"Real Housewives of Orange County" star Heather Dubrow rebuffed critics who accused her of using her 12-year-old son's transition for her personal gain.
Dubrow recently revealed that her son Ace, whom she shares with husband Terry Dubrow, had come out as transgender. Since then, some have questioned her decision to make the announcement.
"I saw [people commenting that] talking about my son was [a way] to remain relevant or to create a story line on a show," Dubrow said Thursday during an episode of her "Let's Talk With Heather Dubrow" podcast, according to Us Weekly. "Neither of these things are true. They are the farthest thing from the truth."
Heather spoke about her son's transition in an Instagram post on March 4.
"It's International sons day! We love you, our youngest son, Ace," she wrote.
"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," she added. "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.' "
During her podcast, Dubrow shared why she chose to go public with the information, saying that it was "really all about protecting my kids … physically and emotionally."
"It became apparent we needed to say something," she said. "What our goal was is to acknowledge who our incredible son is and show how much we love and support our child."
Heather and Terry Dubrow have some experience being parents to members of the LGBTQ+ community. They share twins Nick and Max, 19, and daughter Kat, 16. Max came out as bisexual in June 2020, and Kat revealed she was lesbian in February 2022.
Last year Heather Dubrow wrote via her Instagram Stories about how important it was to "provide an environment of unconditional love and acceptance for our children and let them know that humans come in all different colors, genders, sexualities."
"Once we start appreciating this and practicing inclusion, love and acceptance, the better off we will all be," she added.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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