Gretchen Rossi Speaks Out on Slade Smiley Criticism: Exclusive

At first, Gretchen Rossi was “mad” that Slade Smiley stirred up new drama with Tamra Judge on The Real Housewives of Orange County, but now, hindsight has changed her perspective on the matter.

On The Real Housewives of Orange County After Show for Season 19, Episode 12, Gretchen even went so far as to defend Slade from criticism, after he made a FaceTime cameo at Heather Dubrow’s Los Angeles sleepover and dropped bombshell allegations about Tamra allegedly having an “affair” with a musician she recorded a song with well over a decade ago.

“I was just like, ‘Oh, for the love of God. Like, did you have to, like, go into all of that?’ Gretchen began. 

As she saw it, though, yes, Slade went too far, since she only wanted him to play Tamra’s song for some “silly” slumber party entertainment. However, “in fairness to Slade,” the only reason he was on the phone in the first place was because Heather and Emily Simpson peer pressured her into calling him.

RELATED: Slade Smiley Speaks Out About Tamra in Rare Confessional: “Interested in Telling the Truth”

“Slade gets involved when he’s asked to get involved,” Gretchen explained in the above clip. “So, when the girls are begging and saying, ‘Call Slade, call Slade, call Slade,’ and then, finally, they call Slade, he’s involved. I mean, it’s not brain surgery.”

She continued, “I feel bad for him… Like, I was mad at him, and he was like, ‘Babe, I was just trying to say, like, ‘Are you referencing this time?'”

Gretchen Rossi defends bringing up Tamra Judge’s song after Slade drama

As for her role in even mentioning Tamra’s singing in the first place, Gretchen referenced her frenemy’s past comments to the press in which she apparently criticized Housewives who dabble in music careers: “And so, it’s just always made me kinda giggle, because I’ve always known about this, like, song that she went into the studio and tried to sing herself where she sounded like a drowned rat.”

Gretchen further insisted, “Like, if Tamra wants to go have a thing with a boy band guy, I don’t care. It doesn’t affect my life. I really don’t care. I wasn’t trying to, like, out her on something.”

RELATED: Gretchen Rossi Sounds Off After Being Confronted Over Slade’s Finances (EXCLUSIVE)

However, alarm bells went off for her at the “super fun and silly” sleepover, when Heather’s tone shifted to not wanting any part in the Tamra gossip. “I was like, ‘Oh s–t, here we go,'” she recalled. 

Gretchen also doubled down on her claim that Heather and Emily were really to blame for the whole debacle, though.

“Both Emily and Heather wanted to hear that recording of her singing so badly. Like, I’m not kidding… they were salivating at the mouth,” she elaborated. “In a weird way, I almost was, like, protecting Tamra because I was the one that said, ‘No, I don’t… I’m not gonna play it.'”

Heather Dubrow and Emily Simpson respond to Gretchen blaming them for Slade’s bombshell 

From Emily’s POV, Slade was “so excited to be involved,” which is why he started “giving other information” about Tamra that they hadn’t asked for. “[Gretchen] woke up the next day in L.A. and knew she messed up,” Emily claimed.

Indeed, on Episode 11, Gretchen predicted she was “gonna be in big trouble” the night of Slade’s accusation and continued to “backpedal,” the next morning.

“It was us having fun at our slumber party as girls and being silly,” she previously reasoned to the ladies. “I shouldn’t have said it, and I would appreciate you guys not saying something to cause issues. But I’m sure you’re not gonna do that, which is not nice.”

As Emily put in on the RHOC After Show, “She’s doing everything possible to get me not to say anything. Is this your first day on the planet? Like, what?” 

Elsewhere, Heather rhetorically pointed out, “You’re part of the group, Gretchen; not you, Slade.”

She added, “[Gretchen] said it was our fault. If Tamra had done that — and I said this to Gretchen — if the roles had been completely reversed, everyone would’ve said that was calculated.”

As the allegations about Tamra continue to make waves on RHOC, get more details on what happened after Slade’s sleepover phone call.