The Real Housewives of Orange County got real about living through quarantine on Wednesday’s episode.
While they acknowledged that they do have privileged lives and didn’t have it nearly as hard as the majority of Americans, they proved that the pandemic has taken a toll on them and their families.
Real Housewives is usually packed with exclusive social gatherings, extravagant vacations and over-the-top parties.
However, Wednesday’s episode was entirely self-filmed from inside the Housewives’ homes.
Many of the women struggled during quarantine
As expected, many of the women endured hardships during the beginning of the pandemic.
Some issues were seemingly trivial but as we all know, having gone through the pandemic, things were very serious at the time.
Gina Kirschenheiter had been struggling to find toilet paper. During the episode, she explained that costar Emily Simpson had a “toilet paper hookup.”
She revealed, to her delight, that Emily had hidden some toilet paper under the coffee table on her porch.
Other issues the women endured were more serious.
Elizabeth Lyn Vargas explained that her divorce hearing, which she had been eagerly awaiting, had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
Braunwyn Windham-Burke’s marriage took a turn for the worse during the pandemic. She revealed that she couldn’t stand being around her husband Sean and even confessed that she hit him during the quarantine and has in the past.
Shannon Beador had several moments of frustration during Wednesday’s episode. Even though she had been very cautious about adhering to CDC guidelines, her family members hadn’t been as compliant.
She explained that she kicked her boyfriend out of the house after he and his son went outside despite the quarantine restrictions.
Additionally, at the end of the episode, she and her daughter Stella got tested for COVID-19 after Stella revealed she and her twin sister had snuck out to a party.
Stella reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 while Shannon tested negative. However, the teaser for the upcoming episode revealed that Shannon also tested positive.
Some relationships grew stronger during the pandemic
Even though quarantine was a trying time, some couples actually thrived during the pandemic.
Kelly Dodd flew to New York to be with her fiance, at the time, Rick Levanthal. She planned on only staying for a week, but the strict protocols in New York required her to stay put.
Even though her daughter Jolie was visibly disappointed that she had abandoned her, Rick was clearly pleased to have her company and their relationship only grew stronger.
Emily Simpson also revealed that her marriage with Shane Simpson only improved during the pandemic.
She shared footage of him doing chores and revealed that their relationship was in a much stronger place than it was a year prior.
However, it appears that the pandemic will get harder for the two after the teaser for the next episode revealed that Shane had extreme COVID-19 symptoms and had to be hospitalized.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.