‘Real Housewives of Orange County’ adds a doctor: ‘I make women pretty for a living’ - OCRegister
Ask Dr. Jen Armstrong how she met the women of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," the reality show which she'll join this season, and she needs some clarification: personal or professional?
"I've known Braunwyn for quite a long time; our kids went to preschool together," she says of Braunwyn Windham-Burke, who left the show before the 16th season, which premieres on Bravo on Wednesday, Dec. 1.
"But I was just in contact with so many women through my practice, aesthetic medicine," Armstrong says of the medical field also known as cosmetic dermatology. "I make women pretty for a living.
"So I think that's how it all came about, like, I have treated a lot of the housewives. A lot of the cast members, current and past, have been patients of mine."
Let's note before the medical privacy advocates come knocking, Armstrong didn't name any names, though she doesn't need really need to, given that returning housewives Emily Simpson and Gina Kirschenheiter turn up in her office during the first episode.
Armstrong clarifies later in the call that she's only taking credit for the housewives with good results from cosmetic procedures such as Botox and fillers.
"I'm going to back up and say I've treated a lot of the natural, good-looking housewives," she says. "Not the overfilled cat Muppet housewives."
Um, cat Muppets?
"I just made that up," Armstrong says. "I had to accurately describe that filler in Orange County. I was like, 'What do they look like?' They kind of look like a mix between a cat and Muppet."
Armstrong, 44, isn't shy about her motivation to join the show: She likes being on TV, and she's comfortable in that milieu.
"I'm not really shy about being in front of people, so the TV was exciting," she says. "I'm always in front of a camera for a program or marketing.
"And I liked especially that this season, there was a reboot coming," she says, noting that three of last season's cast were not invited back, and two long-time members departed after the season before that.
"I'm pretty clear on who I am as a person," Armstrong says. "I'm like, 'I'm not going to be the person taking my clothes off on a stripper pole. So if that's what you want, don't pick me.'
"I think I'm entertaining enough."
But even more than the simple fun of joining the first in the "Real Housewives" franchise, Armstrong is clear about her other motive.
"I like that it's a great platform," she says. "We can talk about the latest things in medicine, we can talk about new treatments, we can help other people."
And, as luck would have it, she's got a new treatment she's more than happy to talk about, some kind of new magnetic brain treatment for which she's locked out all other competitors in Southern California, Armstrong says.
"I'm launching a new sector of my practice, too, 'Brain, Beauty, Body,' from the top down," she says, the idea being that "you see it on their faces" if a patient is struggling mentally.
"If one of my patients is anxiety-ridden and can't sleep through the night, then it doesn't matter how much Botox I put in because of the stress," Armstrong says.
Armstrong, who grew up in Laguna Beach, has three children — 9-year-old twins and an 8-year-old, too — with husband Ryne.
"We as a family weighed both sides, the good and the bad," she said of joining the show. "I thought it came down to a calculated risk. Essentially a gamble on yourself, right? So it's like you're taking a risk on yourself, and I don't particularly have anything to hide."
Meeting the other housewives was easy, she says.
"Remember that I'm around women all day," Armstrong says. "Women at their best, women at their worst. I'm definitely a girl's girl. I truly had a good time meeting everybody."
As for the experience as it unfolded over weeks and months of taping, there were occasional bumps, she admits. Her husband "is a straight man who's not super thrilled being on a reality show on Bravo," she notes. "He's also an introvert, so that doesn't help. But he did his very best showing up."
The hardest part, Armstrong says, was learning to relax and enjoy her time with the other women and their production crew shadows.
"In retrospect, toward the end of the season I was obviously much more relaxed in front of the camera," she says. "I wish I was like that the whole entire time.
"But you have to remember, I was the only cast member working full-time," Armstrong says. "So my responsibilities of supporting my family didn't go away.
"I think in retrospect I should have probably prepared for that better."
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