Brownwyn Windham-Burke, the former star of The Real Housewives of Orange County, recently shared that she believes she was fired from the show because her storylines didn’t match Bravo’s “narrative.” Brownwin joined the cast of the 14th season of RHOC and soon became one of the most controversial stars of the series. At first she had problems communicating with other housewives, and later it turned out that she did not know how to open up to other women because of her emotionally unavailable mother, Dr. Deborah Windham.
In the premiere of the 15th season of RHOC, Brownwin spoke about her journey with sobriety. She said that she had never had a healthy relationship with alcohol, and she would drink until she lost consciousness. The 15th season of RHOC also proved challenging for Brownwyn and her marriage to husband Sean Burke. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she told how difficult it was to be locked in her house with Sean and their seven children, especially when she was working on her sobriety. After the filming of the 15th season of RHOC, Brownwin declared herself a lesbian and said that no matter how much she loved Sean, she was never attracted to men.
Related: RHOC: Timeline of Brownwyn Wyndham-Burke and Sean Burke Relationship
After an explosive second season of Brownwin on RHOC, Bravo fired the reality TV star. In a recent episode of Behind the Velvet Rope with David Jontef, Brownwin shared that she doesn’t feel gay, and the network fully supports the alcoholic. She stated, “The story of my coming out was big and confusing, and it didn’t fit the narrative they wanted to promote.” Brownwin compared her story to the story of The Real Housewives of Miami star Yulia Lemigova and her wife Martina Navratilova, noting: “I really like that Bravo finally has a same-sex couple in Miami, but this is more acceptable. We can understand that. Famous couple, two children… But you also need to leave room for some stories that aren’t easy.”
The former RHOC star shared that she was “offended” that Bravo promoted Julia as the first LGBTQ+ housewife when other non-traditional women have been participating in the show for many years. She stated: “I’m the first lesbian housewife because Julia doesn’t even consider herself a lesbian. She identifies herself as bi, which is beautiful. And just kind of denying everything I went through on camera and pretending it didn’t happen was painful.” Browning mentioned other non-traditional housewives, such as “The Real Housewives of Potomac” star Ashley Darby and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kandi Burruss.
Brownwin unpacked most of her life over two seasons of RHOC and revealed that while she misses the cameras, she has no plans to return to the show. Brownwin shared that she is in talks with a media group and would like to focus her energy on spreading information about LGBTQ+ and helping others in their sobriety. However, she is open to the “Real Housewives of Ultimate Girls Trip” as it takes less time, so fans of the “Real Housewives of Orange County” may see Brownwin on the small screen in the near future.
