Nicole James is a new "friend of" on The Real Housewives of Orange County season 16, who has quite an interesting background. Viewers met Nicole for the first time during the first episode of the season earlier this month. Nicole was brought into the cast through returning Housewife Heather Dubrow, who claims to have been friends with her for the last eight years. When Heather told the other castmates of her friend, Shannon Beador began to wonder if Nicole was a woman she knew from the past.
Later in the episode, it was revealed that Nicole had sued Heather's husband, Terry Dubrow, for botched breast surgery. Shannon reiterated this piece of information to castmates Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson. Since Shannon was unsure if it was the same Nicole she was thinking of, she wanted to keep the details a secret. However, Gina's conscience was telling her to convey the message to Heather while at her home for a dinner party. Things went south right away, and the night ended in chaos.
Before joining RHOC, Nicole was just a stay-at-home mother to her daughter Presley and her son Blake. Presley loves horses, and Nicole even shared a photo of her daughter next to one on Instagram in September 2020 in celebration of her eleventh birthday. Other than being a devoted mother, Nicole, who is friendly with former Housewife Tamra Judge, enjoys getting glammed up and taking photos of herself. The mother of two's Instagram page is filled with snaps of herself dressed to the nines and fully glammed up. Viewers expect nothing less from someone on the Real Housewives. Nicole seems to live a very lavish lifestyle, which has yet to be shown on RHOC.
Besides her home life, Nicole has a very colorful personal life that was mentioned in the new season of RHOC. Shannon admitted that Nicole dated famous singer Kid Rock many years ago, shortly after he broke up with Pamela Anderson. Shannon, who spoke about the season 16 cast, said the pair began dating right after he officially divorced the actress in 2006. However, it is unclear how long they dated and when exactly they first became a couple. Her relationship with Kid Rock took place long after she and Terry met about performing breast augmentation surgery, which she later sued him for. While Heather and Terry seem fine with the former lawsuit since she dropped it right away, Nicole reportedly left the show because of the lawsuit. Radar Online reported in October that Nicole allegedly let go because the lawsuit was potentially damaging to Terry but the production team as well.
While there is still more to Nicole's story, she seems like a great addition to RHOC. Not only does she have a legal past with Heather's husband, but she also has an interesting past personal life. Viewers are excited to see what else Nicole will bring to the table.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo.
Sources: Nicole James/ Instagram, Radar Online