'RHOC' 's Meghan King Edmonds Defends Her Pink Hair After Death of Husband's First Wife

The reality star tells PEOPLE her husband's first wife would have loved her hair color

Published on July 30, 2015 11:20 AM

Just days after her husband Jim’s first wife LeAnn lost her battle with colon cancer, Real Housewives of Orange County star Meghan King Edmonds made a drastic change to her hair color and dyed it a vibrant shade of pink.

“We are embracing the life that we have because life is beautiful and you never know when it’s going to end,” King Edmonds tells PEOPLE of her decision to go with the new pink hue.

But as the family prepares to say their final goodbyes at the funeral service Sunday, she admits she’s experienced some criticism.

“That I’m an attention seeker or that I look terrible or why didn’t I do blue for colon cancer,” she says of the reactions to her hair. “But if LeAnn was here, her eyes would be as big as saucers. She would be like ‘I can’t believe you did it,’ but she would love it.

“During her chemotherapy she had all these different wigs and she got a red one and a blonde one, different lengths and she would have her hair stylist give them highlights,” King Edmonds recalls.

“She had fun with it and just loved hair and always had her nails perfect so she would have been like, ‘You are crazy but I love you and I think it’s awesome that you did it.’ ”

Now, as the family continues to grieve, King Edmonds is focusing her attention on honoring her late friend.

“I’ve been in constant communication with LeAnn’s mom and she asked me to help plan a memorial party for her, which is really touching for me,” the Bravo star says.

“We’re going to do a Sunday Funday theme because LeAnn loved drinking champagne with mimosas, so we’re going to do that at the end of August, and it will be a celebration of her life.”