RHOC: Is Braunwyn Windham-Burke the toxicity she keeps mentioning?

The Real Housewives of Orange County has been heavily focused on Braunwyn Windham-Burke and her life, but is she bringing it on herself?

This season on The Real Housewives of Orange County we have mostly been dealing with the fallout of Braunwyn Windham-Burke getting sober.  It started just before the season began and she has been doing her best to stay sober around a bunch of tequila lovers, but it hasn’t been easy.  However, now that we are a few episodes into the season, it seems that perhaps Braunwyn should have taken a lesser role this time around – for herself.

Anytime Braunwyn is in a confessional discussing the other women, she says it is toxic.  The toxicity of the group, the toxicity of the situation, of the drinking, the partying, the late nights, and everything else that goes along with being on a reality show.  But half the time, the women are just drunk and yelling at one another for no reason.  Sure, it isn’t scholarly behavior, but is it that toxic?  That’s kind of the point.

During the most recent episode, the ladies seemed fine until Braunwyn entered the picture.  They decided to delve into a Black Lives Matter discussion while Braunwyn was sober and the rest of them had been drinking tequila all day.  Kelly Dodd just wanted to argue.  Was this the right time and place for the discussion?  Absolutely not, but it upset Braunwyn a lot.  She left to go sleep at a hotel because it was too toxic, but it really felt that the toxicity was coming from her.

Gina Kirschenheiter shared that when she was arrested, she realized how privileged she was because she never once worried about the cops hurting her.  They did their job but she knew she was not in jeopardy.  Braunwyn brought a professional photographer with her to the protests, which is dark, performative, and seems to lend to the theory that everything is about Braunwyn all the time, including a Black Lives Matter protest.

Of course, a conversation about the movement is a necessary thing to have, but perhaps in another, more sober, setting.  “I’ve been here one second, and I’m already thinking ‘I shouldn’t have come.'”  That seems to be a recurring thing this season.  This isn’t the Braunwyn show, it is The Real Housewives of Orange County.  

Many viewers have enjoyed seeing Braunwyn’s journey, but she doesn’t seem that happy to partake in the rest of the agreed-upon things on the show.  That’s the beauty of it all, watching the groups interact and then watching their individual scenes.  We didn’t sign up to watch a show about Braunwyn learning how to do laundry, and people definitely don’t want to watch that.

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