RHOC season 18 midseason trailer breakdown: 3 major takeaways

The Real Housewives of Orange County (RHOC) season 18 began airing on July 11, 2024, and released a mid-season trailer on Thursday, August 22, 2024. The trailer teased more feuds among the old and new cast members. It also showed the continuation of the drama between two housewives, while another pair exchanged insults.

The housewives featured on The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 include Gina Kirschenheiter, Heather Dubrow, Emily Simpson, Tamra Judge, and Jennifer Pedranti. Additionally, Katie Ginella joined the show as a friend, along with Alexis Bellino, who returned after a ten-year hiatus as a friend of the housewives. The season also saw several guest appearances from a former housewife, Vicki Gunvalson. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast members Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave and Sutton Stracke also joined the RHOC cast members in a few episodes.

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3 major takeaways from RHOC season 18 midseason trailer

1) The cast questions Jennifer on her fiance's alleged gambling scandal

The midseason trailer started with Jennifer and Ryan celebrating their engagement with the rest of the cast. As Jennifer proclaimed her love for her fiancé, she spoke about the comfort she felt with Ryan.

"For the first time in my life, I have happiness that I've never had. And I'm safe, and I feel really pretty," stated Jennifer.

However, the other housewives began asking her questions about Ryan, who is allegedly embroiled in a $16 million gambling and theft scandal. LA Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was allegedly told to wire the money to Ryan's account to pay his gambling debts. Mizuhara allegedly logged into Ohtani’s bank account regularly without his permission and transferred $500,000 to Ryan.

This caused a rift between Jennifer and Tamra as the latter kept pushing about the FBI investigation. The conflict got worse when Tamra's husband, Eddie, got involved in the feud, and refused to hug Ryan, calling him a "scumbag" and "baby b*tch."

This prompted Jennifer to respond to Tamra, who asked her to leave her family alone.

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2) The drama between Alexis and Shannon continues

Although the two seemed to have hashed things out earlier in the season, Alexis and Shannon were at it again as they clashed in the RHOC midseason trailer. Shannon decided she didn't want Alexis on the trip to London and texted the latter that she was not invited.

“I am hosting a trip to Europe with my friends and just wanted to make it clear that you are not invited,” the message read.

Alexis seemed hurt by the events, and FaceTimed Heather and Tamra, telling them about her adventures back home. She told the girls about her day out with John as they went ring shopping.

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3) Katie and Heather are not done yet

The drama between Katie and Heather also continued after the paparazzi conflict. In episode 4 of RHOC season 18, Katie claimed to have proof that Heather and her husband, Terry, had called the paparazzi a year in advance to click their pictures. Katie was in the business and had a friend who still worked in the industry.

Heather denied the allegations and swore on her four kids that they didn't call the paparazzi. Katie shared screenshots of her conversation with the paparazzi friend. In an August 1 interview with ET Online, Katie explained her stance regarding the controversy and claimed she didn't go out of her way to find the information.

"I wasn't looking for something, I didn't come in with ill intent to hurt Heather or look for information on Heather. I'm not jealous of her. I'm not obsessed with her. I'm not coming for her. it all just happened, and it was confusing to me all these things that were domino-ing," she said.

The midseason RHOC trailer also showed the duo exchanging insults, with Heather claiming that it was "bullsh*t," before calling Katie a "f*cking b*tch."

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RHOC airs a new episode every Thursday at 9 pm ET on Bravo.