She's Moved on from 'RHOC,' But She Left Her Mark

After nine seasons and over eight years of Real Housewives of Orange County , the collection of former Housewives is ever-growing. And some, like Lauri Waring Peterson, helped create the Housewives stereotypes we now associate with the show, like backstabbing, gossiping, and working for a fellow Housewife (who could forget the time she spent at Vicki Gunvalson's company?).

She provided most of the edginess from those first few seasons, from her "outside the gates" point of view to being the first Housewife to date Slade Smiley after his split from Jo De La Rosa. And while she left the show back in 2009, she still remains connected to it five years later. I mean, her Twitter handle is still @LaurifromRHOC. And her appearance last season proves that she still has what it takes to get under Vicki's skin. But for the most part, Lauri seems satisfied with being Lauri Peterson, wife, mom, and former insurance saleswoman.

When Lauri left the show in Season 4, she was replaced by Alexis Bellino and the emergence of Tamra Barney, who handily brought the drama to television. But Lauri had plenty of drama to replace Bravo in her home life. Her son, Josh, began struggling with drugs and was busted for stealing a Cadillac. Her husband, George, received a restraining order from his ex-wife, Gina, and battled with her over custody of their four children.

Despite the crazy rumors surrounding the family after such tumultuous times, Lauri's six other kids all seem to be doing significantly better. Her biological daughter, Ashley, is working for George, and the rest of the Peterson kids are doing well, too. One stepdaughter, Bria, just graduated from high school, and another, Sophie just won first place in a dressage competition.

Once her domestic drama started to settle down, Lauri came back to Real Housewives of Orange County, as a recurring "friend of" in Season 8. Longtime fans of the show were excited, but those who knew her well treated the return with some suspicion. Tamra, for one, confidently claims Lauri came back to start fights hoping to get rehired. If that was her gambit, it didn't really work, but she certainly made a splash when she accused Vicki of having threesomes.

While that appearance wasn't quite enough to convince the Bravo producers to bring her back full time, Lauri seems to have let it go. She doesn't comment on the current season of RHOC online or throw shade at any of the current Housewives, but she certainly loves interacting with her fans and still has plenty of them. Once a Housewife, always a Housewife.

Images: Lauri Peterson/Instagram; Giphy