And here I thought the "Brooks might be faking cancer" story line from The Real Housewives of Orange County would go away. In an exclusive statement published by E! News on Wednesday, Brooks Ayers admitted to faking medical documents. However, Ayers does not clearly state whether he is referring only to the documents he showed Tamra Judge on the show, or also to the documents he presented during an E! News interview that he claimed were from City of Hope medical center.
Bustle reached out to Ayers' rep, Monica Barkett, for clarification. She says she is no longer working with him and explains,
He made the statement to E! against my recommendation, so I am no longer working with him. But to clarify, he’s never showed [sic] any real documents...
Bustle has reached out to Ayers for comment on Barkett's claim, but has not yet heard back.
With that said, Ayers is still sticking by his claim that he has cancer. He said in his statement to E!,
Words cannot express the deep regret that I have in fabricating documents to "prove" to the world that I, in fact, have cancer. What I did was wrong and inexcusable. I acted alone, without Vicki [Gunvalson]'s knowledge, to produce documents for a reality TV show in hopes of putting doubts about my cancer to rest. I never intended to disclose my actual medical records or details about my private and personal medical history, thus the rationalization of presenting documents that weren't true simply for a "storyline" for the show.
E! News reported on Tuesday that a rep for City of Hope, a medical center where Ayers claimed to be treated, alleged that they never treated him nor "anyone by the name of 'David Brooks Ayers.'"
Ayers' statement to E! concludes,
From this day forward, my own personal journey with this disease will remain private as I initially intended over a year ago. My sincerest apologies to my family, friends, loved ones, and those who are battling this horrid disease for any additional pain and/or stress that I have caused. As [University of Louisville basketball coach] Rick Pitino once said, "Mistakes can be good. They are fertilizer. Everything I've learned about coaching [life], I've learned from making mistakes." I made a mistake yet I have learned a huge lesson as well.
Despite choosing to remain private in the future about his life and cancer diagnosis, a sit-down interview Ayers previously filmed with Andy Cohen is scheduled to air Thursday, Nov. 12 at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
