The marriage problems between Dr. Jen Armstrong and Ryne Holliday have been a main story on this season of Real Housewives of Orange County. She has received support from most of her castmates, but Heather Dubrow has been especially there for her.
In a recent episode, viewers got to see Heather’s help in action when she threw a dinner party and invited Jen and her husband, along with other couples who Heather felt would be good examples for the struggling couple.
Heather teased how the party went and how helping Jen and Ryne works into her new project with her husband, Terry.
Heather Dubrow tries to impart her wisdom on Dr. Jen Armstrong
Heather and Jen formed a friendship this season, and she said of Jen, “I just adore her and felt terrible about what was going on with Jen and her husband.” She is referring to the marital troubles that ended with Ryne moving out.
She feels that her strong 23-year-marriage to Dr. Terry Dubrow gives her great insight into maintaining a healthy relationship and wanted to share her knowledge with Jen and Ryne.
“This week on the show, you’re going to see I throw a dinner party,” Heather said, “and I invited Jen and her husband over with a couple of other couples to show them, you know, what functioning couples look like. And I’m gonna let you see how well that went.”
Heather didn’t elaborate on the outcome, wanting to save it for the show, but she did say that Jen was “controlling.”
“And I say that with a lot of love because so am I,” she candidly added. “But it was very difficult for her. She’s a doctor, she’s got a veneer, and for her to step out of that comfort zone and share was a really big deal for her. My heart just broke for her.”
The Dubrow’s want to help struggling couples fix their marriages
Heather and Terry’s new reality show, 7 Year Stitch, attempts to help couples considering divorce see if they can work out the problems in their marriage. Throughout the course of seven weeks, the Dubrows will work with the couple, giving them time apart to reevaluate their relationship and address tough issues.
Heather describes the show as “a full body, mind, soul makeover—internal, external—to make them their most confident, best versions of themselves…We’re hoping to stitch them back together.”
The couple is strong now, but they have experienced their own difficulties. Heather admits, “I would say out of our 25 years, we had one really nasty year where it could have gone south, but I think that we were still obviously in love with each other and wanted to work on our marriage and figure out what the problems were. I think sometimes it’s very easy for couples to just give up and walk away.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.