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Credit: Bravo

Tamra Judge and Eddie Judge opened up about the ups and downs in their marriage during an appearance on Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes‘ podcast on Tuesday, with Tamra admitting she once thought their relationship was over.

As Eddie, 51, confessed to making threats about leaving in the past, the 56-year-old Real Housewives of Orange County looked back on the moment she thought they were done for good as the couple also shared their one deal-breaker and the secret to their relationship success.

“I think in the very beginning, the first year that we were together. It was just so stressful and overwhelming. My ex was riding me hard… It was such a stressful time for us,” Tamra recalled on the February 4 episode of the Amy & T.J. podcast, via Bravo’s The Daily Dish.

Tamra was previously married to Simon Barney, 60, the father of her three youngest children, Sidney Barney, Spencer Barney, and Sophia Barney, from 1998 to 2011, and to Darren Vieth, the father of her oldest son, Ryan Vieth, before that.

“I remember one time you took off, you just left in the middle of a fight. [He] wouldn’t pick up his phone, wouldn’t return a text message, and was gone for several hours. I’m like, ‘Well, this is it. This is it,’” she continued.

But ultimately, Eddie returned.

“He just needs time to vent and I wasn’t used to that,” Tamra explained. “He just needs to go and blow some steam and then, you know, come back… Then he just kind of acts like everything’s fine, like that never happened.”

According to Eddie, he has threatened to vacate his marriage, but the RHOC cast member has always been able to pull him back in and remind him that relationships take work.

“In the beginning, when we would have big fights, I would say, ‘I’m out. I’m done. I don’t want to be in this relationship.’ And she would always pull me back and kind of teach me, ‘No, this is not how it works. This is marriage, we work through it,’” he shared. “And prior to my wife, particularly growing up, I had very little tolerance for relationship issues. If something happened, I would just walk away… She’s changed that for me and I see the beauty in that.”

Although Tamra and Eddie, who wed in 2013, are committed to working through the issues that arise, they do have one deal breaker.

“Cheating. Infidelity,” Eddie revealed. “She can crash the car, she can burn the house down—”

“Chase you with a knife,” Tamra interjected. “I’m kidding. No, it’s definitely cheating. You know, we’re so connected, and if he ever cheated, I feel like I would never be able to get over it — ever.”

As for their marriage secret, the couple signaled “respect” and keeping things fresh.

“Even if they’re small, like going to a new restaurant, going to a new vacation spot,” Eddie shared. “For the last three years, for example, we started riding Harleys together… We used to travel to new places a lot before COVID. It’s just trying new things. She’s so full of life and adventure.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County season 19 is currently in production and expected to begin airing on Bravo sometime later this year.