RHOC S18 Premiere Recap: Exes and OCs

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Shannon Beador and Alexis Bellino go head-to-head in the RHOC season 18 premiere. Let’s break down all the drama.

After months and months of waiting, the Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 premiere has finally arrived.

Season 18 of RHOC will detail the aftermath of Shannon Beador’s DUI, Alexis Bellino‘s budding relationship with John Janssen, and Tamra Judge‘s friendship fallout with Shannon. Plus, so much more.

With that said, let’s break down everything from the RHOC season 18 premiere episode: “Exes and OCs.”

Shannon Beador has a mountain to climb throughout season 18 as she deals with the aftermath of her embarrassing September 2023 DUI.

None of the ladies in the RHOC cast seem interested in continuing their friendships with Shannon after her DUI, especially her former bestie, Tamra Judge, who reveals why she pulled away from Shannon.

According to Tamra, she explained why she backed out of the Tres Amigas Live tour with Shannon Beador and Vicki Gunvalson following Shannon’s DUI.

Tamra said that doing live shows about drinking following Shannon’s DUI and arrest was “in bad taste.”

Gina Kirschenheiter is on the same page as Tamra, revealing that she has no empathy for Shannon. She notes that Shannon tortured her following her own DUI years ago, so she plans to do the same.

“Shannon spiraled. Right into a house,” she said with a shady tone.

Like Shannon, Gina’s life is being upended due to the baggage in her boyfriend, Travis’s, life. Gina admits that the “hardest part of her relationship is not the relationship” but Travis’ ex, who is playing hardball and causing destruction. 

Things have gotten so bad that Gina has moved out of their shared condo and into her own place until Travis finalizes his divorce. 

Gina admits she is unhappy, telling RHOC co-star Emily Simpson, “Honestly, we need to live separately and see where the chips land.” 

Alexis Bellino makes her grand return to RHOC since exiting the franchise in 2013. 

Heather Dubrow has welcomed Alexis back into the group with open arms, and Jesus Jugs is coming in HOT. It seems that Alexis needs friends after her mother passed away earlier in the year. 

Not surprisingly, Alexis immediately gushes about her new romance with Shannon Beador’s ex-boyfriend, John Janssen. 

The 47-year-old explains: “November 18, John Janssen walked into my life. I met John at The Quiet Woman. Shannon does not own The Quiet Woman. I’ve been going there for over a decade.”

She continued, “But anywho, John walks in and ends up sitting in my booth. We tried to fight the feelings. Unfortunately, the heart wants what it wants.” 

Elsewhere in the episode, Shannon meets with her lawyer and discusses her legal issues following her DUI. She seems to be beating herself up quite a bit over her DUI but still finds enough courage to attend Heather’s party. 

Upon entering Heather’s party, Shannon immediately approaches Gina and apologizes, which leaves Gina stunned. 

The 60-year-old RHOC star told Gina, “I apologize for anything and everything I did to hurt you.” Gina admits she never expected to get an apology from Shannon: “I have no idea what version of Shannon we are on at this point- 2.0, 3.0, 10.0. 12.0, but whichever version this is, I hope it sticks.” 

Shannon then continued by pulling Alexis aside for a chat. She started off by calmly addressing her lawsuit with Alexis’ ex-husband, Jim Bellino. Alexis sat there, nodding her head and listening to Shannon’s ramble. 

However, Alexis didn’t entertain rehashing her past with Shannon. Instead, Alexis wanted to flaunt her new relationship with John in Shannon’s face. 

“You’re the ex, and I’m the new,” Alexis told Shannon with a villainess smile.

Shannon tried to shake off Alexis’ dig and refocused on her legal drama with Jim.

“Are you going to write me a check for $300,000?” Shannon told Alexis, who responded, “I think the real issue here is I have your boyfriend.” 

“You’re never going to get a dollar from me. If you don’t like it, there is the door, Shannon Beador,” Alexis continued. 

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.

Thoughts on the RHOC season 18 premiere episode? Sound off in the comments!