Vicki Gunvalson's latest family update deserves a major "woohoo!"
The Real Housewives of Orange County star shut down speculation that her kids Briana Culberson and Michael Wolfsmith are estranged after Michael recently revealed he hasn't seen his older sister in nearly a decade.
"They're not estranged," Vicki exclusively told E! News Aug. 4 at The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th premiere party in NYC. "They talk all the time, they just haven't seen each other. He lives in Spain, she lives in another state."
While Michael, 40, is busy working for Vicki's Coto Insurance company in Europe, Briana, 39, has her hands full raising three kids with husband Ryan Culberson out of the spotlight. And the distance between them doesn't equate to bad blood between the siblings.Â
"They've always been good," the 64-year-old reiterated. "They love each other, we're family. So, knock it off!"
Ultimately, Vicki blames social media for rumors of a family rift.
"I don't know who created this. All he said was, 'I haven't seen her in eight years,'" the OG of the O.C. shared. "They're fine! It's these internet bloggers that lie. I said to Briana and Michael, 'Just turn your Instagram off.' Because the liars are gonna lie until they get clickbait."
Vicki also cleared the air regarding Briana's not-so-thrilled reaction to her mom re-joining RHOC for its milestone 20th season. As for Briana herself, she turned down Andy Cohen's offer to appear again on the show.
"Briana has a very successful online business for young women," the Bravo star said. "She's a private girl. Her and her husband, they don't talk publicly about where they live, what they do and she's enjoyed her anonymity. She doesn't like the limelight and I respect her."
"She lives a beautiful life, quiet life," Vicki added, "and I'm not gonna tell her what to do at 39 years old."
However, Vicki will have plenty of familiar faces by her side as she embarks on the cross-country trip of a lifetime on Bravo's Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip 20th anniversary special.
"It was really incredible to celebrate 20 years of Housewives," she gushed to E! of the season, which also stars Kyle Richards, Porsha Williams, Teresa Giudice and many more Bravo icons, "and it makes you realize how fast life goes and to enjoy every moment of every day."
Celebrate with Vicki by watching the premiere of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th Aug. 9 at 9 p.m. on Bravo.Â
In the meantime, keep reading to see where the OG of the O.C. lands on E!'s official ranking of every Housewife ever.
Bravo's ill-fated attempt at highlighting our nation's capital brought together four women so forgettable you'd be forgiven for erasing them from your memoryâthough their names are Mary Amons, Lynda Erkiletian, Cat Ommanney and Stacie Scott Turnerâand one so desperate for fame that she gate-crashed a party at the White House. More on her later.
174. Kimberly Bryant, The Real Housewives of Orange County
173. Tammy Knickerbocker, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Once upon a time, DeShawn starred on the same TV show as NeNe Leakes. Surprising, we know.
171. Elizabeth Lyn Vargas, The Real Housewives of Orange County
This one-season Housewife brought nothing to the Orange County table.
170. Jennie Nguyen, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Utah's newest season two Housewife went out with a bang (and not in a good way). In January 2022, Jennie was fired after "offensive" and racially insensitive old Facebook posts resurfaced online. Jennie later apologized but the damage was done.
169. Quinn Fry, The Real Housewives of Orange County
168. Jen Armstrong, The Real Housewives of Orange County
The Orange County doctor was never a source of drama during season 16 and her brief marriage troubles with eternally shirtless husband Ryne (or Ryan?) were less than riveting. However, we will never forget Dr. Jen getting absolutely wasted on wine during the Dubrows' insanely awkwardâyet wildly entertainingâdinner party.
167: Annemarie Wiley, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
The nurse anesthetist's flop first season can be summed up in one cringe-worthy word we hope we never hear again: Esophagus-gate.Â
Katie loved to talk about her charity work, but...didn't do much else on screen. She was one and done, only to come back and not contribute much as a friend. Leaving the cast trip early? A Housewives no-no.
165. Charrisse Jackson Jordan, The Real Housewives of Potomac
Her marriage problems were on full display the two seasons she was a full-time Housewife...that and her champagne room are the two memorable things about Charrisse.
A one-and-done Housewife, Shamari was at least fun?
163. Peggy Sulahian, The Real Housewives of Orange County
While it was nice to see some diversity in the lily-white O.C., Peggy ultimately proved to be a frustrating presence in season 12. The fights she chose to pick were bizarre, and often involving someone using a word she simply didn't understand, and her decision to simply hide out in her room for an entire day during the trip to Iceland proved that she wasn't really cut out for this Real Housewives life.
Instead of bonding with fellow Nigerian costar Wendy Osefo during season eight, Nneka's first season storyline centered entirely around her allegedly accusing Wendy's mom of being a witch (yes, seriously). We wish we could have seen the two bond over their shared culture rather than fighting with no resolve.
161. Noella Bergener, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Noella spun through season 16 like a tornado of frantic energy. While her personal struggles were somewhat compelling (her husband James up and left the country and asked for a divorce right before filming started), it was her constant drama with queen bee Heather Dubrow that helped her not land completely at the bottom of the list. Maybe with more time and another season, we'll warm up to Mrs. Bergener.
160. Siggy Flicker, The Real Housewives of New Jersey
From peacekeeper in her first season to unrelenting complaints about a thrown cake and unfounded claims of anti-Semitism in her second (and last) season, we're not sure we've ever seen a quicker Real Housewives fall from grace than this one.
Everything Amber and her husband Jim did seemed to reek of desperation. Plus, he was involved in more of the drama than she was. Not a good look.
All we remember about Karent is that she was a dentist and none of her co-stars seemed to like her at all. Next!
This was a real person with a show on Bravo. We promise.
156. Jules Wainstein, The Real Housewives of New York City
As one of RHONY's more recent one-and-dones, Jules' tenure was too brief to rank any higher. However, she sure did deliver her fair share of drama.Â
155: Amanda Francis, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Hate is a strong word, but it's hard to remember anyone who was as swiftly disliked by Bravo fans as RHOBH's season 15 newbie Amanda Francis.
The author, financial advisor and self-professed "Money Queen" rubbed not only her castmates the wrong way, audiences were also put off by Amanda's obsession with material things and questionable career advise.
But it was her refusal to engage in any sort of confrontation with her castmates that truly signaled she wasn't made out to be a Housewife. It's a hard job, and not everybody is meant to do it.
So unnecessary they couldn't even get individual taglines.
Much like co-star Sara Al Madani, Nina exemplified a multidimensional, successful Arab woman who is blending modern life with centuries-old cultural traditions. She avoided most of the season one drama and was sometimes overshadowed by her co-stars' bigger, louder personalities.
Taleen was a nice addition to RHODubai's sophomore season, but we only have one season to judge her on.
To say Angel failed spectacularly at being a Housewife would be an understatement. With one miss after another, the WAG and wife of retired NFL star Bobby Massie fumbled her way through season 10 as her more seasoned and shadier costars relished in her unsuccessful attempts to fit into the friend group.
Despite her shortcomings, it is pretty epic that her Colorado glamping excursion ended with the cast lost in the wilderness and eating fast food from a roadside gas station.
The America's Next Top Model veteran picked up a peach for seasons 11 and 12, but never really made an impression in the world of RHOA, aside from being pregnant for what felt like her entire tenure. Points for that epic read of Marlo Hampton while in Tokyo, though.
148. Katie Ginella, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Per usual, we typically need to see more than one season to place a first-time Housewife higher on our list. But Katie came in swinging during RHOC's 18th season, immediately going up against veteran Housewife Heather Dubrow. It takes a brave woman to call B.S. on Ms. Fancypants.
147. Stephanie Shojaee, The Real Housewives of Miami
We'll be honest: Stephanie is not our cup of tea. While her vast wealth had the makings of a great Housewife, the fact that she continuously used her private jet as leverage to hold power over her new costars during season seven left an icky raste in our mouth.
Maybe Steph can redeem herself if she returns for season eight.
Sara's positive, enlightened outlook on life was certainly pleasant, but didn't provide for much drama (besides that one time she offered co-star Caroline Brooks some not-so-well received parenting advice). However, the tech entrepreneur shattered stereotypes of what it means to be a modern Muslim woman in the Middle East and for that we applaud her.Â
144-145. Rachel Fuda & Danielle Cabral, The Real Housewives of New Jersey
RHONJ's season 13 newbies certainly fit the mold of your typical Garden State Housewife and quickly found themselves in a season-long fight over literally nothing that Andy Cohen deemed pointless at the reunion. The former friends unfortunately didn't bring much more substance during season 14.