Kelly Dodd has one of the funniest and most controversial housewives in the history "The Real Housewives of Orange County" 12-season run. It's refreshing to see her featured as a main cast member as one of the few Latinas in the Bravo franchise. Dodd had a rocky freshman season having feuds with fellow housewives Heather Dubrow, Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador but she also had the brilliance in befriending the OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson. In an exclusive interview with LatinTimes, Kelly Dodd tells us what she wants her second season to be like, if she will ever make amends with Tamra and Shannon, and how the show without Heather is working out.
"It’s fun to show our culture, we’re family oriented, we have a good time, there always good food and laughter", she told us about being a fellow Latina on the show.
After one season Kelly was voted #1 housewife by TV Guide, but did she ever have a hesitation about returning to expose her life? "I did have a lot of hesitation coming back because of the fights that could be detrimental to my daughter," she said. "People make things up out of thin air and people believe it and its out there."
"I had said that I’m not coming back and they tried to talk me in to it," she continued. "I thought maybe I should come back for a second season because they didn’t show the fun side of me and we didn’t really get to see how fun loving I am, you just saw the worst part, maybe it’s not good to stop there."
Having already experience the rollercoaster of a ride the reality show was, the Latin housewife came into the new season with a different mindset and enjoy it much more.
"I had a different mindset coming in this season thinking ‘I don’t want to be enemies with these girls,' she revealed. "We all have to work together in this show, I don’t want it to be a bad working environment and I didn’t want to be mean … things push my buttons and I don’t have any patience and I am not perfect by any means, but I came in trying to befriend these women and work together and make a good show."
In Season 12, Shannon has acknowledged her weight gain and has blamed the stress she got from Vicki spreading lies about her marriage. As one of Vicki's closest friends, Kelly doesn't think you can point fingers for ones own decisions.
"I think it’s always easy to blame somebody but I think in hindsight she realizes that, that is not the case," she replied. "That was probably one of the subjects that stressed her out and she comes back and says “Vicky isn’t the source of my weight gain” and you can’t put blame on people, you can only blame yourself. You can always point fingers but ultimately we are our own person and we make our own decisions and we either choose to take care of ourselves or not, but I think now she regrets saying that."
Kelly acknowledges that she has more in common with Shannon than they realize.
"I think Shannon and I have a lot in common, our marriage is kind of similar, we laugh a lot, we both have a good sense of humor, we both like to shop, we like nice things, we both have anxieties, Shannon and I have more in common than we would both like to admit, but she’s got her own way of dealing with things and I got my my way."
One of the funniest moments during Season 11 of "RHOC" that has now gone viral was when Kelly was explaining to her husband how Heather was the puppet master of the group, but mistakenly said the phrase backwards.
"I said it so many times before and they never put that in there," she revealed. "I said it so many times that when I said to my husband, I said it backwards, and I sound ridiculous. I don’t think my husband realized I said it backwards."
With Heather out of the show Kelly feels the group environment is easier and doesn't discount a path to recovery with Shannon and Tamra.
"I think the dynamics became lighter... healthier. We have a lot of laughter together, now that she’s gone is like the ickiness went away. [Heather] was so uptight and [Shannon and Tamra] not like that. Once she was gone it became a lot more fun and funny. I think if she was there, she was always nitpicking and judging and like 'you act like a child' and 'why don’t you act your age?' and bla, bla, bla. She’s just negative and feels so superior like she’s an intellectual. It’s like you married a doctor, but you’re not an intellectual. She just comes off judgmental and pretentious and like she’s above everybody. I can’t stand people like that and it really bothers me, now that she’s gone it’s so much better."
With Dodd returning for a second season she would like to show more of who she really is.
"Just the real me, not all the acting," she said about seeing a different side of her in the new season. "I have a temper, but I am also fun-loving and have a sense of humor, and a lot of people don’t like that, like Heather Dubrow, but Tamra does. When Heather is around Tamra acts like she doesn’t have that. When Heather was involved she was hoity-toity and she had a lot of control over Tamra and Shannon and that’s why I called her the puppet master."
Many of the housewives use their star power to start new ventures or grow their existing businesses. Kelly Dodd revealed that she is starting a new hat line that will be in the market very soon.
"I am starting a hat line right now and have MK Collaborative as a partner, we are starting it from scratch. I have my LLC, logo, I have a manufacturer in L.A. that is making samples. We are still in the early stages of it, but we’re all ready to go. We’re going to do some catchphrase, tweets, and make it fashionable, simple and classy."
Being on a show like "The Real Housewives of Orange County" can be difficult, but Kelly enjoys being part of it for one special reason.
"Documenting my life and my family, that’s the most fun watching back at it."
She concluded by teasing what we can expect from her during this new season: "You’re going to see a lot of changes, plastic surgery things we’re doing, I have some trouble with my mother because she’s a hermit and doesn’t want to get out to do anything and just everyday life."
Catch "The Real Housewives of Orange County" Season 12 every Monday at 9pm/8c on Bravo.
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