“What bothers me too is that in my past with Tamra, there would be inconsistent stories about me that had maybe a nugget of truth, but there was embellishment around it [and] I would just say nothing in deference to the friendship,” Shannon explained. “I feel as though she said things to make it appear as though [she was concerned about me]. I think she said, ‘I said things she didn’t want to hear.’ OK, I heard things that you said and I took them into account, and I did what I felt was best for me and I know that that was a good choice because I know how I feel right now.”

In addition to the untrue claims Tamra reportedly made against Shannon, Shannon said her “big ego” and friendship with Alexis, who is dating her ex-boyfriend, John Janssen, 60, were a factor in the end of their friendship.

“I said that she had a big ego, which got back to her, and yes, she does. And I’ve said, ‘Well, you do. Yeah, and?’” Shannon wondered. “I was upset with her when John first met Alexis that she was commenting on Alexis’ photos. It’s like, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’ And so now they’re big buddies. None of it makes sense except that maybe it’s just a little bit of overproduction and too much story-focused.”

As for her friendship with Vicki Gunvalson, 62, Shannon confirmed they are still close — and feeling similarly about their former amiga.

“She feels a lot of the same things that I feel,” Shannon said of Vicki.

Although Tamra quit their live shows, Shannon said she and Vicki were “having so much fun” touring.

“I’m single, I don’t have anyone at home. So, we’re traveling the country with the ‘Shannon and Vicky Show,’” she explained. “It’s a show about friendship, [and] it’s silly fun. I’m enjoying it because [I’m] performing in front of people that are there to see you because they want to, and there’s no drama. It’s just love.”

During another interview, Shannon admitted that she didn’t remember taking a selfie after her DUI and hit-and-run accident in September 2023 — and was “shocked” when she came across the image.

“That was really traumatic for me,” she revealed to PEOPLE on July 19. “As you can see, I was injured pretty badly and when I looked at it, it almost felt like I was looking at someone who wasn’t me … I didn’t want to see myself that way, and I didn’t want anyone else to see me that way either. I honestly thought I’d never show it to anyone.”

But she did. In fact, she showed it to Heather Dubrow, 55, amid production on season 18.

“It was a big step for me to take that,” she explained. “When someone Googles my name probably for the rest of my life, that’s what they’ll see: my face, covered in blood, from the night that easily marked the lowest point of my entire life. But I wanted to be able to speak of everything that happened.”

“I’m not asking for sympathy, and I’m not saying, ‘Oh, feel sorry for me, look at that blood.’ I’m not,” she continued. “But I think when you see that picture, you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, this was bad.’ And showing it was the only way anyone would understand that.”

After being sentenced to three years of probation, 40 hours of community service, and an alcohol class, Shannon said that when it comes to her DUI, she’s just glad she didn’t injure anyone but herself.

“I deserved to get hurt,” she stated. “I made a very stupid choice. I could have killed someone. And part of my therapy has been trying to move past that guilt and shame. You say to yourself, ‘I could have killed someone… but I didn’t.’ So I don’t want it to appear that I’m taking any of this lightly, because there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. But I didn’t hurt someone, and I’m grateful for that.”

“Does this act define my life? It defines a part of it,” Shannon added. “And it’s going to define a new chapter: the beginning of a new chapter in my life.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County season18 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.