Vicki Gunvalson is eager to keep her role on The Real Housewives of Orange County, and everyone else is paying the price.
But though she’s reportedly a holy terror on set, Vicki wants fans to know that her private life is peaceful and happy.
That’s why she’s flaunting her boyfriend, Steve Lodge. That relationship is what saved her career.
Vicki Gunvalson shared this photo of her with boyfriend Steve Lodge.
The two had a romantic evening on Saturday, March 2.
In addition to flaunting their love on Instagram, Vicki included a caption for context.
"Date night with my man @stevelodge_oc after filming," Vicki writes.
She then included the hashtags: "#rhoc #bravo #season14."
Clearly, Vicki wants to make certain that everyone knows that she saved her job.
Vicki’s relationship with Steve has certainly provided entertainment so far.
But she nearly lost her role on the show because she didn’t have a real storyline to offer for this season.
Vicki went through weeks of negotiations, missing filming, before her attorneys finally convinced Bravo that she can bring the entertainment factor.
But reports sayt hat Vicki made some major promises.
It’s said that Steve will have to propose to her during this season.
If what we’ve heard is true, Vicki has promised to deliver a dramatic proposal and a wedding to keep herself interesting and relevant.
But Vicki isn’t planning to rely solely upon her relationship status to keep her on the show.
She’s determined to avoid being demoted to a "Friend" this season — or on any other season.
As a result, she’s been bombarding her castmates and so-called friends with endless drama.
"Vicki has been a total pain in the ass during the first few filming sessions that she has been back on set," a source claimed.
"She is throwing temper tantrums," the insider elaborated. "And starting fights."
Vicki is doing this "because she is terrified of getting booted from the show."
"She knows that she has to bring the drama," the source explained. "And she’s been doing just that."
Why did Vicki, the longest reigning Housewife in the franchise, have such an uphill battle to keep her gig?
For one thing, she just didn’t have a storyline.
Now, thanks to her romance with Steve Lodge, she does.
The other big factor for producers was apparently Vicki’s spreading of rumors that Kelly Dodd is some sort of coke fiend.
Drama makes for good television, but there are lines.
And for Vicki, who has spread rumors about Eddie Judge and David Beador in the past, it was part of a pattern.
Was Vicki right to grovel and promise huge relationship milestones to keep her job?
Who knows, honestly — we can only be certain of things like this in hindsight.
But some are saying that she should have followed NeNe Leakes’ example.
NeNe was once demoted to "Friend" of the Housewives, so she just sat out that season.
When ratings bombed, NeNe returned with a hefty pay raise and with producers too terrified to risk demoting her again any time soon.
Would the same trick have worked for Vicki? Who can say?