Elizabeth Vargas Admits She Got 'Down And Dirty' On 'RHOC'

Instagram | Elizabeth Vargas

Elizabeth Vargas joined the cast of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" for season 15 and during the ultra-exclusive premiere party for the new episodes in Corona del Mar, California, she said that while she came into the show as the "mediator," things eventually changed.

“I’m one of five children and I’m a mediator so I end up mediating a lot on the show,” Elizabeth told OK! Magazine. “But at the end I just kind of say screw it and get into it. I get down and dirty.”

As fans of "RHOC" well know, the 15th season began production in February of this year. However, after the outbreak of COVID-19 the following month, they were forced to put filming on hold. Then, after it was evident that the country wasn't going to go back to normal in a prompt manner, the cast, including newbie Elizabeth, was instructed to begin self-shooting scenes from their homes.

“It was nuts,” she admits. “I thought, OK, have fun, I’m getting a divorce, what can I do to get my mind off it? So, I start hanging out with the girls, then COVID hits and they tell us, you’re filming on your own now, here’s an iPhone."

"Here I am like, wait a minute, no camera crew, no makeup artist, no hairstylist, no nothing. I’m filming confessionals in my garage, doing my own makeup and hair,” Elizabeth recalled, noting that she would never willingly put the camera crew or anyone else on Bravo's staff in jeopardy for the sake of a show.

“I understood exactly why we had to produce the show we did during COVID but it was extremely difficult,” she said. “I was pretty much my writer, producer, director. It was a challenge for sure.”

Although Kelly Dodd has been involved in a number of feuds with the "RHOC" cast, Elizabeth said she was quite helpful when it came to getting her intertwined with their co-stars.

“Kelly has a different dynamic to the group all together,” she said. “She introduced me to the girls one at a time and I got to know their personalities, it was kind of like, Shannon has her own personality, Gina definitely has her own personality, Braunwyn has a big personality in a whole different way. So, I got to meet the girls separately but together and collaboratively during the entire season. We went up and we went down and in the end we all understood each other."

“I married very well and I divorced very well, but the point of me divorcing wasn’t just for me to be an angry old bat with money,” she explained. “I wanted to transition those finances to better life around me. I say money the old-fashioned way but ultimately I’m not just a bobble-head billionaires wife. I have a brain, I’m an entrepreneur, I have drive.”

To see more of Elizabeth and her cast mates, don't miss new episodes of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" season 15 on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on Bravo.