Orange County Housewife Gets Real-Life Death Threats

Mon., Mar. 30, 2009 3:05 PM PDT by Whitney English and Josh Grossberg

Real Housewives of Orange County, Vicki Gunvalson

Mitchell Haaseth/BRAVO

Believe it or not, the televised shenanigans in the O.C. are only the half of it.

Vicki Gunvalson, one of the stars of Bravo's Real Housewives of Orange County, has reported receiving a death threat from an obsessed female fan, officials confirm to E! News.

According to the reality maven, the caller apparently wants a little payback for something Gunvalson said to a castmate during one episode.

"Vicki did get a threatening call from a fan who was watching the show and she didn't like something Vicki said to [costar] Jeana Keough. Jeana also got an email at home containing a direct threat to Vicki," confirmed Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

Whoever sent the missives, he said, was "taking the show way too seriously."

Amormino noted the email alluded to potential acts of violence being committed against the 45-year-old Gunvalson by saying something along the lines of "I'll take care of Vicki," prompting police to launch an immediate investigation.

"It is a criminal threat and we are pursuing it aggressively," Amormino said.

The O.C. mama ran a successful insurance and financial services agency before she was plucked from obscurity as one of the Housewives on the original hit cable series, which is now in its fifth season and has spawned several spinoffs.