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Gretchen Rossi and her long-time fiancé, Slade Smiley, are making a return to the reality TV show, The Real Housewives of Orange County. In the upcoming Season 19, Gretchen will be featured as a friend, and both she and Slade are bringing some new energy to the show.
Their storyline will involve a reunion with their old frenemy, Tamra Judge, on the upcoming season of RHOC, premiering on Thursday, July 10. A sneak peek from the trailer shows Slade referring to Tamra as “Captain Evil”, hinting at potential dramatic confrontations throughout the season.
In the Season 19 trailer, viewers also witness a heated exchange between Gretchen and Tamra. Tamra accuses Gretchen of coming after her for 12 years, to which Gretchen responds by highlighting the differences in their perspectives on the situation.
(Check out the trailer at the top of the post to see more of their drama.)
Details on Slade Smiley and Tamra Judge’s feud
Tamra and Slade’s history goes back to Tamra’s tense relationship with Gretchen, as they experienced their differences when Gretchen joined the cast of RHOC Season 4. Both Tamra and Slade have exchanged words throughout the years in various comments.
In a 2011 interview with E! Online (per TODAY), Slade responded to rumors that Tamra had allegedly been spreading about him. “I can let everything Tamra says roll off my back for the most part, because she doesn’t have the credibility,” he said at the time.
Tamra Judge opens up about her relationship with Gretchen Rossi
During a July 2024 episode of her podcast, Two T’s in a Pod, Tamra said that she wouldn’t mind being “stuck on an island” with Gretchen. “I just feel like I have not seen her in 11 years or something like that, and she had a lot to say when she left and I’d like to confront her,” she said at the time.
She even admitted to them possibly reconciling. “I forgive very easily,” she said. “Just move on.”
When it was announced that Gretchen would be back to hang with the RHOC group in the new season, back in January, Tamra shared her take on it on Instagram. “I guess it’s time to dust off those friendship bracelets… my bestie’s back,” she captioned the post earlier this year.
What’s in store for Gretchen Rossi’s friendships on RHOC Season 19?
Per her cast bio for the season: “After a 12-year hiatus, Gretchen Rossi makes her return to the group through new friends, Jennifer and Katie, but she finds herself stuck dealing with the same old issues with Tamra. Their problems get amplified when a new story from an unlikely source causes a chain reaction forever shifting the dynamics of the friend group.”
See how the RHOC cast reacted to Gretchen joining them as a friend for Season 19.
