EXCLUSIVE: RHOC alum and vaccine skeptic Vicki Gunvalson tests positive for Covid-19 but says she's just battling an 'unknown cold' as she admits it 'broke her heart' to learn her son got vaccinated

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Real Housewives of Orange County alum and vaccine skeptic Vicki Gunvalson has contracted Covid-19, a source close to her told DailyMail.com - but the reality star says it's just an 'unknown cold.'

Gunvalson, 59, refused to confirm whether she had tested positive for the virus, adding that she has not been vaccinated due to a 'health exemption'.

'You're not writing a story about an unknown cold I have,' the reality star said with a croaky voice when reached by phone by DailyMail.com.

'My medical information is not public,' she added. 'Whatever happened to privacy? Do you want your medical records all over the internet?'

'I have underlying issues, I cannot get the vaccine. I've got blood clots, I have a health exemption.'

RHOC alum Vicki Gunvalson has tested positive for Covid-19, a close source told DailyMail.com. The reality star, however, refused to confirm whether she contracted the virus and claimed in a croaky voice that she was battling an 'unknown cold'

The 59-year-old revealed she is not vaccinated due to a 'health exemption' but admitted it 'broke her heart' to learn her son Mike Wolfsmith (pictured) received the Covid-19 shot 

The Covid-19 vaccine has been a contentious issue in Gunvalson's family.

Earlier this month, her fiancé Steve Lodge, who is running for governor of California, posted an angry video on social media after Real Housewives co-star Lisa Vanderpump announced her TomTom restaurant and bar in West Hollywood will require proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test for entry.

'Whatever happened to the right of privacy of your health records?' Lodge asked in a video posted August 3.

'I guess someone forgot to tell them that vaccinated people can also spread and get COVID.'

Meanwhile, Gunvalson's son from her first marriage, Mike Wolfsmith, revealed in an August 10 Instagram post that he got vaccinated - much to his mother's chagrin.    

'What does your mom think about you getting the vaccine? I've heard she's an anti-vaxxer,' one follower wrote on Instagram, commenting on a picture of Mike getting the shot while wearing a mask.

Wolfsmith, Gunvalson's son with ex-husband Michael J Wolfsmith, caused a stir on social media earlier in August after taking the opposite stance of his mother and revealing he's been vaccinated 

The post was quickly flooded with comments from followers asking Wolfsmith if his mother supported his decision

Replying to one user, Wolfsmith said his decision to get vaccinated broke his mother's heart

'She said 'it broke her heart' lol,' Mike, 35, replied. 'She has terrible sources of information. Guns, American flags, and invisible sky fairies – the All-American trifecta!'

Replying to another commenter, the 35-year-old said he got the shot 'because I'm gonna be travelling around and don't want to be restricted. I almost rode it out! The MAGA Variant ruined it all!'

Gunvalson told DailyMail.com that her son was telling the truth about her reaction.

'He's very liberal, my son is. I'm not,' she said.

'It did [break my heart he got the vaccine], because of all the people that are getting sick. It did break my heart.

'He already had Covid. It doesn't work.'

Mike declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.

In July, the RHOC star traveled to Hawaii to visit her son, who has spent the last nine months there and recently decided to settle permanently in the Aloha State.

Earlier in August, Gunvalson's fiancé Steve Lodge (left) who is running for governor of California, took aim at Real Housewife Lisa Vanderpump after she announced her TomTom restaurant and bar in West Hollywood will require proof of vaccination or a negative test for entry

Steve Lodge criticized vaccine mandates saying: 'This is a very slippery slope and we need to stop and use reason and logic, not fear and hysteria'

The insurance industry professional posted pictures on Instagram of the two of them on a beach on July 3 with the caption 'Wore a collared shirt 2 nights in a row for my mom.' 

She also commented 'Date night with my son,' with a heart and fire emoji.

Gunvalson refused to comment on her fiancé's long-shot gubernatorial campaign, saying her health choices had nothing to do with Lodge's political positions.

'His campaign is separate from my health. Steve's health and Steve's viewpoints have nothing to do with me, so we're not going there,' she said.

'His decisions on what he wants to do have nothing to do with me. He's running for governor and he has a really good chance of winning, but that has nothing to do with my viewpoints.'

Gunvalson, who had starred on RHOC for 14 seasons, announced last January that she was leaving the show 

In his post about Vanderpump's restaurant vaccine pass, Lodge wrote: 'Restaurants that are requiring vaccinations and testing are violating the medical privacy of their customers. I don't see Restaurant's requiring disclosure of any of the more dangerous contagious viruses.

'A vaccination also doesn't mean you can't contract or spread the virus, so what's the point? Is this just theatre? It's certainly not science. 

'I suppose you can say, her restaurant her choice. But where does this discrimination stop against a virus with 99.8 percent survival rate? This is a very slippery slope and we need to stop and use reason and logic, not fear and hysteria.' 

Lodge is running in the September 14 recall election in California. If Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom fails to get at least 50 percent of votes cast, a total of 46 candidates will be on the ballot to replace him. 

Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, a Republican, is considered favorite to win in the event of Newsom's recall.