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Katie Ginella may have entered Season 19 of The Real Housewives of Orange County as a rising star, but after a chaotic season, her future on the show is allegedly anything but secure, raising eyebrows as she has become a fan favorite.
As Season 20 looms, insiders say Bravo is facing a tough decision: bring Katie back and double down on the drama, or cut her out entirely and rebuild the dynamic from scratch.
“With all of the drama on Season 19 of RHOC, people are starting to wonder what Season 20 would look like,” an insider told OK!, adding that there are “two ways Bravo can go about things.”
One option would be to keep Katie Ginella in the mix. According to the source, “They could bring Vicki Gunvalson back, who Katie gets along with, and Tamra has said deserves a spot on the show. And then they could possibly add one more of Katie’s friends to the mix.” The insider explained that Ginella has a “huge, loud fanbase online,” which could work in her favor.
“It would make sense for Heather Dubrow to stay,” they added, “and then add some new people to the mix.” It’s clear Bravo sees Season 20 as a major milestone, and stacking the cast with new faces while keeping returning favorites is definitely on the table.
But not everyone is convinced Ginella will make the cut. Her removal from the season wasn’t subtle — it was the result of a calculated decision by both the cast and the network. “Bravo felt that all of the women were coming for her and decided to remove her from the mix for a bit,” a source revealed. “It was clear all of the women had planned to band together to take Katie down and they ended up refusing to film with her.”
Ginella reportedly wanted to participate in the cast trip, but Bravo wasn’t on board. “While Ginella wanted to film the cast trip, Bravo still thought it was best for her to sit out.”
So why remove someone who stirred up so much interest? The source admitted, “The problem is… they’d then have to start turning on each other again… and, as it stands, they made a storyline out of turning on Katie so that wouldn’t really make much sense that they suddenly turned on each other.”
Another layer to Ginella’s complicated arc was her fractured relationships with several key cast members. She began the season close with Jennifer Pedranti, but things fell apart after a cast-wide lie detector test in the August 28 episode — which Ginella completely failed. Her past friendship with Gretchen Rossi also ended badly after she claimed Rossi told her she had been roofied during Season 4’s “naked wasted” episode, a statement Rossi flatly denied.
At this point, Bravo hasn’t confirmed anything about Season 20’s cast. “It’s unknown what direction Bravo will end up going in at this point in time as the reunion hasn’t been filmed yet and that will play a big role,” the insider shared. “But it will sure be interesting to see what ends up happening for Season 20.”
As of now, Katie’s last major appearance was on August 28, and insiders say that may be the end of her current storyline — at least for now. Still, there’s hope for her fans. “Fans of Katie’s can stay tuned, though, as this is not the end of her story on TV,” the source teased.
Bravo has declined to comment on future casting for The Real Housewives of Orange County.