‘Real Housewives of Orange County’: Lydia McLaughlin reportedly returning; Heather Dubrow departing
The revolving door of cast members for “The Real Housewives of Orange County” continues. It’s become fairly commonplace for the Bravo series to lose a cast member or two between seasons, and all signs point towards this happening once again this time around.
Specifically on this occasion, we’re looking towards the exit of one Heather Dubrow and the return of one Lydia McLaughlin. It’s been known for some time now that Dubrow was going to be leaving the Bravo series after being a part of it the past several years. It’s also easy to understand why. Although there are many benefits that go along with being a part of the show (a higher profile, more business opportunities), at the same time there are also fewer opportunities to have a personal life and the schedule binds you into doing specific things as specific times of the year. Dubrow certainly doesn’t need the money that comes with being a part of the show.
As for Lydia, her return is somewhat more of a surprise given that she only appeared previously on the show for one season, and we wondered at the time if she was one of those cast members who simply decided that the gig was not for her. (Us Weekly first reported the news of her return.) What we do like about her as a part of the show is that she does provide a very different, distinct voice that you don’t get in other places on the show. We also do think that there is merit in continuing to bring fresh faces onto the show solely for the sake of mixing things up — variety is essential to any show, especially one that has been around as long as this one has.
Unfortunately, there is no word just yet on the remainder of the cast, other than that we know that Tamra Judge will be returning for season 12. Vicki Gunvalson remains the only cast member who has been a part of the show every year since the very beginning, so we certainly are curious to see if she could be making an appearance coming up again in the future.
What do you think about this announcement? Be sure to share some of your thoughts with a comment, and head over here in the event you want to get some additional news when it comes to the “Orange County” show. (Photo: Bravo.)