Shannon Beador Reflects on How She's Navigated Her 'Insane' Journey on 'RHOC' as the Show Celebrates 20 Seasons: 'You Need to Be Real'

Shannon Beador has been on quite the journey over her 12 seasons on The Real Housewives of Orange County.

As the longest-running franchise in the Real Housewives universe celebrates its 20th anniversary, the mother-of-three is reflecting on the highs and lows she's experienced with cameras rolling.

Beador speaks exclusively with OK! about how she sees her time on the show, what it takes to be successful on reality television, the return of Vicki Gunvalson, her feud with Tamra Judge, what's to come during Season 20 and how she feels in this new phase of her life.

Beador joined the cast in 2014, enduring huge life changes like a divorce, sending her daughters off to college and adjusting to being single.

"It's insane when you think about it because not many television shows have been on for that long," she explains of the series' two-decade milestone.

"When I started in Season 9, I thought that I was starting late in the game," Beador notes. "Now, it's my 12th year, which is also quite a long time — but you need to be real. When I get asked, 'What would you tell Season 9 Shannon?' I'd say, 'do the same thing.' When you tell the truth, and you're honest, sometimes to my detriment, it makes it easy to follow the story because some people don't."

Right as Beador signed onto the show, her vulnerability was put to the test when it came to her personal life.

"The last thing I thought was that my ex-husband [David Beador] was going to start an affair after my first day of filming," she admits. "That never crossed my mind. It's insane. I thought that he was getting cocky because we were filming a television show. I had no idea that he was even having an affair. So, to speak about that publicly, it was a lot for me. But I figured, and we discussed it as a family, that if you're on a reality show, you need to be real."

Meanwhile, much to Shannon's delight, original cast member Vicki returned for Season 20.

"We'll get together to film to talk about X, Y, Z. Then we end up talking about something completely different," the 62-year-old says with a laugh.

"She and I have this banter that can't be duplicated. We've stayed very close," Shannon reveals. "It's what I'm most excited about this season, because the last couple of years have been a lot of drama for me. Now, I'm able to be silly and have fun. It's great to have Vicki right next to me to have that fun."

During the first episode of Season 20, it's revealed that Shannon and Tamra got into a heated moment while filming The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th.

"It was a lot to go through because we were the first party on Ultimate Girls Trip," she explains. "It was our role to be in the background, so I entered the party in a silly and fun mode. I did not intend to make anything about myself, but Tamra kept poking. She admits in the first episode what she said about me."

"At that point, I did get upset. I got in trouble for it, which is the most upsetting part," she continues. "There were certain Housewives that continually reached out to me. They spoke to other people in production to voice their opinions about it. There were a lot of unkind and very cruel things said about me."

Following their tense interaction on the spinoff, Shannon admits it affected her dynamic with Tamra during the latest installment of RHOC.

"As the season evolves, we go through our ups and downs, which we have before," she notes. "But I still maintain that for me, I needed to create a boundary. At this point with the history that we have, there's only one person to blame if I get hurt again and that's myself for going back. I try to keep a little bit of a safe distance. I don't think I'm the only one that does. I'll just leave it there."

Now, after finalizing her divorce in 2019, Shannon has learned to enjoy dating and also being by herself.

"I am very happy right now," she gushes. "But I'm not dating. I always thought that I needed to be attached to a relationship to achieve complete happiness. Now I'm grateful that I have spent the time by myself because I know that I'm going to be okay if I don't."

"I do want to find a partner," she clarifies. "It's important. But if for some reason I don't, I'll be good. It does make you feel stronger."