“I knew that she had gone through my Instagram and my husband’s Instagram, and I was standing in line at my friend Sutton’s Christmas party, and she was with a couple of women. I’m introducing myself, and as I’m introducing myself and she’s hearing my name and she knew I was going through casting, she just, like, stared at me and turned around,” Katie recalled. “Everybody kind of noticed … So that was a little weird, and a couple more things happened that made me uncomfortable.”
Katie may not have hit it off with Heather, but there was another cast member that she immediately bonded with.
“[Jennifer Pedranti] and I got so close, so quickly. She’s lovely. We have a lot in common. She’s really kind and warm and welcoming,” Katie gushed.
As for how she was cast, Katie met the producers of RHOC through a friend.
“One of my friends was on Basketball Wives, and they are the same casting directors, and so they called me a few years ago when we first moved to San Diego, and I said, ‘Well, I don’t live in Orange County. I actually live in San Diego.’ And a couple years later, they called me again, and I said, ‘Actually, we have moved up to Orange County for my business. So, let’s talk.’ And we talked and here I am,” she detailed.
Looking back at her time filming, Katie acknowledged the importance of sharing her story, which includes her adoption, on the show.
“There are small moments where I feel I have to teach a little bit, even about silly things, like Japanese and Koreans and their relationships, and so that was a little bit challenging. But also it’s kinda good to learn myself, and teach my castmates,” she shared, admitting that she was nervous to open up at first.
“You never know how people are going to perceive you, and I think my story is very layered. I’ve gone through a lot,” Katie stated. “I’ve had a lot of peaks and valleys in my life, and so you never know how people are going to take that — if they are going to think it’s endearing or think it’s horrible.”
Luckily, Katie said her family was completely supportive of her role, feeling like it was “her time” to shine.
“I have an amazing, supportive husband. He would sit up with me when I’d get home from filming and just talk and talk and talk for hours. He was great. And then I have a 20-year-old daughter … [who] talks me through a lot of things, too,” she revealed.
Regarding what she learned from her first season, Katie, who will soon launch an alcohol company called Tee Shots that offers six-pack flavor shots, said the experience taught her to speak up more.
“I was raised to be seen and not heard, to just kind of take it, and then internalize, think about it, and then maybe come back later, and I learned that sometimes I just have to really stick up for myself and be my own advocate,” she explained.
Also on the show, after being asked about a potential play day on another franchise, Katie chose The Real Housewives of New York City.
“[Brynn Whitfield] is, like, I’ve got to meet her. She looks like so much fun,” she added.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
![RHOC's Katie Ginella on Bringing Off-Camera Info About Heather to Show, Their First Meeting, and Heather Making Her "Uncomfortable," Plus Who She's "So Close" With Now, How She Was Cast, and Her "[Teaching]" Moments](https://realityblurb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Katie-Ginella-and-Heather-Dubrow-2-1.jpg)
