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Gretchen Rossi had a major bone to pick with Slade Smiley, after he dropped new bombshell allegations about Tamra Judge on The Real Housewives of Orange County.
After returning home from Heather Dubrow’s Beverly Hills sleepover for her and Emily Simpson, Gretchen sat down with Slade on Season 19, Episode 12, to address his unexpected claim about Tamra’s so-called “extracurricular activities” with an unnamed musician during their studio session years ago.Â
“We were all having fun and being silly and letting loose,” Gretchen told him. “But I was trying to talk about the music, so the fact that you brought that part up frustrates me. … I’m, like, legitimately mad at you that you brought that up.”
In a confessional, Gretchen further denounced Slade’s “shenanigans.”
“He always goes more than what he needs to talk about,” Gretchen conceded. “The guy’s in the doghouse right now for sure.”
Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley unpack their drama with Tamra Judge
Back in their home, Slade apologized, telling Gretchen, “It was not my intent to cause conflict.” Still, he doubled down on his accusation that Tamra “is the one who did it.”
While Gretchen explained that she was “trying to move forward” with Tamra, she couldn’t help but point out that “there is just so much stuff” in their long, tumultuous history that is difficult to overlook.
“Well, I certainly can’t give you any advice, because I’m bitter as hell over all that stuff,” Slade admitted. “I’m trying to be a better person. I don’t even know that she’s trying.”
RELATED:Â Slade Smiley Speaks Out About Tamra in Rare Confessional: “Interested in Telling the Truth”
He continued, “You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. After the stuff she’s said about me … it doesn’t get taken away. How does a person like that have an authentic relationship with anyone?”
As Gretchen saw it, some of the RHOC cast had “already realized” that point, citing how Emily was “pushing” her to play Tamra’s song, even though she knew it was “gonna make her friend sound bad.”
While she ultimately labeled Emily as a “flip-flopper” who is “playing both sides,” Slade added, “That, to me, is just causing trouble.”
Gretchen went on to defend bringing up Tamra’s alleged musical flop during Heather’s slumber party, insisting to a producer that she did not “want to be a mean girl.”
“It was meant to be fun and campy, and now it’s turned into something else,” she remarked. “So, can we please not just, like, run over to Tamra and tell her about this?”
How Tamra Judge reacted to Slade Smiley’s music studio accusation
Despite Gretchen’s hopes to the contrary, Emily, indeed, spilled the beans to Tamra during the group’s self-defense class, later in RHOC‘s Sept. 25 episode.
Tamra, for her part, recalled “messing around, just singing songs” at a “boy band” member’s in-home recording studio about 15 years ago, shortly after she separated from ex Simon Barney and when she had “just started dating” husband Eddie Judge.
According to Tamra, they were just “joking around,” though, and she didn’t even have a copy of any recording. However, the song itself was not the issue for Tamra, who exploded when Emily further revealed Slade’s accusation that she “had an affair” with the unnamed musician.Â
RELATED:Â Tamra Judge Admits the Real Reason She Brings Jo De La Rosa Around (EXCLUSIVE)
“I think [Gretchen] should stick to Slade doing her dirty work ’cause she can’t do it herself,” Tamra vented to a producer, maintaining that she had “nothing to hide.”
Though Tamra kept her composure through the next group activity, she confronted Gretchen soon afterward, as the cast enjoyed food and refreshments.
“If Slade said something stupid, that’s on him,” Gretchen responded, prompting Tamra to fire back, “Oh, of course Slade said something stupid. This is the s–t you’ve been doing to me for 12 f–king years, and I’ve had it! I have f–king had it! He was ready to be on speed dial, wasn’t he? To talk s–t about me.”
Gretchen, meanwhile, defended herself, as well as Slade, blaming Emily and Heather for prodding her to get him on the phone. Before long, their argument reached a boiling point, as the two hurled accusations about each other’s pasts back and forth, and Gretchen claimed she was withholding some “ugly” unsolicited information she and Slade had received about Tamra.
Eventually, Tamra thew up both of her middle fingers and told Gretchen to “f–k off,” before storming out of the facility.
“Twelve years she’s been doing this s–t to me!” Tamra fumed on a hot mic. “It’s not f–kin’ funny anymore.”
As the drama continues on RHOC, get more details on Gretchen and Slade’s long-running feud with Tamra.
