Entertainment And News

'RHOC' Star Braunwyn Windham-Burke Comes Out In Candid Interview: 'I Like Women, I'm Gay'

Photo: Bravo / YouTube
Braunwyn Windham-Burke

Real Housewives of Orange County star Braunwyn Windham-Burke took to Instagram on Dec. 2 to reveal that she is gay.

The mom of seven also revealed the big news in an interview with GLAAD, saying, “I’m finally comfortable enough to say: I like women. I’m gay. I’m a member of the LGBTQIA+ community."

"I’m a lesbian. And it has taken me 42 years to say that, but I’m so proud of where I am right now and I’m so happy where I am," she added. "To be able to be comfortable in my own skin after so long is just so nice.”

Who is Braunwyn Windham-Burke?

Read on for all everything you need to know about the newly out and proud reality star, including all the details she revealed in her candid interview..

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She's a mom of seven.

On her blog, Barefoot In Heels, she talks about having babies over the course of 18 years, so her eldest will be college-aged.

Her youngest child is baby Aspen, who was born in 2018.

Her husband works in the tech sector.

Braunwyn’s husband is Sean Burke, the President of Channelstars, a Newport Beach IT firm.

The company's mission statement reads:

“Channelstars is based on the principal that success is built through good relationships and association. We assist companies in strategic planning, marketing, virtual and physical blended environments, content and video development. 

We understand the market is changing rapidly, and we are here to help our partners and customers stay ahead!  We also have specialists and success in the fashion, entertainment, tech and public sector industries including healthcare."

He’s also a hands-on dad to the kids. No word yet on how much he’ll appear on screen.

She basically replaced "The OG of the OC."

For Braunwyn to get a featured role on the reality franchise, someone else had to go. 

Vicki Gunvalson, who often referred to herself as "The OG of the OC," was reportedly demoted before Braunwyn was even cast on the show.

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She's a fashion icon.

Her Instagram feed (which connects to her lifestyle blog) shows daily outfit photos.

The pics give a glimpse into what’s in Braunwyn’s closet and also show snippets of her gorgeous Newport Beach home. 

She loves giving parenting advice.

With seven kids and six pregnancies to her name (she has one set of twins), Braunwyn is comfortable giving advice to other parents. In one post, she got honest about how she’s evolved on pregnancy recovery between her first and her seventh child:

“After my first was born, I didn’t care, bathing was irregular, my clothes were often whatever I found on the chair from the day before, I had an 'it’s all about the baby, who cares about me,' mentality. Turns out that’s not very good for my mental health, getting dressed, doing my hair, putting on some makeup, that makes me feel better, more 'Braunwyn,' and less dairy cow.”

When it comes to how she manages her world traveling lifestyle with seven kids in tow, she has this to say:

“As we ran through the airport, late for our flight, I reminded them of this, ‘it’s your job to keep an eye on me , not the other way around.’ When you have a big family you learn to rewrite the standard parenting rules because let’s be honest, what works with 2 or 3 kids isn’t going to come close to working for us.”

She came out as a lesbian in a very candid interview.

She's out, and she's proud!

After months of speculation about her sexuality (thanks to those scenes with fellow RHOC star Tamra Judge), Braunwyn came out in a candid interview with GLAAD:

"I’m still getting used to it...I knew I was attracted to women. I always have been...I got married very young and I never thought about it. So to be 42...I’m just now starting to feel like I’m becoming the woman I was supposed to be.

So for me to be living completely authentically and say, ‘I’m a lesbian. That was who I have always been.’ This isn’t something that is new ‘cause that I think is what a lot of people will think. ‘Oh, suddenly you’re one.’ No, I’ve always known it.

But it took me personally 42 years to be comfortable enough in my own skin to say that."

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Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.