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Shannon Beador looked back on her decision to expose ex-husband David Beador‘s past affair on The Real Housewives of Orange County during an interview on Sunday.
While reflecting on her 12 seasons with the Bravo reality show, explaining what led up to her Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip blowout with Tamra Judge, 58, and reacting to the return of Vicki Gunvalson, 64, Shannon spoke of the cruel treatment she’d received amid filming on RHUGT, admitted to setting boundaries on RHOC, revealed if she’s dating, and spoke of RHOC‘s milestone 20th season.
“It’s insane when you think about it because not many television shows have been on for that long,” Shannon told OK! Magazine on July 26. “When I started in Season 9, I thought that I was starting late in the game. Now, it’s my 12th year, which is also quite a long time.”
“When I get asked, ‘What would you tell Season 9 Shannon?’ I’d say, ‘Do the same thing.’ When you tell the truth, and you’re honest, sometimes to my detriment, it makes it easy to follow the story because some people don’t,” she continued.
According to Shannon, David striking up an affair after her “first day of filming” was the last thing she saw coming.
“I thought that he was getting cocky because we were filming a television show. I had no idea that he was even having an affair. So, to speak about that publicly, it was a lot for me. But I figured, and we discussed it as a family, that if you’re on a reality show, you need to be real,” she noted.
Looking back on production on RHUGT, Shannon admitted her fight with Tamra was “a lot to go through.”
“We were the first party on Ultimate Girls Trip,” she revealed. “It was our role to be in the background, so I entered the party in a silly and fun mode. I did not intend to make anything about myself, but Tamra kept poking.”
While filming, Shannon said Tamra poked fun at her for a missed water bill payment and claimed she projected her heartache over her split from David onto the cast. However, despite Tamra reportedly being the aggressor, Shannon said she was the one who got in trouble.
“At that point, I did get upset. I got in trouble for it, which is the most upsetting part,” she shared. “There were certain Housewives that continually reached out to me. They spoke to other people in production to voice their opinions about it. There were a lot of unkind and very cruel things said about me.”
Getting back to RHOC, Shannon said that she and Tamra went through “ups and downs,” and she doubled down on her need for a boundary between them.
“I still maintain that for me, I needed to create a boundary. At this point with the history that we have, there’s only one person to blame if I get hurt again, and that’s myself for going back. I try to keep a little bit of a safe distance. I don’t think I’m the only one that does. I’ll just leave it there,” she stated.
Regarding Vicki’s return, Shannon spoke of their dynamic.
“She and I have this banter that can’t be duplicated. We’ve stayed very close,” she revealed. “It’s what I’m most excited about this season, because the last couple of years have been a lot of drama for me. Now, I’m able to be silly and have fun. It’s great to have Vicki right next to me to have that fun.”
Also during the interview, Shannon confirmed she was single and enjoying being alone.
“I am very happy right now,” she shared. “But I’m not dating. I always thought that I needed to be attached to a relationship to achieve complete happiness. Now I’m grateful that I have spent the time by myself because I know that I’m going to be okay if I don’t.”
“I do want to find a partner,” she added. “It’s important. But if for some reason I don’t, I’ll be good.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 20 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
