RHOC's Braunwyn Windham-Burke Has Seven Children And Time For Threesomes With Her Husband
She's had a baby in her or on her for almost two decades straight.
Instagram The two pieces of advice Braunwyn Windham-Burke was given before she started filming Real Housewives of Orange County were: 1) don’t get drunk, 2) don’t trust anyone. She broke both those rules in the first 10 minutes. She had an instant connection with most of the women on the show as soon as she showed up. And even toward the ones she doesn’t connect with as easily she shows nothing but respect. All the interviews reveal that she’s grateful and excited to be back in her hometown of Orange County and finally have more than just a few moments all to herself. In fact, despite having seven kids, Braunwyn and her husband still have time for sexy time.
Who is Braunwyn Windham-Burke? Read on for all the details.
1. She's the newest cast member on the 14th season of Real Housewives of Orange County.
The Real Housewives is a reality TV show broadcast on Bravo with several different iterations, all of which document the lives of several affluent housewives in various regions throughout the U.S. RHOC—the Orange County iteration—is actually the first version. It premiered in March of 2006, and its success spurred the NYC, Atlanta, New Jersey, D.C., Beverly Hills, Miami, Potomac and Dallas versions. There are even some international installments broadcast by different TV channels worldwide, such as Athens, Vancouver, L.A. (in French), Melbourne, Cheshire, Auckland, Sydney, Hungary and South Africa. (Even one in Bangkok has been announced but has yet to receive an air date).
2. Windham-Burke actually grew up in Orange County
Specifically, she grew up in Laguna in the ‘90s. She was a huge fan of the Real Housewives series long before she was cast on it. "I think when I first met Tamra [Judge], I kind of giggled,” she admitted in an interview with People. But she means this in the best way possible — “If I had to pick the person I had the most friction with, it would probably be Tamra, but [she] is also the person who made me face a lot of the issues with myself and kind of brought the best out of me." Doesn’t that kind of give you hope for reality TV?
RELATED: 'RHOC' Star Shannon Beador Has A New Boo — Get To Know John Janssen
3. She and her husband Sean have a “love shack.”
Honestly, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Braunwyn and husband Sean — who, by the way, was her childhood sweetheart — have seven kids together. It can get to be a lot sometimes, and actually continuing to date your partner often takes the backseat. "The love shack started in Miami,” she explained. “We had a house and then we had this place that we would go to because at the time we had a live-in au pair, a nanny, six kids, a housekeeper. Our house was always full. So, we had a place to go to where we could kind of date each other." Braunwyn added, "We used to joke that it was like having an affair with your own wife or husband. We would meet in the middle of the day. It was near his office." Now that the two are back in Orange County, they have a new love shack. "You'll see it during the season. It's not child-friendly. It's made for bad choices and debauchery." Hmmmm. Come to think of it, this may be how the couple ended up with seven kids!
4. Joining the show marks a major turning point in her life
Seven kids, remember? According to Bustle, she shared in an interview that before she was cast on RHOC: “I was sitting in my bed and I was crying. I looked at my husband and said 'I have to have something else. I have been a stay-at-home mom for almost nineteen years and I need something that's just for me.” Personally, I’m shocked she was able to make it this long without imploding. “I've almost been breastfeeding for eighteen years straight." She even joked: "For the most part, I have had a baby either inside of me or on me for eighteen years now."
5. And she has been loving it so far!
“This has been the most amazing opportunity. I have gone outside my comfort zone. I've learned a lot about myself. I've had a great time," she shared. She even declared, "I feel like becoming a Housewife is one of the best decisions I've ever made because it made Braunwyn a fully-formed person instead of just a mom." Parental burnout is real—I love seeing women taking care of themselves.
6. She feels she's become more independent since joining the show.
The other side of the coin that is marrying your childhood sweetheart is feeling like you may have forgotten to grow up. Sean has been by her side since she was 18, so joining RHOC was a crucial life shift for them. “I learned that I can't always rely on my husband. I've been with my husband since I was eighteen, so a child, so I had to stand on my own two feet for the first time in my entire adult life. And that was not always easy."
7. Birthday threesomes
Did you catch the episode of Real Housewives of Orange County where Braunwyn casually threw out the news that she and her husband have threesomes with another woman on his birthdays? I mean, come on! How does she do it? She looks fabulous. She has seven kids. And she still has time to arrange threesomes for her husband? What's her secret? In an interview with Hollywood Life, she revealed that she started doing it on her husband's 35th birthday and they only engage in threesomes on milestone birthdays. “It’s not that thought out. It started as a joke on, I think it was actually your 35th birthday," she said as she turned towards her husband. "It just sort of happened. Everyone lost their mind. And then it became a joke. For his 45th I was pregnant, and keep in mind, I’ve been having babies nonstop.” She said they had another threesome for his 40th birthday, but then for his 45th, she was pregnant so they skipped it.
8. What about the kids?
Braunwyn also revealed that she's raised her kids in a progressive household. After the cast trip where she revealed the threesomes, she went home to tell her kids what she said so they knew before it aired on TV. Of course, the internet commenters came out in force. She said: "...so obviously I came back from this (cast) trip and the first thing I did was tell my family so they would have time to prepare. I’m like, ‘Hey guys, I said this.’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ That was really it because online people were like, ‘Your poor children.’ I’m like, not really. My kids are fine.”
Her daughter Rowan said: “We couldn’t care less.”
Leah Scher is an ENFP and recent graduate of Brandeis University. She's an alumna of the Kenyon Review Young Writer's Workshop the Iowa Young Writers' Studio. She's passionate about Judaism, poetry, film, satire, astrology, spirituality, and sexual health.