The Real Housewives of Orange County’s Vicki Gunvalson and Brooks Ayers aren’t just together, they’re living together as he battles Stage 3 cancer.
The on-off couple has been through a lot, as you know if you watch The Real Housewives of Orange County online. But this crisis has united them.
Vicki tells Us that she “just burst into tears” when he told her his diagnosis earlier this fall. It’s Brooks Ayers’ third time fighting the disease since 2009.
The couple revealed that Mississippi native Ayers is now living with Gunvalson in the OC, and that they’ve been officially together for over a year now.
Contrary to previous reports, she has not broken up with Brooks Ayers at any point during that time, with Vicki confirming that they are “dating” and “exclusive.”
“[Cancer] either will tear you apart as a couple or bring you together. And with us, without a doubt, it brought us together,” Ayers explained to the magazine.
That might not sit well with the reality star’s daughter, Briana Culberson, who has famously clashed with Ayers, but Gunvalson is standing by her man.
“Briana and I, we’ve kind of agreed to disagree on this one subject,” she said, noting that she hadn’t yet told her daughter that Ayers had moved in.
“She doesn’t know Brooks is in, but I guess she will now!”
Ayers, for his part, said he was “ready and willing” to make peace with Culberson, “given the appropriate opportunity to apologize to her, face to face.”
“She deserves that,” he admitted, adding that he “understands” how his behavior concerns them, and why Gunvalson’s kids want to protect their mother.
In the meantime, the couple are leaning on Ayers’ kids, and on Gunvalson’s fellow Real Housewives of Orange County stars … with one major exception.
“Shannon Beador was absolutely there for us. Heather [Dubrow] also reached out. And [Heather’s husband] Terry, Lizzie [Rovsek],” the Bravo star says.
Conspicuously not name-checked there? Tamra Barney.
“Never heard from Tamra,” Gunvalson revealed. “Interesting. You know what, you really find out who your true friends are when things like this happen.”
Here’s wishing Brooks the best and hoping that he gets the chance to make amends with those he’s wronged, and live a happier, fulfilling life as long as he can.
