“Real Housewives of Orange County” alum Heather Dubrow insisted during a Thursday podcast episode that she didn’t mention her transgender-identifying child on Instagram as an attempt to stay “relevant.”
The 54-year-old reality star sparked controversy when she posted on Instagram March 4 in celebration of International Sons Day.
“It’s International sons day! We love you, our youngest son, Ace,” Dubrow wrote in the caption.
“Our job as parents is to give our kids a safe and supportive environment so they can grow up as healthy, happy, confident, independent humans. Since Ace is a 12 year old child, with a long life ahead of him – we will let him tell his own story someday if he chooses to do so. All we can say is Ace, we love you so much and we are proud to be your parents. Your brother and sisters love and support you too,” the caption continued.
Twelve-year-old Ace is a biological female who up until recently was known by the name Collette.
Dubrow said she’s been “very emotional” dealing with the fallout of that post. She explained her feelings during Thursday’s episode of her podcast, “Let’s Talk With Heather Dubrow.”
“I saw [people commenting that] talking about my son was [a way] to remain relevant or to create a storyline on a television show,” the “Real Housewives” star said. “Neither of these things are true. They are the farthest thing from the truth.”
Dubrow went on to said she would never “leverage” her children for “content.” She claimed her social media post was done simply to “acknowledge who our incredible son is.”
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“I have four kids, and they are incredible and they’re mine,” Dubrow continued. “I know my greatest role is being a mother – I know it… I take my kids and all of your kids to my heart always, every day, and I know that I was given these four kids for a reason. And not only will I protect them and fight for their safety and their rights and their freedom, but I promise I’m going to help you protect yours too.”
“We’ve got four kids, they are different genders, different sexualities, and all at interesting places in their lives, figuring out who they are and where they belong as humans,” Dubrow said in February 2022, per People.
Followers pointed out how surprising it was for so much LGBTQ representation to be in one family. Dubrow’s oldest daughter Max came out as bisexual in June 2020 and daughter Kat announced she was a lesbian one year later.