A glass of (very expensive—and, as such, very tasty) champagne appears in your hand, as if it had just apparated there through some sort of Harry Potter-esque magic. But there’s no wizardry involved; just the classic, expected touch of a Heather Dubrow party.
The Real Housewives of Orange County star, over her eight seasons on the show (there was a five-year gap before her return in 2021), has become known as a consummate host—with excessively lavish taste. Of course, reality television adds layers of nuance to the idea of hosting; extreme generosity is cut with a lacerating wit, no-bulls–t filter, and no reluctance to hold friends accountable, even if it causes a scene.
So it fits, then, as we cozy up over bubbly at the Four Seasons in Manhattan, we’re also candidly gossiping and dishing about her cast mates—er, I mean “friends.”
They’re the ones who, in a recent episode from this season of RHOC, mercilessly mocked the fact Dubrow threw herself an over-the-top birthday party…months after her birthday. (You know, when cameras were up and could film it.)
Heather Dubrow / Casey Durkin/Bravo
Not that they weren’t otherwise happy to attend and indulge (and, in the case of a handful of cast members, use the event as the inappropriate stage for classic Real Housewives screaming matches). And why would they be? As Dubrow explained on the show:
“Do I feel like I have an obligation to throw a certain level of party? Yes. I have a fabulous gal sitting in a huge champagne coupe glass to pour champs. I’ve got people rolling joints. I’ve got two guys doing haikus. I’ve got sushi and sliders and french fries and caviar bumps. And yes, I also hired professional photographers to capture the event—not to be confused with paparazzi.”
In 2021, Dubrow threw a “Nobu party” at her house to celebrate her return to the show, which cost $35,000. Pressed by her husband, plastic surgeon and Botched star Terry Dubrow, about what this shindig was going to cost, she estimated four times that much.
“I don’t like sharing,” she admits when I ask her how she feels about divulging the price tag of these events on camera—something that doesn’t so much come across as bragging as it does simple candor.
“I wish I didn’t have to share that,” she says. “But if I don’t say it out loud, [editors] put a chyron underneath [with the price]. It’s like when I build my houses. ‘How much are your cabinets?’ I go, I don’t wanna talk about that. Then ‘$200,000’ appears on screen. You know, I can’t win.”
Katie Ginella, Heather Dubrow and Emily Simpson / Griffin Nagel/Bravo
It might, then, seem uncouth, especially for a host who exudes manners and class to the level that Dubrow does, for guests to turn a party that could have cost upwards of $140,000 into absolute chaos.
As it played out on the episode, in one area there were Real Housewives cackling with each other while they downed pigs in a blanket, in another Dubrow’s husband was high as a kite from the joint bar, and in the middle of it all, cast members Shannon Beador and Katie Ginella were literally screaming at each other.
“To be honest, it was a large party. I don’t know if it looked that way, but there were like 80 people there,” Dubrow says. “So I didn’t really notice everything that was going on. I have friends that were at the party, but after they saw the episode called me and they were like, ‘I didn’t see that.’”
That saves her from embarrassment, one can suppose. “Listen, everyone knows what they’re signing onto when they come to a party that’s on camera,” she says. “So I don’t worry about that.”
What she does worry about, however, is the next stage of her life.
Dubrow started her television career as an actress, including the leading role on the sitcom That’s Life on CBS from 2000 to 2002. She and Terry Dubrow have become somewhat of a reality TV power couple, with her stint on RHOC beginning in 2012 and Terry starring on Botched and a slew of other plastic surgery-themed series, including the new series Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind.
They have four children, three of whom identify as members of the LGBT+ community, which inspired Dubrow’s philanthropy work with The Trevor Project and the organization Family Equality, which provides resources to LGBTQ+ people who want to become parents. As of this fall, the couple is staring down their future as empty nesters, as three of their kids will either be in or graduated from college.
Emily Simpson, Gina Kirschenheiter and Heather Dubrow / Casey Durkin/Bravo
To wit, the day before our fancy drinks conversation, news broke that the mansion in Beverly Hills—previously owned by Hollywood legend Dino De Laurentiis—that the Dubrows bought for $16.1 million, with the goal of sinking over $30 million in renovations to create a forever home, sold for just $16.8 million. That’s far less than the $25 million original asking price, which Terry ruled a “gigantic fail” on the Dubrows’ new podcast Between Us.
News of the Beverly Hills purchase in the first place spurned rumors that Dubrow would be jumping ship from the Orange County flagship Real Housewives to the Beverly Hills franchise.
“Well, people were saying it before that [house purchase], so it didn’t really surprise me,” Dubrow says. “I think it was like the next level of it. I love my OC girls. They’re my friends. We’ve known each other for a very long time.”
But the question remains: What does Dubrow’s future look like? And, moreover, where will it take place? It’s something she’s been grappling with publicly on the show over the last few seasons. What is her headspace at this moment?
“I have no idea,” she says. “For such a controlling person—for me, who always has a plan, there is no plan. So we have the penthouse and we rented another apartment in our building so there’s enough bedrooms for everyone. We literally go up and down the elevator as if we’re walking up and down the stairs, and we have our rental for another year.”
Days after our conversation, the Dubrows dropped off daughter Kat at college, leaving just their 14-year-old Ace at home.
“Do we need another family house? Where are they gonna come home from college? Where? I don’t know. We’re flying by the seat of our pants.”
Tamra Judge and Heather Dubrow / Griffin Nagel/Bravo
It’s an unfamiliar, sort-of existentialist laissez faire attitude for Dubrow, who audiences are used to seeing act with an annihilating certitude on RHOC. She is an excellent reality TV star in that she’s the rare cast member to both clearly have her head screwed on straight and exhibits remarkable warmth and empathy to castmates who are spiraling or vulnerable. But question her motives or, worse, her truth, and brace for impact.
It’s coincidental timing that last time Dubrow and I spoke, we were discussing then-new cast member Katie Ginella’s miscalculated accusation that Dubrow hired paparazzi to take photos of her and Terry embracing each other following rumors that the couple was on the rocks. Dubrow effortlessly eviscerated.
A year later, Ginella is the topic of conversation again, having been accused of leaking disparaging stories about several cast members to podcasters and bloggers and secretly recording Shannon Beador having a meltdown at the taping of last season’s reunion.
The latter was the subject of the screaming showdown at Dubrow’s birthday party, which ended when Beador stormed off pledging never to forgive Ginella for the recording.
Tamra Judge, Emily Simpson, Heather Dubrow, Gina Kirschenheiter, Shannon Storms Beador, and Gretchen Rossi / Casey Durkin/Bravo
“I think what bummed me out is that I was really excited for [Katie] to join the show,” Dubrow says. “If you remember, when she walked into my New Year, New You party, I was really so excited. It was disappointing to find out that she was trying to dig stuff up on me and look for things, whatever that was. Having said that, this year, I let it go and I really tried to be there for her and be in her corner.”
That Beador went scorched earth after learning Ginella recorded her doesn’t surprise Dubrow—especially after it was alleged that Ginella showed the footage to Beador’s nemesis Alexis Bellino, whose fiancée was in the process of suing her.
“I understand how upset Shannon was, because Katie played it for someone whose boyfriend was suing her,” Dubrow says. “So she took it to DEFCON 1. I understand why. Shannon felt very betrayed. Shannon was really trying to stand up for Katie and help her before that happened.”
With that, Dubrow shrugged and did what she does best: took a sip of champagne, cheersed with me, and returned to host mode, greeting her other Four Seasons guests.
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