The Real Housewives of Orange County have been hating on Ryan Culberson for more than a decade. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Vicki Gunvalson says it’s one of the main reasons her daughter Briana has no interest in returning to Bravo.
The controversy dates back to 2013, when Vicki hosted a party at her home while Briana and Ryan were living with her.
During the party, Lydia McLaughlin’s mother, Judy Stirling, sat down on a couch to rest and briefly put her feet up on the couch. Judy, who was 65 years old at the time, immediately apologized after Ryan asked her to remove them.
Instead of ending there, the situation escalated.
Ryan became increasingly aggressive, cursing at Judy, calling her a “b*tch,” and threatening to throw her out of the house. In the scene, Ryan initially tells Judy it is “his house” before correcting himself and acknowledging that he lives there but Vicki owns the home.
Vicki was visibly upset by the way Ryan spoke to her guest, but rather than backing down, Ryan turned his frustration toward Vicki for not defending him. The confrontation ultimately ended with Briana escorting Ryan away from the party.
The scene quickly became one of the most talked-about moments of the season, with many viewers criticizing Ryan’s treatment of Judy, who passed away in 2024.
Briana later defended her husband, explaining that the couch was brand new and that Ryan was upset because he wanted to protect it. Many fans, however, argued that since the furniture belonged to Vicki—not Ryan—it wasn’t his place to aggressively confront one of Vicki’s guests.
Ryan has also disputed the way the incident was portrayed. He has said Bravo edited the scene to make him look like “the crazy Marine” and claimed viewers didn’t see interactions beforehand that he believes contributed to the confrontation. Ryan has maintained that Judy antagonized him before cameras captured the exchange.
Interest in Ryan and Briana resurfaced last week after Briana’s brother, Michael Wolfsmith, revealed that he hasn’t seen his sister in eight years and has never met two of her three children. While Michael acknowledged that he now lives in Spain, he said he spent three months in California last year without seeing Briana and claimed he has never been invited to visit her family in Oklahoma. Fans speculated Ryan wanted to keep Briana isolated from others.
Vicki seemed to confirm this theory in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. While she said Michael agreed to film a scene with her this season, Briana—who was once a regular presence on RHOC and even appeared at reunion specials—has no interest in returning to the franchise. According to Vicki, Briana even told Andy Cohen to “lose her number.”
Vicki believes much of that decision stems from how Ryan was portrayed on the show.
“Her husband just got back from the Marine Corps—six tours overseas—and he’s got some PTSD, and they really showed a bad light of him,” Vicki said.
That explanation has reignited a debate among Bravo fans.
Some viewers believe Ryan’s military service and PTSD may have affected how he responded during the confrontation. Others argue that while PTSD can influence emotional regulation, it does not excuse verbally abusing an older guest in someone else’s home.
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