There's a lot of juice to be squeezed out of the upcoming 18th installment of The Real Housewives of Orange County. 

"So much happened this season that I don't even know how they're going to fit it all in," series vet Heather Dubrow told E! News in an exclusive interview. "And the dynamic is really good. We have so many strong people around, which is nice, and so much history between so many of us."

But it's a similar future that's brought her even closer to returning star Alexis Bellino. 

The two, who appeared on seasons seven and eight together "have known each other for a very long time," said Heather, "and didn't always see eye-to-eye."

But having gotten reacquainted in the past few years "through some of our older kids," said Heather, mom to twins Max and Nick, both 20, Kat, 17, and Ace, 13, with Botched star Terry Dubrow, she and Alexis—mom to James, 17, and 16-year-old twins Miles and Mackenna—truly bonded after their sons Ace and Miles came out as transgender. 

Shared Heather, "Having LGBTQIA+ kids definitely brought us closer." 

Because while cast trips and messy AF love triangles (we're looking at you, Alexis and John Janssen!) make for great binge-watching, the reason Heather decided to return to the Bravo hit in 2021 was "because I thought, 'Hey, we've got this great platform, they're asking us to come back, wouldn't it be nice to show our very normal family and maybe start conversations in other people's families?'" 

 

Few things make the 55-year-old more proud than watching her kids fully embrace their sexual and gender identities. 

Having Max reveal she's bisexual in a 2020 Instagram post and Kat come out in the family text message chain is "a beautiful thing," said Heather. "I came from a family that was very 1950s and no one ever talked about anything and everything was sort of brushed under the rug. And I knew that if I were lucky enough to have a family, I would be the opposite of that. So, I have to say I'm proud of them, I'm proud of me, I'm proud of us as a family for having the communication that we have."

And while middle schooler Ace isn't exactly dusting off Housewives-ready taglines, Heather is happy to provide a few glimpses of his journey. 

"I don't like to tell my children's stories for them," she explained of her hesitance to share too much. "That's their journey and their stories to tell if they choose to do so. But when other people, unfortunately, want to label your kids and tell their stories, sometimes you have to say something." 

And while no one's life is perfect, she's pleased to report that hers is pretty close. 

"He's doing great," she said of her youngest son. "He's just a really happy 13-year-old who's going through the cesspool as we know it to be middle school and figuring out who he is." 

She, meanwhile, is happily keeping tabs on her crew with the help of her Life360 app. 

Having used the family locator device to find her plastic surgeon husband when he suffered a nearly fatal blood clot last year, she's found it's also come in handy to assuage any parental anxiety. 

"As a mom, especially a mom with two kids in college, sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and when they're little, you go to their rooms, you check on them, whatever," she detailed. "Now I go on Life360 from my bed and I see where everyone is. Okay, she's in the dorm, he's at home. Everyone's good." 

Which is a pretty apt way to describe her crew. 

"Obviously I love my children," Heather said of her brood. "They're incredible human beings and I'm so proud of who they're growing up to be."

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