Vicki Gunvalson‘s daughter is proud of her mom’s decision to leave the Real Housewives of Orange County. On Jan. 24 the 57-year-old businesswoman announced she will no longer be part of the show so she can work on new projects. Her daughter Briana Culberson, 32, was a familiar face to viewers, and now she’s speaking out about her mother’s exit after 14 seasons. She did it via a fan question in one of her husband Ryan Culberson‘s Instagram posts the following day.
In a photo showing the happy couple in North Carolina, a fan wrote, “Wishing Briana would make a statement regarding the show!” and she responded! “I’m not really a ‘statement’ kind of girl, but I will say that it’s very sad and the end of a wonderful journey for my mom. We’ve had a lot of fun as a family on the show and I’m very proud of her and love her. Her absence will be significant and she will be very missed on the show,” Briana wrote.
Fan maruchyrl wrote in the comments, “I’ve got to say – of all of the RH cast Briana is my favorite. This woman – though her young age – has been the classiest and mature of the entire franchise. I’ll miss her most!.” Another user thought Briana and Ryan looked so blissful in the pic because they won’t have to deal with the show anymore. basicallybeingashley commented, “When you find out you don’t have to worry about the Bravo cameras being in your face ever again #happy. 😂”
Vicki made the announcement via her Instagram and Twitter accounts. She wrote, “I will always be the OG of the OC, but it’s time to say goodbye to The Real Housewives of Orange County,” she wrote at the time. “It’s been an incredible ride for 14 years and I want to thank all of you for your support, for your love and for ‘whooping it up’ with me along the way.”
She continued. “I’ve been working on new projects that will be exciting, empowering and inspirational,” she explained. “My podcast with Westwood One will be launching soon and I will have much more to say about this on ‘Whoop it up with Vicki.’ I hope you will join me with my new journey so please stay tuned.”
No HE didn’t! Very telling to say the least. Shouldn’t have stayed as long as I did.
— Vicki Gunvalson (@vgunvalson) January 26, 2020
On Jan. 26, Vicki implied Real Housewives Executive Producer Andy Cohen, 51, wasn’t supportive of her. A fan wrote under her Twitter announcement, “Very telling…. no thx to Andy. I don’t blame you, he really didn’t have your back this reunion. @Andy.” Vicki replied back, “No HE didn’t! Very telling to say the least. Shouldn’t have stayed as long as I did.” Vicki was demoted to “friend” status on season 14, and as we previously reported EXCLUSIVELY, she was not going to be asked back as a full-time cast member for season 15.
“Vicki was notified that she would not be coming back full-time, so the network agreed to let her walk away on her terms out of respect for her,” an insider spilled to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “The network knew Vicki would take this hard so they wanted to let her know before making final casting decisions for everyone else next season. She did have a conversation with Andy before posting on social media. Vicki is sad, but she understands it’s business and she seems to be looking forward to her podcast,” our source continued.