Why 'Real Housewives of Orange County' 's Vicki Gunvalson and Brooks Ayers Broke Up

Vicki Gunvalson says the stress of filming a reality show affected their relationship

Published on October 13, 2015 11:40 AM

Vicki Gunvalson and Brooks Ayers have weathered a cancer scandal, her daughter’s disapproval and the demands of broadcasting their private lives on TV.

But in the end, the strain proved too much for their relationship, the Real Housewives of Orange County star revealed Monday night on Watch What Happens Live.

Asked by Andy Cohen what factors led to their August breakup, Gunvalson ticked off a laundry list of reasons.

“There was a lot of things. I just think that the conflict with Briana, and him and I and him being from the South, he really wanted to go back to the South, and I just think the stress of the show, and he’s sick, and at the end of the day it just didn’t work anymore,” she said.

“Long-term, we were not gonna work,” she added. “Short-term, it was amazing.”

In September, her costar and close friend Tamra Judge told Cohen that Ayers was the one to call it quits, saying Gunvalson, 53, is “really heartbroken.”

During Monday night’s RHOC finale, Gunvalson defended Ayers against her girlfriends’ mounting accusations that he is faking cancer.

And on WWHL, she said the Housewives have not been supporting her after the split.

“They’re not there for me,” she said. “That makes me realize that we’re just TV friends I guess, I don’t know.”

Watch What Happens Live airs Sunday-Thursday at 11 p.m. ET on Bravo.