Briana and Ryan Culberson Return to RHOC with Some Major Life Updates
A lot has changed for Vicki Gunvalson's daughter and her husband since we last saw them on TV.
The November 26 episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County was a family affair. Vicki Gunvalson's daughter, Briana Culberson, returned to the OC to help celebrate her engagement to longtime boyfriend Steve Lodge after he popped the question in April.
Briana, along with her husband, Ryan Culberson, and their sons Troy, 7, and Owen, 5, were in town visiting from North Carolina, where they moved in November 2017.
"Life in North Carolina is amazing. This is the best year health-wise that I've probably had in the last 10 or 12 years," Briana said during an interview in the episode. "I'm getting really good medical care at one of the best lupus practices in the nation. I've started a Keto diet, and I've lost almost 60 pounds. I think less stress has helped, and we've never been happier, so it's perfect."
Briana was diagnosed with lupus in 2016 after years of dealing with health issues. Since visiting her mom in the OC, Briana underwent a "clavicle surgery that has been way overdue," according to her husband on Instagram, in September. Ryan also shared at that time that he hoped it would be the "last surgery hopefully forever."
During Tuesday night's episode of RHOC, Tamra Judge was also there to catch up with Briana and Ryan, in addition to Vicki, her son, Michael Wolfsmith, and her fiancé, Steve. Tamra asked Briana if she would ever move back to the OC, and she left little room for interpretation in her response. "F--k no," Briana said. "I'm so much happier."
Ryan also noted, "It was her decision to move, and now I've embraced it."
The Culbersons do have family out in North Carolina with Ryan's relatives close by. They also said his sister has two sons with one more on the way.
Of course, the other major question on everyone's minds was how Briana felt about her mother getting engaged to Steve. Briana, who has been a big supporter of Vicki and Steve's relationship since they started dating in 2016, told Tamra that she's happy about their engagement.
Thanks to flashbacks to past seasons of RHOC, it's clear that Briana thinks Steve is a big improvement over Vicki's last boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, whom her daughter was not so fond of, to put it mildly.
"My mom's relationship with Donn was good. She married Donn when I was 6 and my brother was 7 and they raised us together. But I just don't feel like they were ever truly in love," Briana said of Vicki's second husband, Donn Gunvalson, in an interview during the episode. "And then I think with Brooks, my mom had all passion and nothing else. No respect, nothing else that really makes a true relationship."
We loved seeing Briana and Ryan back on RHOC, but of course, not as much as Vicki, who wishes her daughter and son-in-law could be around more often. "We need you guys on more," Vicki wrote in the comments to a post from Ryan about the appearance on Instagram.
Tamra opens up more about Vicki's engagement in The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 14 After Show, above.
Check out Briana's return to RHOC, below.
