The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 episode 5: Recap and more details explored

The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 has focused on the personal and professional lives of the Bravo reality TV stars. Now that a total of five episodes have been released, viewers have more clarity on the friendship status of each cast member.

This season gives insights into the feuds, drama, and arguments in the friend group which includes:Tamra Judge, Heather Dubrow, Shannon Storms Beador, Gina Kirschenheiter, Emily Simpson, Jennifer Pedranti, and Katie Ginella, alongside Alexis Bellino.

Episode 5 featured Emily Simpson and Shane Simpson's anniversary celebration. Cast members Tamra Judge and Gina Kirschenheiter refused to see eye to eye at Gina's dinner party. Vicki Gunvalson and Alexis Bellino could sense the increased attention among them.

The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 episode 5, titled Dinner Party Disaster, was released exclusively on Thursday, August 8, 2024, on CBS. The episode synopsis reads:

"Tensions are high when Gina is caught between Katie and Heather after the staged paparazzi allegations; Emily and Shane celebrate their 15th anniversary; the Tres Amigas come together for the first time, but things quickly go sideways."

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What happened on The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 episode 5?

On The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 episode 5, Emily Simpson and her husband Shane Simpson celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary. For this occasion, Shane gifted Emily a new diamond ring.

After they went to a dinner to celebrate the occasion, Shane gave her the new diamond ring which had a large centerpiece surrounded by a pave band. During her confessional interview, Emily shared the sweet moment with the cameras and said:

"15 years is such a huge milestone. Shane and I are at this point where we really understand each other. At the end of the day, Shane's the only person that I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Moving on from this heartfelt moment, tensions increased between cast members Tamra Judge and Gina Kirschenheiter shifting the energy at Gina's party. Tamra showed up to the event wearing the same dress Gina had worn her confessionals.

The Real Housewives of Orange County star was offended to see that. Former best friends Vicki Gunvalson and Alexis Bellino also met one another at Gina's dinner party.

They got into a little argument and tried to keep their distance as much as they could. Vicky told her friends that the entire fighting was "disgusting". She continued saying:

"I think it's disgusting, because a friend's a friend. This whole fighting thing."

In The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 episode 5 Emily Simpson and Tamra Judge had a conversation about Jennifer Pedranti's financial issues and her recent Las Vegas trip.

In her confessional interview, Tamra gave an update on her friendship with Emily and Jen, she admitted to it being "scrappy." She continued stating:

"Me and Emily are a little scrappy, and we can take care of ourselves. Jen is not that personality, and it's frustrating to see because she's going through all this sh*t, and it's kind of like Shannon [Storms Beador]: It's self-induced."

Previously in episode 3, Jen had opened up about her financial problems and how it was affecting her. The upcoming episodes will show more of how she's coping with that situation.

Stream The Real Housewives of Orange County every week on Thursdays at 9/8c and the next day on Peacock TV.