The Real Housewives franchise has stirred up quite a bit of controversy over the years. There's RHOBH's Erika Jayne's ex-husband, Tom Girardi, found guilty of defrauding his clients of millions of dollars, which supposedly was used to fund his and Erika's lifestyle seen on the show. RHOSLC'sJen Shah running a fraudulent telemarketing scheme that targeted the elderly and being sent to prison, and RHONY's Countess Luann's extremely embarrassing arrest in Florida that resulted in charges of battery of an officer.
However, one of the biggest scandals of the franchise appeared in an entire season of The Real Housewives of Orange County. In Season 10, fans will remember OG housewife Vicki Gunvalson's former boyfriend Brooks Ayers being the center of faking his cancer diagnosis. The ladies of Orange County believed it to be one big scam, and they turned out to be right. Although it's now been almost 10 years since Brooks allegedly faked his health, Vicki is still getting the brunt of it.
RHOC's Vicki Gunvalson Is Setting The Record Straight On Her Health
Fans Have Been Calling Out Vicki For Faking Her Own Cancer
Close
Close
INFphoto.com via INSTARimages
Via Instar
via: Instar
Via Bravo TV
Close
Fans of RHOC all remember when Vicki Gunvalson's former boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, faked documentation that stated he had been a patient at the cancer hospital City of Hope in Season 10. In fact, it is still unclear whether Brooks had cancer at all, as multiple housewives believed he was fabricating his cancer story. Unfortunately, Vicki got a lot of heat from her housewives castmates for believing Brooks and sticking by his side.
Although Season 10 was nearly 10 years ago and Vicki is no longer with Brooks, she still believes she is getting backlash from viewers. This time, RHOC fans believed Vicki had been faking her own cancer diagnosis. As People reported, in November 2021, Vicki appeared on Jeff Lewis' Flipping Out podcast where she stated that she "had cancer." But, she later clarified with Page Six that she was never diagnosed with cancer, but doctors did find "cancer cells" which resulted in Vicki getting a full hysterectomy. She wanted to let people know that she was never lying, but that her words were misconstrued.
In a September episode of My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast, she told host Christian Grey how her ex, Brooks' fabricated cancer story still haunts her today, as people believed she had faked her own cancer diagnosis. Fans felt that Vicki, who has returned as a guest on RHOC Season 18, should not be allowed on the show because she is doing exactly what her ex did. However, the housewife stood her ground when she shared that people need to stop believing in the lies told in the media. She firmly stated that she did not have cancer.
"So some people are saying right now, 'You can't come back on [RHOC] because you faked cancer.' First of all, for all of you all, I never had cancer. So how could I fake it? Number two, if somebody faked it that I was with, blame them. 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.'"
Unfortunately, Vicki had battled a very serious health scare in August when what doctors believed was just a sinus infection turned out to be sepsis and pneumonia. Thankfully, Vicki is now recovering from her very scary situation.
RHOC Season 10 Focused On Brooks Ayers' Cancer Diagnosis
Cast Members Like Tamra Judge And Meghan King Believed Brooks Was Trying To Profit Off Of Cancer
Season 10 of The Real Housewives of Orange County heavily focused on Vicki Gunvalson's new boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, and his cancer diagnosis. However, no one had any idea just how scandalous Brooks' cancer would become that season. Brooks had shared that he was diagnosed with stage III non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but multiple cast members, including Tamra Judge and Meghan King, believed Vicki's boyfriend had fabricated his cancer diagnosis in an attempt to stay relevant.
via Bravotv.com
In 2015, Brooks did a lengthy interview with E! News where he wanted to set the record straight on his cancer diagnosis. Brooks even brought in hospital bills to prove he really did have cancer and was seeking treatment. However, the news outlet later revealed that the paperwork he brought which was from City of Hope hospital was fabricated. The hospital never treated Brooks.
Brooks was caught lying about his cancer documents. That same year, he came clean and apologized for faking the documents, but still maintained that he did have cancer. In his statement, Brooks shared that he did not want to share his real medical records on national television. He also shared that Vicki had nothing to do with his lies.
"Words cannot express the deep regret that I have in fabricating documents to 'prove' to the world that I, in fact, have cancer. What I did was wrong and inexcusable. … I never intended to disclose my actual medical records or details about my private and personal medical history, thus the rationalization of presenting documents that weren't simply true for a 'storyline' for the show."
What Happened To Brooks After RHOC?
After Brooks Ayers lied about seeking treatment for his cancer diagnosis at City of Hope, Vicki dumped him. After his E! News statement in which he apologized for faking hospital documents, Vicki wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
After their split, Brooks began dating a woman named Christy Linderman. The pair wed in March 2018, with Brooks telling ET at the time, "I've never been happier." He also shared that he had moved back to Mississippi to be closer to his children. Asked if he had spoken to Vicki after their break-up, he told the outlet, "I have not heard from Vicki on over a year and I don't expect to hear from her."
In 2019, Vicki sued Brooks and accused him of "breach of written agreement, breach of verbal agreement, fraud, misrepresentation, and other claims related to money he had allegedly not paid her back." The lawsuit stated that Brooks failed to pay his ex back nearly $200,000 she loaned him in 2011, and over $80,000 she lent him for attorney fees.
For more Real Housewives coverage, visit our Reality TV Hub.
