EXCLUSIVE: 'RHOC' Star Kelly Dodd Sets the Record Straight on Her Marriage: 'I Don't Want to Get Divorced'

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Kelly Dodd doesn’t plan to fall victim to the so-called Housewives marriage curse.

The newest Real Housewives of Orange County star’s relationship with her husband of more than 10 years, Michael Dodd, came into question after Kelly revealed on the show that they had actually been separated and pursued a divorce a few years back.

“So, my husband … I met him in 2004,” Kelly tells ET. “We got married, had a baby in 2006. I was married to him for a while, [then we] moved to San Francisco. I didn't like San Francisco. We had problems in the marriage. So, I got a job working at the Orange County Register in Orange County. He let me move … and then Michael was going back and forth.”


WATCH: Tamra Judge ‘Surprised Somebody Wasn’t Arrested’ After Fight With Kelly Dodd

Kelly says that back and forth put extra strain on their marriage, and the couple grew apart.

“I filed for a legal separation, and met another guy,” Kelly recalls. “[We] got engaged, I filed for divorce, and then me and the other guy didn't work out. I went back to my husband, stayed with my husband. This was three years ago … everything's back on track.”

Kelly told her co-stars that she didn’t like Michael’s “control freak” nature, and compared him to Adolf Hitler at the peak of their problems. That comparison shot up red flags for Heather Dubrow, who previously told ET she wouldn’t be surprised if Kelly and Michael got divorced today.

“A lot of people feel like some women come on the show because they know their marriage is in trouble,” Heather pointed out. “They're looking for a way out, or looking for something for themselves.”

But Kelly promises that she and Michael are in a much better place than they were about five years ago.

“We forgive each other,” Kelly says. “We have a pretty good marriage now. I mean, we have ups and downs, like everybody … we try to deal with our problems head on. We're still together. We're happy. I mean, as happy as I can be. I mean, there's days where I want to kill him, or wish he'd die. Just kidding, no!”


WATCH: Shannon Beador Reacts to Kelly Dodd’s ‘Vicious Attack’

“We've both gotten older, wiser, a little bit more patient with each other,” she explains. “He realized it's cheaper to keep her and and I realize, you know, if you're with one a**hole, you might as well be with your a**hole husband with a kid.”

Still, not all of Kelly’s Housewives co-stars seem to buy that her marriage is stable. Shannon Beador asked Kelly if she loved her husband, but all Kelly said on camera was “He's a really nice person, you know what I mean?”

“I did say, ‘Yes,’” Kelly reveals. “But they didn’t show it … I do love my husband. Of course! I had a kid with him. I planned it.”

Today, Kelly says she and Michael couldn’t be further from divorce.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the future, but what I do want people to know is, it takes work,” she shares. “Relationships take work. I don’t want to get divorced.”


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Kelly notes it’s easier to stick with Michael, too. That way they don’t have to divide assets, split custody of their daughter and deal with new men and women coming in and out of their family.

“I just hope for the best,” Kelly says. “I hope that we stay together. I don’t want to get divorced. He doesn’t want to get divorced.”

Keep tabs on where Kelly’s life goes every Monday night at 9 p.m. ET when The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Bravo. In the meantime, check out what Vicki Gunvalson had to say about her newest co-star in the video below.