Does Vicki Gunvalson’s Daughter Approve Of Her New Man?

Vicki Gunvalson has stayed out of the spotlight since the previous season of The Real Housewives of Orange County ended. Sadly, Season 10 of the show wasn’t ideal for Gunvalson, who was caught up in the cancer scandal simply by association. Many of her co-stars questioned Brooks Ayers’ honesty in regards to having cancer, and since Gunvalson was just defending her boyfriend, many of her co-stars thought she may be lying as well. When the season ended, Vicki broke things off with Brooks, who moved to Florida. Since then, she’s been trying to leave him behind and emotionally move on.

According to a new ET Online report, Vicki Gunvalson has been teasing about finding love again. On Instagram, Vicki has posted several pictures of flowers and of a guy who she’s gone on 10 dates with. She managed to keep his identity a secret, but ET Online is now revealing that she’s dating a former police officer named Steve Chavez Lodge.

Will Lodge be featured on The Real Housewives of Orange County? Probably not, since it has only been a month or two since they met. Vicki has wrapped up the newest season by now, so he may be talked about during the last couple of episodes or even during the reunion special, which hasn’t been filmed yet.

So, who is Steve? Apparently, he was a police detective for 27 years before retiring in 2009. He’s also a military veteran, serving as a paratrooper in the United States Army. These days, he works at a public affairs firm, according to ET Online. Maybe Vicki Gunvalson wanted to be on the right side of the law since Brooks Ayers was caught breaking the law when he faked his medical records.

But Gunvalson’s biggest critic is her daughter, Briana Culberson. Briana wanted nothing to do with Ayers and was very open and honest about that. But based on Gunvalson’s Instagram, it sounds like Briana is very supportive of her mother’s new boyfriend. Vicki posted a picture of herself with Steve, Briana, Ryan Culberson, and their children at a recent Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball game. And it sounds like they are all having fun and bonding over a ballgame. One can imagine that Briana wants to take her time and get to know Lodge since she’s been through hell with Ayers.

Last year, Brooks made headlines for faking medical documents that claimed he had cancer. He used the documents in a media interview to set the record straight about his health, but the plan failed completely when Reddit users found the forged document online. And Vicki Gunvalson started questioning whether he had completely lied to her about having cancer.

“I never want to see him or speak of his name again,” Gunvalson revealed to Andy Cohen last year, according to ET Online, adding, “I want him out of my life. My family is finally coming full circle.”

As for Briana, she was very vocal about her dislike for Ayers right from the beginning. She didn’t like him from the very beginning when he was texting and emailing Gunvalson while she was still married to Don. And since she works in the medical field, she had questions about his cancer story right from the start. Last year, Ayers spoke out against Vicki Gunvalson’s daughter, who claimed that he had hit on her while he was dating Vicki – and while Briana was very pregnant with her second child.

“It’s a typical Briana move, creating a ‘He said, She said’ scenario that once again puts her mother in the middle of a no-win situation,” Brooks told E! News last year, according to People. “I’m glad that I no longer have to deal with this unnecessary drama. I categorically deny having said anything like that to Briana.”

What do you think about Vicki Gunvalson moving on with a new man? Do you think she wanted her daughter’s approval with this new relationship?

[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images]