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Season 19 of The Real Housewives of Orange County has been fairly dramatic during its first several episodes, with Katie Ginella being at the center of the action. Now, Heather Dubrow is detailing her response to being accused of researching Katie as well as reacting to claims of Tamra Judge roofieing Gretchen Rossi. 

Fans will recall that Gina Kirschenheiter, 41, was on a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live. While on the episode, she stated that Heather, 56,  had researched Katie, 41. 

Heather, 56, sat down for an interview with US Weekly and revealed how she handled things with Gina following her WWHL appearance. She told the outlet, “Oh, I called her that night. She did not pick up. We talked, and I’d say, I did light her up a little bit. I’m gonna be honest. And then I apologize later for lighting her up.”

She then said, “At that period of time between when we were done filming and the reunion, there were a lot of articles [that] came up about Katie, more than, you know, the custody. There were lawsuits, and this person that got arrested, all there were lots and lots of articles, and we were all passing them to each other, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, did you see this? Did you see this?’”

Heather added, “There was no malintent, and there’s certainly — and this is what I really want to clear up — there was no research. I didn’t look anything up. I didn’t dig anything up. There was nothing like that. This was just stuff that was coming out in the media. … and we were sharing them with each other.”

Regarding where they stand today, the RHOC star said, “I love her. We’re great friends. She says she also spoke to Emily Simpson about the matter. According to her, “We all talked about it, but like I said, it was a period of time where everyone was sending each other information.”

She added, “If something comes out in the media about me or me and [my husband], it is all passed around. The good, the bad, the ugly, we share that stuff. I’m not mad that the girls will do that when it’s about us.”

Heather also responded to more drama surrounding the show, mainly the rumor that Katie stated that Gretchen, 46, believed Tamra, 57, had drugged her during her initial run on the show. In response, Heather said, “Well, I was 100 percent sure there was no truth to the rumor.”

She continued, “This predated me. It’s a long time ago, a long time ago. I promise you that had there been even an inkling of a story, it would have come out already. I knew that it wasn’t a thing. Then the question was, ‘Where’d that come from?’ I can’t really tell you the answer to that. You’re going to have to keep watching. But it is quite interesting.”

Notably, Katie has denied spreading the rumors about Tamra drugging Gretchen during season four of RHOC. Regarding Tamra briefly quitting the show, Heather explained, “Tamra was going through a very, very tough period. I’ve known her for almost 15 years. I’ve never seen her like this before.”

She continued, “That whole night, I literally thought I missed something. I kind of thought I missed something. I kept saying to Gina, ‘But what happened?’ She’s like, ‘Nothing! You saw. You were there.’ But I feel like I missed something because how did that all take a turn? It gets even more bizarre, so you’re going to have to keep watching.”

When asked if she initially thought Tamra was leaving the series for good, she responded, “My knee-jerk is yes, but no. I’ve known Tamra a long time. I was there in Bali. ‘You’ll never see my face again.’ … I was so confused as to what had happened.” 

Lastly, Heather was asked about the criticism she has faced over her continued support for Tamra. According to her, “When some of the girls are like, ‘Why are you always defending her?’ and I see some comments from audience members like, ‘What does she have on you?’ Nothing. We’ve known each other a long time. We’re friends, and when you see a friend really in trouble emotionally, you care for them and you want them to be better.”