Gretchen Rossi is still struggling to make sense of allegations about her social media activity that came to light on The Real Housewives of Orange County‘s supersized Season 19 finale.
During the cast’s final dinner in Amsterdam, Gina Kirschenheiter confronted Gretchen for allegedly liking several posts that Tamra Judge had shown her which she described as being “very disparaging to the LGBTQ+ community.” Gretchen, for her part, insisted that she would “never do that” intentionally and guessed that she was probably just “scrolling quickly and liking things” without “paying enough attention” to the actual content.
On The Real Housewives of Orange County After Show, Gretchen doubled down on her denial — while also defending her initial lack of reaction to Gina bringing up the accusation.
“I was so confused because, in my heart, I’m like, ‘There’s no way I would’ve liked a post like that,'” Gretchen said in the above clip. “What am I supposed to say to this? I know fundamentally in my heart what I feel and how I believe, so… But it’s like, how are you supposed to defend that in that moment?”
She continued, “I was legitimately in shock and confused. And then it just got weirder and weirder and weirder.”
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Why Gretchen Rossi suspected Tamra Judge was behind the social media allegations
Elsewhere on the RHOC After Show, Gretchen further theorized that Tamra must have orchestrated the controversy, even despite them temporarily calling a truce (again) in Amsterdam.
First of all, Tamra revealed that she’d known about the posts in question for roughly an entire year, yet nothing had been widely reported.
“You’re gonna tell me that these things have been out on the internet and I’ve been out liking all this stuff… and nothing has ever been picked up by the media?” Gretchen questioned. “It’s nowhere but on this one Twitter feed that Tamra is the only person that happens to be following that account.”
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Though Gina and Emily Simpson said during RHOC‘s Oct. 30 episode that they verified that Gretchen was, indeed, following the accounts behind the alleged posts, they could not locate “actual proof” of her “likes” that appeared in the year-plus-old screenshots Tamra shared.
“Gina and Emily were so angry because they had stayed up all night looking for that post, and they couldn’t find it,” Gretchen elaborated on the After Show. “And then I went and looked for the post; I could not find it.”
Tamra, for her part, said on the RHOC After Show that she knew early on that Gretchen would attempt to turn the situation around on her. As she put it, “I’m already expecting, ‘Oh, you did this! You made this up!’ I’m like, ‘No, I wouldn’t have made something up like that at all.'”
How Gretchen Rossi reacted to the social media controversy on RHOC
As seen on Episode 17, Gretchen repeatedly insisted to the women that she did not “have any issue with the LGBTQ community,” nor did the post’s “hate rhetoric” reflect her actual views.
“That’s just not true at all. I mean, it’s ridiculous,” Gretchen added in a confessional. “All I know is that I’m seeing a screenshot of something I supposedly liked that I’ve never seen in my life. I’m completely blindsided with this information that is not my truth. I don’t have the answers for you right now because this is not who I am.”
She made a particular effort to defend herself to an emotional Heather Dubrow, insisting that she loves her children, has many friends in the LGBTQ+ communities, and has “never been judgmental” about “any way that somebody chooses to live their life.”
“I would never intentionally like hate rhetoric, so something is fishy here,” Gretchen further told a producer. “Something is not matching up.”
After calling “life partner” Slade Smiley for support at the restaurant, she eventually broke down in tears when the woman suggested she ride in her own separate vehicle back to their hotel, post-dinner.
“I don’t even know where this is coming from; I’ve never even seen this,” Gretchen tearfully claimed to the women. “You guys are making me out to be somebody I’m not.”
Now that the finale has aired, get a sneak peek at Gretchen confronting Tamra at the RHOC Season 19 reunion.
