There's a lot of juice to be squeezed out of the upcoming 18th installment of The Real Housewives of Orange County . "So much happened this season that I don't even know how they're going to fit it all in," series vet Heather Dubrow told E! News in an exclusive interview. "And the dynamic is really good.
We have so many strong people around, which is nice, and so much history between so many of us." But it's a similar future that's brought her even closer to returning star Alexis Bellino . The two, who appeared on seasons seven and eight together "have known each other for a very long time," said Heather, "and didn't always see eye-to-eye.
" But having gotten reacquainted in the past few years "through some of our older kids," said Heather, mom to twins Max and Nick , both 20, Kat , 17, and Ace , 13, with Botched star Terry Dubrow , she and Alexis—mom to James , 17, and 16-year-old twins Miles and Mackenna —truly bonded after their sons Ace and Miles came out as transgender . Shared Heather, "Having LGBTQIA+ kids definitely brought us closer." Because while cast trips and messy AF love triangles (we're looking at you, Alexis and John Janssen !) make for great binge-watching, the reason Heather decided to return to the Bravo hit in 2021 was "because I thought, 'Hey, we've got this great platform, they're asking us to come back, wouldn't it be nice to show our very normal family and maybe start conversations in other people's families?'" Few things make the 55-year-old more .
