama ahead of the episode airing. "I feel terrible about that, I don't wanna be that mirror," Gina said of that moment with Braunwyn. "This woman is clearly in crisis struggling with this, holding on by a straw and I'm in her face telling her, 'You're a sloppy chihuahua!' Like, I feel terrible about that."
Braunwyn also shared in a post on Instagram in advance of the October 28 episode of RHOC that reliving this moment with Gina was going to be a painful experience. "It’s hard to look back, rewatching tonight’s episode has been something I’ve dreaded since it happened," Braunwyn said in a post on Instagram on October 28 that also included a photo of the last day she had a drink. "Tonight’s episode was my emotional rock bottom, I spiraled that day and almost relapsed....instead I had an amazing crew and family that held me up and got me where I needed to be."
Braunwyn ended the post with some words of encouragement for anyone else dealing with addiction. "I won’t be watching tonight, it’s too hard, but know if you’re struggling with addiction you’re not alone," she wrote. "Every day I get stronger, so will you."
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