Max and Nick Dubrow Reveal What It Was Really Like to Grow Up on RHOC and Share How Far They've Come
Heather Dubrow's twins looked back at the many years she's been featured on The Real Housewives of Orange County.
While twin siblings Max Dubrow and Nick Dubrow were growing up, the world was tuning in to watch their mom, Heather Dubrow, on The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Put simply, the experience took some adjusting to, according to both siblings, "but also, it’s kind of all I’ve ever known," Max told BravoTV.com. "It’s kind of just normal to us now."
After all, Max and Nick were just 8 years old when Heather made her RHOC debut. Now, almost a decade later, they're entering an entirely new unscripted world of their own: adulthood.
As part of Growing Up Bravo, the pair offered a glimpse into what that transition has been like for them. But first, they went back to the beginning.
The Reality of Having a Reality-TV Star Mom
Max Dubrow's Experience Growing Up on RHOC
Jumping straight into the misconceptions that come with being on a show like RHOC, Max noted, "A lot of people ask me if it's annoying to have cameras at your house 24-7, and I kind of have to explain that’s not how it is."
Max then shed more light on the experience, adding, "I’m glad we did it and I’m glad it's furthering my mom’s career, and that’s really all that matters, that she’s happy and doing what she loves," Max said. "I also think it’s opened up a lot of amazing opportunities for me, which I’m extremely grateful about," Max added. That, and her family — which also includes her and Nick's dad, Dr. Terry Dubrow, and their siblings, Kat and Ace — has grown "closer."
Nick Dubrow's Experience Growing Up on RHOC
Nick attributed his family's resilience to the notion that they simply "have a lot of fun" whenever possible. "We work very well as a family dynamic ... It’s not just like, 'Oh, we have to go film,'" he said. "We have a lot of fun with it because as much as it is, like, filming and being in this kind of spotlight and whatever, we think about it as a lot of family time. So we actually get to spend a lot of time with each other and do a lot of things together and do trips, and a lot of stuff like that."
In reminiscing on the many memories they've made over the years while filming RHOC, Nick said his favorite dates back to the Season 11 '70s-themed party hosted by Shannon Storms Beador: "They had this roller skating party and my mom completely fell on her ass. And she came home that night and I remember being this little kid, and she had this giant bruise on her tailbone, and me and all my siblings were cracking up."
It hasn't been all fun and games, though — but that's a good thing. As Nick explained, he and his family make sure to sit down and have serious discussions about "what we all are comfortable with telling everyone and revealing to everyone."
Coming Into Their Own
Max Dubrow's Coming Out
One such conversation that was particularly important to have centered on Max's sexuality. As RHOC fans may recall, she came out as bisexual in June 2020.
"I just wanted to show who I am and I didn’t really care about anything else, you know?" Max recalled. "And then once it kind of hit the news, I was, like, 'Oh sh-t. Like, this is news,' which I think I just didn’t really understand because it didn’t seem like a big deal to me to be bisexual, and I think that is because of my parents' parenting and the way I’ve grown up with just love and support for everyone and every kind of person which I’m very grateful and lucky to have."
And though she was admittedly overwhelmed at first, she eventually started getting DMs from teenagers and parents alike telling her how much her story helped them or helped their kids come out. "Or they’ll DM and ask me questions like, 'I wanna come out to my mom. Do you think this is a good way to do it? Like, what happens if she doesn’t react well?' and I fully take the time to respond," Max explained. "That really struck a chord with me because I went to a very religious school where there was absolutely no representation. And even before that, I went to a private school and I didn’t even know the word 'bisexual' existed. So, when I got to high school and I met this girl who was bisexual, I thought, quite literally, my exact thoughts were, 'You can have both?' Like, I was so shocked."
"But yeah, once they told me that me coming out helped them [become] their true self, I think that really wanted made me wanna keep talking about it," Max concluded.
Saying Goodbye to Orange County
Though the supportive messages helped Max in a major way, one of her biggest supporters has always been and continues to be her twin brother. So, it was no surprise that saying goodbye as they headed to their respective colleges last year — Loyola Marymount University for Nick, and Tufts University for Max — was extremely difficult.
"It’s nice being in L.A. because I’m very close to home, and so I was able to go home, see my family, and see my other siblings, but Max obviously was on the other side of the States, so, that was more difficult. That was a little more heartbreaking. There were some tears in the goodbye, definitely," Nick recalled. "But we FaceTime basically every day. She basically lived with me on my phone. And then she got a cat, so she was great after that."
Max also opened up about being away from her brother, as well as the rest of her family. “I think for any student going into college or moving away from the house and the family that they’ve known their whole life, it’s difficult,” she began. “But I think, you know, I moved across the country, and that was out of anyone’s comfort zone.”
That, combined with Max’s anxiety, made the transition especially tough. As she explained, “I’ve dealt with this anxiety my whole life and stuff like that, and honestly, I was like, ‘This is so far away [but] I can do this,’ you know? And then once it came to it, I was like, ‘Oh sh-t, I have to move across the country right now.’ Like, I didn’t actually think about this.”
Thankfully, with time, Max was able to not only adjust to her surroundings but also start to thrive. As she shared, “Like, at certain times, I would even be excited to go back to school rather than be at home ’cause I had my own dorm.”
There's also the fact that she's in "the healthiest, happiest relationship I have ever been in."
"My girlfriend, Khue, is an angel sent from heaven and she has just helped me grow so much in who I am and who I wanna be," Max said. "Hopefully I end up marrying her one day, but, you know, I’m 19 — whatever. But yeah, it's just I have never been so happy in a relationship."
The Dubrow Twins, Today
Nick Dubrow's College Life
Max and Nick are now sophomores, and the latter is already taking big steps in his professional life, as he spent the summer working alongside Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles real estate broker Josh Altman as part of an internship with the Altman Brothers.
"As of recently, I just got my real estate license, so I’m kind of exploring that field," Nick explained. "And it’s actually kind of funny because they’re on Bravo too, so it’s kind of like a weird connection."
The connection apparently came about when Josh helped Heather and Terry sell their Orange County mansion, the Dubrow Chateau. “He was our agent,” Nick said. “And it just became this thing where I’m like, ‘Huh, I’m getting my license. Maybe I can come intern with you.’”
The rest was history, but Nick noted that he's not entirely sure he wants to pursue a career in real estate. As he put it, "I’m currently studying business finance, that's like my specific major ... but I also want to try to do an internship, like, kind of on the Hollywood agent side; maybe work in the mail room for a bit. Or, maybe work in a bank. I don’t know. I want to kind of explore a lot of different things."
Max Dubrow's College Life
Max, meanwhile, is studying psychology and considering a double major in philosophy. "I want to go into law, but I’m actually interning as a vet tech assistant right now [and] working with animals," she shared. "I work there, like, a few times a week and it’s actually my favorite thing. I love it so much."
That said, "I definitely want to start getting more involved in law and getting internships, and exploring just kind of what I wanna do with my career. Also, I’ve always loved music and I always wanted to pursue music, so I'm trying to figure out maybe a balance of that, or anything with music."
Ultimately, though, "I want to graduate and just figure out who I am outside of Orange County."
That, "and hopefully get a lot more cats."
What about her own reality show, though? Pondering the possibility, Max said, "I think it would depend — like, 100 percent depend — on what it was and the capacity."
Nick, for his part, said he would "of course" consider doing his own reality TV show. "Maybe just not [while] I'm going to school, but I definitely would be completely open to it," he said. "I think it would be a lot of fun, and I kind of like being on TV like that 'cause I’ve grown up with it, so it’s, like, my thing."
In Growing Up Bravo, the grown-up kids of Bravo stars pull back the curtain on their experiences. They share insight into what it’s like to have a Bravoleb as a parent and offer a glimpse into what their lives look like today.
