Even though reports warned of it as far back as January, some fans are still in shock over Vicki Gunvalson's demotion.

The OG of the OC is just a "Friend" on Season 14 of The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Now, she's admitting on social media that even she doesn't know why she lost her orange.

Through thick and thin, Vicki has been active on Instagram this year.

A lot of that time has been spent shooting down rumors -- even rumors that ultimately turned out to be true.

Fans know that Instagram is a place where they can, on occassion, reach her and even elicit a response.

With the news of her demotion, some aren't sure what to think about the show or its future.

"Why were you demoted?" asked one fan who continues to struggle with this major shake-up.

The follower confessed: "I don't understand."

"I don't really know," Vicki admitted in her reply.

That must be a haunting feeling for one of the most famous faces in an entire franchise.

She then speculated: "I think they wanted to change it up."

Perhaps.

It has also been suggested that it was as serious as a punishment for Vicki's habit of spreading malicious rumors that were too much for Bravo.

Other reports have said that it was, much more simply, Vicki's apparent lack of a storyline.

Admitting that she can't explain her demotion is not all that Vicki has had to say recently on social media.

Last week, reports circulated that Vicki would rather quit than go another season as a "Friend" of the Housewives.

That's no real surprise -- many find a demotion like that humiliating.

Famously, NeNe Leakes quit rather than be demoted. When ratings tanked, Bravo welcomed her back with a massive pay raise.

Many had hoped that Vicki would try something similar.

But Vicki says that the story that she'd rather quit than be a "Friend" for another season is nothing but a load of hooplah.

"None of this is true!!" Vicki declared when she saw the original report by RadarOnline.

She then asked: "Where do you get your information from???"

"It's all incorrect," Vicki clarified.

We somehow suspect that the folks over at RadarOnline won't lose any sleep over this, but it's great that Vicki let her fans know.

Vicki continued her negotiations with Bravo early this year, missing the first couple of weeks of filming.

Eventually, she reached some sort of agreement, but nothing was ever officially confirmed.

It was said at one point that she would get engaged to and marry Steve Lodge in an effort to save her job.

Sure enough, early this spring, Steve proposed to Vicki.

She shared the happy news on Instagram, and her fans breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that this would give her enough of a storyline to remain a Full Housewife.

Plus, you know, they were just happy for her.

The reality is that producers and network folks have a lot to weigh when it comes to deciding on casting.

Who joins the cast? Who leaves? Who becomes a Full Housewife, who stays one, and who gets demoted to Friend status?

These are all based upon ratings and production expenses and various complications. It sounds like a real headache.

The advantage of a long-running, successful series is that, as Vicki says, sometimes they may just want to "change it up."

If the change doesn't go over well with the audience, they can change it right back.