Real Housewives of Orange County’s Shannon Storms Beador has never had a “good season,†or at least that’s what fans like to say after watching her endure near-constant personal tumult year after year. The literal day after Beador first started filming the show in 2013, her husband, David, started an affair — with the revelation, reconciliation, and ultimate divorce brutally playing out over the following seasons. Most recently, her rocky on-again, off-again relationship with John Janssen ended with Beador getting arrested for a DUI after crashing her car. For Janssen’s part, he quickly began dating former Housewife Alexis Bellino, whose ex-husband had previously sued Beador — costing her $300,000 in legal bills. So, naturally, Bravo brought Bellino back this season.
Whereas lesser Housewives might try to hide their vulnerabilities from the camera to save face, Beador bares all. And while that might make for difficult seasons, it also makes her a phenomenal Real Housewife. Now heading into her tenth season, and perhaps her toughest yet, Beador is bracing for the storm but isn’t making any excuses. She spends the premiere taking accountability for her DUI, with or without the support of her castmates, and wastes no time confronting Alexis Bellino in a heated exchange that had even her fellow Housewives pulling up a chair to watch.
Congratulations on the new season.
Yeah. I mean, a lot of people are excited about it. I’m not over the moon. It’s a good season, but it was hard for me to film. But I did, and so that makes me feel strong, I think.
What was your mind-set going into filming, knowing that you were going to be in the hot seat?Â
I didn’t know how I was gonna be received by anyone. I had seen people at BravoCon, but I really didn’t know where I stood.
Was it ever a consideration not to come back to the show this year and avoid the scrutiny altogether?Â
I’m an emotional person, but I’m not afraid. And I’m not gonna let somebody else dictate whether I’m coming back to do the show or not. So I knew I would get through it somehow, but it was harder than I thought. I still see my therapist from the place I went after my DUI, and I see psychiatrists too. They helped me get through it.
We’re used to seeing you be pretty vulnerable on camera, but I imagine it can still be difficult to air out certain things. Â
This year I showed Heather a picture of what my face looked like after my accident, and that was a very scary moment for me because I knew that once I did that, that picture was gonna be out there. But I said in a video I posted right after my DUI that I would be completely transparent and truthful about anything that had to do with the DUI, and that’s part of it. I just wanted to follow through with that.
In the premiere, your daughters reassure you that this all happened for a reason — have you found that reason yet? Â
I made a horrible, horrible decision by getting in my car and driving after drinking. And I want to take responsibility for that humiliating choice that I made and do what I can to turn it into any sort of positive. So I’m on a better path in my life, and I’m gonna be working on it for quite some time, but I’m proud of how far I’ve been able to come after just a year. And I’m interested to see and hear what the viewers think, ’cause I’ve got some castmates who seem to think they’re experts on what I do in my life. So I can’t wait to hear what people’s assessment is of, Okay, do you see that Shannon’s been working on herself and has made improvements for the better?
It took this to happen for me to look at my own life and realize that things needed to be different in multiple ways. I was using alcohol as a coping mechanism to get through times when I wasn’t happy. So I’m learning, and I have different coping mechanisms now.
What kind of coping mechanisms?
Well, I breathe.
Same.
I walk, and I use ice packs or cold water. That really can change the way your emotions are. You can put it on the back of your neck or take a cold shower, that sort of thing.
What was your reaction when you first heard about Alexis Bellino’s return?
Well, I know that they’ve talked to Alexis multiple times about coming back. So when she started dating John, I thought, Okay, they’re gonna ask her back. And I wasn’t excited about that at all.
You and Alexis come from different eras of the show, so this is the first time you two are overlapping. Having seen episodes from her original run, did she live up to her reputation?
Well, people get let go from shows for a reason, so I don’t think that there was much to live up to. There were a few people who left the same season she did, and I took their place. And I’ve been there for ten years.
Do you think that’s an underlying dynamic at play between you two?
Well, I just like to point it out. And I do have a conversation with her this season where I say, “Let’s not forget who took your place.†She said, “Well I’m back here after ten years,†and I said, “But you’re a Friend.â€
I love a fourth-wall break. And speaking of, I laughed when Alexis stormed off and you looked directly into camera and just said, “Perfect.â€Â Â
I don’t even remember doing that! So much was going through my head. I was like, Oh, wow. I didn’t storm away, you did. I’m keeping my cool. I just thought it was ridiculous when she said, “I got your boyfriend.†She can win that competition, I’m not interested.
The show has followed you through a lot of really hard times, and because you’re so open about those times, fans tend to say that you’ve never had a “good†season. Do you feel that way when you look back at your tenure?
I don’t want anybody to think Poor Shannon, because I don’t. I put myself in a lot of situations. A lot of the difficulty that is going on for me in season 18 is because of choices I made — and not good ones.  Â
A lot of people say, “Oh, Shannon’s always blaming others and can’t take responsibility,†but when I make a mistake, I’m gonna admit it. But on this show, there have also been a lot of times where people have just been super-unkind. So, yeah, sorry if I’m gonna point that out.
Did you see that Tamra is saying you accidentally liked and unliked an old text message the other day while digging for receipts on her?
Just so everyone is aware, I don’t even have Siri on my phone. I’m very low tech. I push buttons, I delete conversations, I have circles on my texts, I don’t know how they got there, but there was a circle with Tamra and another person, and I must have hit a button. I don’t know. I don’t know how to “heart†a text either. I’ve never done that. So, sorry, I butt-texted them. You can think I’m trying to get receipts, but I’m not as nasty as you. So no, I’m not trying to get receipts to nail you on Watch What Happens Live. But keep being obsessed with me, Tamra.
The real star of the show is, of course, your dog Archie. How does he like filming?Â
Archie just lays there. He’s just a good boy. I do wanna point out, though, he was in the car with me during the DUI. And some stories reported that I was fake walking the dog after my car broke down, and I wasn’t. I was walking back to the scene to take responsibility. And Archie was fine and he was checked out, so he’s okay. I feel horrible about that. But he’s just such a good boy. He’s the man in my life. I just need one man, and it’s Archie Beador.
On a lighter note, what are you looking forward to fans seeing this season?
I was so grateful that Vicki got to come back for a portion of the season, because Vicki and I are silly fun. You can’t script the funny stuff that happens with the two of us. So it’ll be fun for the viewers to see my relationship with her. She has been such a kind friend with the DUI. She took me in, she took care of me. I lived with her after the DUI. Â
This marks the 100th season of the Real Housewives franchise as a whole, and it’s also your tenth. What’s been the biggest positive for you about this experience?Â
The crew and all the behind-the-scenes people are like family to me. I’m grateful that I have home videos of my kids; I’m grateful for the platform, for the job. And yeah, there are hard parts to it, but then there’s also good. I never had a dream to be in front of a camera, especially at 50, and it happened. And I’m grateful for that.