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The Real Housewives of Orange County

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The Real Housewives of Orange County is shaking it up in Season 16. The long-running Bravo series is saying goodbye to three cast members and reintroducing Heather Dubrow, who left the show in 2017. RHOC is also not renewing the contracts of Kelly Dodd, Braunwyn Windham-Burke or Elizabeth Lyn-Vargas, Variety reports.

When the new season begins filming next month, Shannon Storms Beador, Gina Kirschenheiter, and Emily Simpson will return. With three cast members leaving, RHOC is bringing in two new stars. While their names haven’t been revealed just yet, Page Six reports one of the new Housewives is “an ‘unknown’ wealthy Black woman.”

The casting news comes after a controversy-filled year for Dodd, who made headlines for her comments about the coronavirus pandemic — saying the disease was “God’s way of thinning the heard” — and for wearing a “Drunk Wives Matter” hat, which many viewers slammed as insensitive to the Black Lives Matter movement. Dodd, who has previously identified as Mexican American, continued her antics at the RHOC reunion, when she shouted “I’m Black!” in the middle of a discussion about Black Lives Matter.

Dodd posted about her exit from the franchise on Twitter last night, writing, “The last five years have been an amazing experience. The next five years will be even better.”

That same day, her now former RHOC costar Vargas shared a post on Instagram confirming her exit from the show. “Despite filming during COVID and not really getting to know all the ladies fully, this past year has been the most extraordinary, amazing and beautiful experience of my life,” she wrote. ” I am so proud of the work we have done and the friendships we were able to build. To the Fans …I can never ever thank you enough for the outpouring of love, support and the kindness you have shown to me.”

Windham-Burke, who joined the show in Season 14, looked back on her “revolutionary” inclusion in the show in a statement shared with People. During her time on RHOC, Windham-Burke came out as lesbian and got sober. “I’m incredibly sad to not be able to come back to The Real Housewives of Orange County next year,” she said. “It feels revolutionary to say, but I was able to get sober and stay sober on reality TV. That something for which I will forever be grateful. And I came out, becoming the first gay Housewife in the franchise’s history. What an incredible honor to look back upon, especially during Pride Month.”

Fans have long been calling for RHOC to recast the show, including The View host Meghan McCain, who replied “Yes” to a tweet from Evan Ross Katz calling for the show to canceled. The exchange prompted a reply from Bravo’s Andy Cohen, who hinted the show would be getting a “reboot” back in January.

Where to watch The Real Housewives of Orange County