RHOC: Braunwyn Windham-Burke’s secret took a lot of courage to share

During the Real Housewives of Orange County season premiere, Braunwyn Windham-Burke shared a secret that she had been hiding from everyone.

After a long hiatus, The Real Housewives of Orange County is back for season 15 along with Shannon Storms Beador, Kelly Dodd, Gina Kirschenheiter, Braunwyn Windham-Burke, Emily Simpson, and newcomer Elizabeth Lyn Vargas.  What started with a dramatic reading from Jeana Keough only got more dramatic as the episode continued!

It was nice to see everyone back, but the biggest bombshell of the night was definitely from Braunwyn.  Braunwyn and her family moved into a new home, complete with a club, a pirate ship, a huge kitchen, and enough rooms to hide her secrets.  Apparently, after a trip to Miami* for Kelly Dodd’s husband’s birthday, things really went off the rails for her.

Braunwyn confessed that she drank all four days surrounding the party because if she didn’t, she started to shake.  When Braunwyn first came on RHOC, she said she didn’t really drink much.  Either that was a lie or Braunwyn really has been hiding her issues with alcohol this whole time.  Eventually, she relented while speaking with Emily Simpson and said, “My name is Braunwyn and I’m an alcoholic.” 

Her honesty on camera was refreshing, and no doubt took a lot of courage to come out with.  It seems that she hasn’t had very long to grapple with the news herself before sharing it on camera, but we hope she can stick with it while being around these wild women for a whole season.  She seemed to handle the first few events okay, but we are still very early in the season.

Emily noted that she enjoyed Braunwyn’s company, but it was hard to have a real conversation with someone who was always drinking so heavily.  Perhaps this will give Braunwyn a chance to make some real friends, although I doubt it will come from her castmates.

Being an alcoholic while constantly being around alcohol is a hard journey to be on, and we hope viewers and fans alike can respect that journey.

The Real Housewives of Orange County is on Bravo every Wednesday at 9 PM.