'Real Housewives of Orange County' star Gina Kirschenheiter teases 'scary' Heather Dubrow, Katie Ginella fight

"Everybody's going to have a pit in their stomach," Kirschenheiter said

'Real Housewives of Orange County' star Gina Kirschenheiter teases 'scary' Heather Dubrow, Katie Ginella fight (Hayu)
'Real Housewives of Orange County' star Gina Kirschenheiter teases 'scary' Heather Dubrow, Katie Ginella fight (Hayu)

This week's episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 18 (on Hayu in Canada) will be a "scary" watch, according to one of show's stars, Gina Kirschenheiter. As we've seen in previews, newbie Katie Ginella, introduced this season as Kirschenheiter's friend, gets into a fight with Heather Dubrow when she claims Dubrow called the paparazzi to take pictures of her and husband, Terry Dubrow, at Disneyland.

"I just watched the episode and it's really kind of scary watching it too, because I'm like, 'Katie what are you thinking?!" Kirschenheiter teased to Yahoo Canada. "It's just very intense and I can just tease that everybody's going to have a pit in their stomach riding that wave."

"But you'll see we all have a very clear point of view and perspective on the situation. And it was tough for me because I do adore Katie and I did bring her into this group, but I didn't agree with Katie. So it was really hard for me to navigate between two people that are friends of mine."

While Kirschenheiter may not be directly involved in this upcoming drama, she's already had her fair share of heated moments this season, notably with Jennifer Pedranti.

As Kirschenheiter is navigating her new career in real estate, the first deal she wrote as a real estate agent was for Pedranti's lease. As we see on the show, Kirschenheiter also vouched for her castmate to get her in the home. But Pedranti got evicted for not paying rent, which Kirschenheiter says she found out about on Instagram, burning Kirschenheiter's relationship with another agent.

Pedranti has been waiting for her divorce to be finalized, which has caused her significant financial strain.

Sitting together at a restaurant, Kirschenheiter now famously called out Pedranti for not paying her rent, while she still pays for things like glam, and impacting her professional reputation. Pedranti was not particularly understanding of Kirschenheiter's fury.

"I really am in charge of the care and the financial security of three people, and that's just a non-negotiable," Kirschenheiter stressed. "I have to get my kids through this world, and myself, and so that is to me how high the stakes are."

"There's different circumstances here too because she's a client, but she's also a cast member on my show. But when Jenn called me as a friend, I dropped everything to help her and then when things weren't going well for her it's like, oh now I'm not the friend that you would call and now tell me that there's something going on. Honestly, it hurt my feelings and I think that sometimes hurt comes out as anger. ... It was the glam it sent me over the edge. ... I watched that back, I'm not proud of that moment."

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 27: Travis Mullen (L) and Gina Kirschenheiter (R) attend Sparkle's Drag Spectacular benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at The Comedy Chateau on April 27, 2024 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/Getty Images for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society)
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 27: Travis Mullen (L) and Gina Kirschenheiter (R) attend Sparkle's Drag Spectacular benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at The Comedy Chateau on April 27, 2024 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/Getty Images for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society)

Throughout her time on Real Housewives of Orange County, Kirschenheiter has been a housewife that a lot of people have been able to relate to, coming onto the show with honesty about the ups and downs in her life. This season that includes making the decision to not live with her boyfriend Travis Mullen and his three children, citing both the difficult divorce Mullen is going through and not being able to afford a home big enough for their family with a combined six children.

"It's hard. It's awful, honestly," Kirschenheiter said. "But it's part of what I have committed to here, has been just sharing what is going on in my life and that was what was going on in my life."

"I always have approached this to ... be as honest and authentic as I possibly can be, while still respecting myself, my personal life, my children, Travis's children."

While Kirschenheiter has publicly confirmed that the couple have stayed together, even though they no longer live together, this moment on Real Housewives of Orange County stresses the importance of women prioritizing their own needs, even when they're in a relationship.

"It's a really hard thing to be a woman and acknowledge that you have your own needs," Kirschenheiter said. "Sometimes when things feel selfish they feel wrong, but I do think that women need to have more clarity there where they can trust themselves, even though maybe it is selfish, that is actually a good trait."

"Sometimes you have to think about your needs and what you need, and that is actually kind to your relationship overall, because if you stuff it down and you don't address it, and you pretend like you don't need it, it's eventually going to come out anyway, and you will break up. You will lose that relationship. So for me, this was kind of a necessary step backwards so that I felt truly we could move forwards as a family."