The 'Real Housewives of Orange County' star opens up to ET about ending her friendship with Vicki Gunvalson for good.
Kelly Dodd says the new season of The Real Housewives of Orange County is all about, well, Kelly Dodd.
"I don't like speaking in third person," she tells ET. "But I feel like it's all about Kelly Dodd. The whole group [drama] is about me."
That drama kicks off on Tuesday’s all-new episode of RHOC, which finds Kelly and the OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson, coming face to face at Tamra Judge’s housewarming party. It’s the first time the two have seen each other since the season 13 reunion, where Vicki seemed to imply that Kelly does drugs.
"She chases me around Tamra's house," Kelly says of the encounter. "I don't want to give her any of my time or energy, because I can't control Vicki. I can only control myself. Even though she just knows how to poke the bear. So, I really don't want to give her the time of day … I just want her to leave me alone."
This is also the first time Kelly and Vicki have seen each other since Vicki moved into a new role on the show, that of “friend” instead of main Housewife. Kelly says Vicki was "desperate" to make amends with her in order to get back into the good graces of all the women.
"She wants to be a part of the group," Kelly says. "She's kind of like an outcast. Nobody really wants to deal with her, and if she makes things right with me, everybody will be more apt to get her back into the groove."
Obviously, the meeting does not go well. Kelly admits she ignored all of Vicki’s attempts to make up, saying she’s 100 percent done with Vicki.
"I just now know how Vicki is," she offers. "I know who she is and, you know, history always repeats itself. So, I would rather not have her in my life ever again … I just don't want that negativity, and I know how she could turn. So, I would prefer not to ever really have a friendship, or talk to her, ever again."
Kelly confesses that she entered therapy to better deal with her feelings toward Vicki, and the group at large.
"You know, I used to, like, hate her," she admits. "Like, despise -- I just could not. I despised her."
"I went through therapy with Dr. Dow, Dr. Michael Dow, and, you know, he told me not to wrestle with pigs, so to speak," she adds, which is an interesting choice of words. RHOC viewers will see Kelly compare Vicki to a pig in season 14, which longtime fans know is a hot-button insult for Vicki.
"I'm really trying to work hard at not holding onto that negativity," Kelly continues. "I got into therapy because I do have a temper. I don't want to react. I need to know the tools on how to not just blow off the handle … and beat the crap out of [my co-stars], basically."
As for Vicki, she’s labeled Kelly an "angry, volatile person" and called her nothing but an "arm ornament."
Vicki and Kelly will face off a few times this season. In one moment first teased in the season 14 trailer, Vicki calls Kelly a "bully" after Kelly tells Vicki she’s a "con-woman crook," another label that always gets a reaction out of Vicki.
"She comes after me like I'm the bully," Kelly scoffs. "She was the bully the whole entire season … She's poking me, poking me, poking me, poking me. So, it's funny to see that she calls me the bully, when she is the bully."
That all seems up to interpretation, though, as Vicki’s close pals, Tamra and Shannon Beador -- a trio known as "the tres amigas" -- have since turned on Kelly.
"We all are friends, and you're gonna see how the evolution of the relationships go," Kelly hints. "I was really tight with Tamra, really tight with Shannon, and then they have this ‘tres amigas’ thing and form a gang mentality. It's kind of like season one again. It's like Groundhog Day. I swear, it's like I said, history repeats itself."
"I felt like the new girl again this season," she says. "It's exactly the same thing for me [as season 11] … There’s a lot of people coming at me. I feel like I'm on Game of Thrones, you know what I mean?"
Kelly sums up season 14 as a "s**t show," claiming that new damaging lies are spread about her by the "tres amigas" all season long. While she says it will be painful for her to relive, she knows it will make for an entertaining season for fans.
"You know, the other franchises they have, like, panty-gate, or they concentrate on the dog?" Kelly remarks, throwing some not-so-subtle shade at The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. "No, no, no. This is, like, a show. This is, like, you have family drama, you have friend drama, you have people's personal stories -- there's so much content, and so many moving parts, I think that it's gonna be, probably, the best season out of all 14 seasons."
"I'm dreading to watch all of it back," she admits. "They say so many lies and rumors about me, that it was really hard for me ... It's gonna be hard for me. It's going to be an entertaining one, to say the least."
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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