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Season 19 of The Real Housewives of Orange County has been a dramatic ride for the cast and the fans alike. Notably, things became so tense midway through filming that Tamra Judge briefly quit and contemplated making her decision permanent. Now, she’s opening up about the mental breakdown that led to her walking off the show, as well as what went down after.
As fans know, this occurred as the ladies were on a cast trip in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tamra has stated that part of the reason for her emotional state at the time was Teddi Mellencamp‘s ongoing health issues.
Tamra was recently on an episode of SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live where she discussed her emotional state while filming the show. Jeff began the conversation by listing all the things Tama has going on in her life, including regular hospital visits to see Teddi and her business with her husband, among other things.
Tamra said, “It was a lot. I was like literally having a mental breakdown. I wasn’t eating. I wasn’t sleeping by the end of the season. I ended up weighing 108 pounds. My skin was just literally falling off of me. And I was just so sad. I was sad. You know, when somebody close to you is diagnosed with what Teddi was diagnosed with, the unknown is horrible.”
Jeff then questioned why she wouldn’t take a step back from the show and perhaps speak to the producers. Tamra responded, “Because I am a, when I have a job, I do it. I am committed to every job I have. If it’s a podcast, if it’s me working at Burger King when I’m 16 years old, I am committed. I’m a hard worker.”
She continued, “So I thought, like, you know what, I can get through this. We had already been filming a couple weeks when I started, when Teddi got diagnosed. And that just really put like, you know, [a] nail through my heart, and I was just so devastated, and on top of everything else, you know, it was definitely difficult. And I got to a point where I was overworked, I was depressed.”
Tama added, “Yeah. I took a week off from the show. You know, you guys all saw how that happened. I talked to my therapist when I got home. I also talked to the show psychiatrist. So with the show psychiatrist, I had to do like a 500-question survey. Then she evaluated me, and she’s like, ‘You’re severely depressed. You have self-worth problems.’”
One of the co-hosts asked Tamra about the psychiatrist and the extent to which they work with the cast on these shows. Tama said, “Yeah. The psychiatrist calls us when the show starts, and we have to take a phone call from her, and she’s like, you know, “Just want to do a check-in. How you doing? How you feeling? That’s it. I’m here if you need me.” She added that this was something the network and production company recently started.
Elsewhere in the interview, the RHOC star also discussed the situation with Gretchen Rossi allegedly telling Katie Ginella that she had drugged her. Tamra started, “Like, actually what you guys didn’t see is after that whole Gretchen exposing, like she did go to the hospital.”
Tamra continued, “Let me tell you what truly happened. Okay, so we’re sitting, the three of us are sitting out there. This is when Gretchen says to Shannon, ‘Well, you know a DUI is illegal too.’ You remember that scene? Well, I asked Gretchen point-blank, I said, ‘Did you go to the hospital?’ And she goes, ‘Yes.’ And I go, ‘Why?’ And she goes, ‘Because I didn’t feel well.’ And I’m like, ‘You spent the night at my house that night.’”
Tamra then said, “But this is at the park, when I initially brought it up, they didn’t show it. They show later, a second time, she says that she went to the hospital in the car. And now I hear she went on McDonald’s podcast and said, ‘I misspoke.’ Shen went on to accuse Gretchen of trying to cover up having told Katie the story about the “naked wasted” night.
From there, Tamra brought up the conversations between Gretchen and Katie’s husbands. She said, “And then there’s like conversations that were going on, text messages between Matt and Slade. Slade freaked out. ‘911. 911. You have to call me. You have to call me.’ Gets on the phone. They have a conversation. And yeah, there are more text messages that I hope are gonna be shown on the show.”
They went on to discuss how Katie said she called “another journalist to confirm,” and they revealed that it was Dave Quin. Tamra continued, “Gretchen’s announced. Jacques from the Daily Mail, who I’ve known for years. He’s like, ‘Can you call me?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure, send me your number.’”
She went on, “Call him. I’m like, ‘Do I wanna know what’s going on?’ He’s like, ‘I just wanna let you know that Kiki and Katie went to lunch after the reunion. And this is what was said. And I want you to know this because Gretchen’s coming back, and maybe she’s gonna hit you with this.’”
Tamra added, “And I go, ‘Okay, thanks.’ I’ve known all these crazy stories she said about me. So I didn’t really think that much about it. I’m like, whatever. What a douche. And then Dave Quinn went to dinner or lunch with Kiki. And I had told nobody this information. And Dave Quinn called me and said, ‘I gotta tell you something. This is like bad.’”
She continued recounting, “And I go, ‘ I’ve already heard it.’ So after I heard the second time, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is getting around.’ So I was like keeping it in my back pocket, and Gretchen and I were getting to a point where we were, you know, being around each other, and everything was fine. So then I asked her, I wanted to see her look her in the face and say, ‘Did you say this?’
In the end, Tamra says, “I think we might get there,” when Jeff asks why Katie won’t simply confront Gretchen. RHOC airs on Bravo on Thursday nights.
