Gina Kirschenheiter is reevaluating her friendship with Heather Dubrow as “The Real Housewives of Orange County” Season 18 continues to air.
In an exclusive interview with ’s “Virtual Reali-Tea,” Kirschenheiter explains that watching her feud with Dubrow, 55, play back has made her realize that not much progress has been made in their dynamic since filming wrapped.
“Honestly, it is starting to upset me in real time now because I’m like, ‘Wow, I couldn’t have had her back more,’” the Bravolebrity, 40, says of her “paparazzi-gate” drama with Dubrow while promoting her back-to-school partnership with Clorox.
In Season 17, the former soap actress was accused of calling the paparazzi on herself and husband Dr. Terry Dubrow at Disneyland in response to internet speculation that the couple was experiencing marital strife in the fall of 2022 due to alleged infidelity.
While the Dubrows brushed off the cheating explanation, Heather has vehemently denied that she would ever stage a photo op.
This season, newbie Katie Ginella claimed to have proof that Heather did indeed work with a shutterbug to snap pics during her theme park date with Terry.
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Kirschenheiter has insisted that she urged Ginella not to bring up the ordeal on camera, but the latter did so anyhow.
Once Kirschenheiter caught wind that the “receipt” was worked into production, she alerted Heather — who didn’t express appreciation for the heads-up but instead lambasted Kirschenheiter for seemingly not doing enough to keep it from coming out.
“I was communicating directly to Katie that I thought this was all not valid, the stuff she was bringing up against Heather,” the real estate agent tells “Virtual Reali-Tea.”
“And you see Katie already admit that at the very beginning I told her not to do this … Honestly, I’m hurt by both of them.”
Kirschenheiter notes that she is “the only one” among the “RHOC” ladies who has repeatedly affirmed Heather’s claim that she never procured a moment with the paps.
“I did not do this to Heather. Katie did this to Heather. In fact, I tried to stop Katie from doing this,” she reiterates.
“Honestly, since last year, I’m the only one who believes her — who consistently believes her and yet I’m still the one who did something wrong.”
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Currently, Kirschenheiter says her communication with Heather is “great” — but feels like it may be one-sided.
“Part of what I think I’m realizing myself is that any time I sense that she is going to be upset about something — whether it’s something I’ve done or somebody else — I’m concerned about her feelings, I’m picking up the phone and calling her,” she says, explaining that such a level of concern is “not reciprocated.”
Kirschenheiter points out that she is seldom the recipient of a call or text from Heather when she is hit with “things … that are upsetting” to her.
“Watching between last week and this week’s episode and seeing how it’s all played out, I am upset about it.”
Kirschenheiter isn’t sure if she wants to clear things up now — or wait until the “Orange County” reunion tapes.
“It’s a tricky mess, man. Get the Clorox wipes out, I guess!” she jokes, acknowledging her penchant for the brand’s disinfecting wipes and the product’s ability to eradicate mess.
“It’s tough. It’s interesting too because we have [the] reunion coming up. We still have to have all these conversations, so it’s like, ‘Do I have these conversations now? Do we have them there?’”
Kirschenheiter tells “Virtual Reali-Tea” that she is hoping for a resolution because she “genuinely cares” about Heather.
“I like to have these constructive conversations, so hopefully we can have that,” she says. “But Heather’s very sensitive, so I feel like I operate around that sensitivity a lot. At a certain point, it just gets to be too much.”
“The Real Housewives of Orange County” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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