Braunwyn Windham-Burke left the cast of The Real Housewives of Orange County after only two seasons, but they were two drama-packed seasons. During Season 15, she announced she was bisexual, and also admitted she was an alcoholic.
During her time on the show, viewers were introduced to Noella Bergener, her friend and also a bisexual woman.
Rumors have circulated that Braunwyn and Noella had hooked up in the past, and now Braunwyn is putting the issue to rest.
How close were RHOC’s Braunwyn Windham-Burke and Noella Bergener?
Braunwyn was recently a co-host on the podcast Two T’s in a Pod with Tamra Judge. Tamra told Braunwyn that she wondered if Noella and Braunwyn had ever hooked up, and Braunwyn said they did not, but that they were as close as can be.
“I do want to make it very clear: we were never romantically involved. I’ve seen rumors like that,” Braunywn said, describing it as being sisters with Noella.
Braunwyn was the first openly gay Housewife, while Noella is proudly bisexual, and the first Black Orange County Housewife.
Braunwyn said that she and Noella clicked immediately when set up on a friend date by a producer.
She told Tamra, “My first lunch with her, I was like, ‘I love this girl. She’s so open. She’s like me on crack. Any crazy thing I’ve done, she’s done more! … But the thing that I love about her is she owns all of it.”
The mom-of-seven revealed that when she was not asked back for Season 16 of RHOC and Noella was asked to join the cast as a full-time Housewife, Braunwyn had to take a break from their friendship.
“She was my first phone call. I called her before I called anyone else. I sent her a text message, like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so happy for you. You deserve all the beautiful things in life. I just need to take a break right now because this hurts so much,’” Braunwyn said, adding that she had hoped to continue to be a part of the show.
Braunwyn said that she has since reached out to her former bestie, but has not gotten a response.
She likened it to Noella “breaking up” with her. However, Braunwyn has remained friends with Noella’s estranged husband, “Sweet James” Bergener.
“My best guess is that maybe someone we trusted said something to distance her from me,” Braunwyn explained. “This is literally me just throwing stuff out there because that’s the only thing that would make sense given how close we were.”
She is hopeful that Noella will reach out to her and they can work on their friendship.
“I do think when the show is over [we can be friends]. I miss her,” Braunwyn admitted. “Things will happen in my life that are so crazy, and there’s no one else I can talk to because she was the only person that fully understood the crazy and embraced me and loved me for it. It’s very rare in life that you meet people like that.”
What is going on with Braunwyn Windham Burke post-Housewives?
In January 2022, Braunwyn celebrated two years of sobriety. Viewers saw Braunwyn struggle with alcohol during her time on the show.
She is also separated from husband, Sean, and dating model Victoria Brito, who lives in New York City, where Braunwyn moved earlier this year. She now splits her time between Orange County, where her family lives, and the Big Apple.
Braunwyn also revealed in February that she was a victim of homophobia from her castmates while on RHOC.
She said, “Making off-color jokes about me being intimate with a woman, that’s not OK.” and added, “After I came out, having to prove that I was gay, that should never have been tolerated. That is a microagression. That is homophobia.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.