Heather Dubrow Shares How She and “RHOC” Costar Alexis Bellino Bonded Over Their Transgender Sons
"Having LGBTQIA+ kids definitely brought us closer," Dubrow said of Bellino
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Heather Dubrow (left) and Alexis BellinoReal Housewives of Orange County stars Heather Dubrow and Alexis Bellino are opening up about how they bonded off-camera over their transgender sons.
In an interview with E! News published on June 1 — the start of Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community — Dubrow, 55, spoke out about how she and Bellino, 47, found a special connection after Dubrow's 13-year-old son, Ace, and Bellino's 16-year-old son, Miles, came out as transgender.
Dubrow told the outlet that although she and her RHOC costar "have known each other for a very long time ... and didn't always see eye-to-eye," they found that "having LGBTQIA+ kids definitely brought us closer."
In March 2023, Dubrow shared that her youngest child had come out as transgender and had changed his name to Ace. At the time, she posted a picture on Instagram of a beach with "Ace" written in the sand, writing in the caption, "We love you, our youngest son, Ace ❤️."
Similarly, in October 2022, Bellino shared a post announcing Miles' transition and name, writing in the caption of their selfie together: "Hey world, this is Miles. My transgender son."
"He's now a month shy of 15 yrs old, so he's seen the questions and comments made about him on my IG. Miles now has a voice and has asked me to do this post," Bellino continued at the time, noting that she had stopped posting on social media "due to this transition in Miles' life, but he's now ready to 'come out' and to use this platform to stop any hate or questions."
Although Dubrow had been absent from Bravo for a while, she told E! News that she decided to return to RHOC in 2021 "because I thought, 'Hey, we've got this great platform, they're asking us to come back, wouldn't it be nice to show our very normal family and maybe start conversations in other people's families?' "
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Ace isn't the only one of Dubrow's four kids who is part of the LGBTQ+ community. Her eldest daughter, Max, 20, came out as bisexual in June 2020, and her 17-year-old daughter, Kat, came out as a lesbian in their family text message chain one year later. Dubrow is also mom to 20-year-old Nick, Max's twin brother, and she shares all of her kids with her longtime husband, plastic surgeon and Botched star Terry Dubrow.
Bellino, meanwhile, is also mom to 17-year-old James and 16-year-old Mackenna, Miles' twin, whom she shares with ex-husband Jim Bellino. The pair finalized their divorce in 2018.
Related: 'RHOC' Alum Alexis Bellino Introduces Transgender Son Miles: 'I'm Extremely Proud of Him'
Dubrow told E! News that having her daughter come out in the family group chat was "a beautiful thing."
"I came from a family that was very 1950s and no one ever talked about anything and everything was sort of brushed under the rug," she said. "And I knew that if I were lucky enough to have a family, I would be the opposite of that. So, I have to say I'm proud of them, I'm proud of me, I'm proud of us as a family for having the communication that we have."
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Dubrow added that she tries not to share too much information about her kids' lives with the public, noting: "I don't like to tell my children's stories for them."
"That's their journey and their stories to tell if they choose to do so," she explained. "But when other people, unfortunately, want to label your kids and tell their stories, sometimes you have to say something."
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