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Katie Ginella returned to The Real Housewives of Orange County with some things to get off her chest about Slade Smiley.
As seen on Season 19, Episode 14, Katie sat down with Tamra Judge to provide more intel on the accusations that came to light in New Orleans that also involved Gretchen Rossi and her life partner. “I’m just trying to figure out what the truth is,” Tamra told her, before referencing Katie’s claim after her “failed” polygraph test that Slade had allegedly tried to silence her.
Stating point-blank that “Gretchen lied,” Katie continued, “And Slade said, ‘Tell Katie to stick to the story. Tell her not to waver. That’s the nail in her coffin.’ …Â His exact words were, ‘She has to stick to the story because it’s a legal issue.’ I thought I was gonna get in trouble.”
In a confessional, she elaborated, “I was like, ‘Oh, s–t.’ And if it is legal, I don’t wanna talk about it. What am I gonna do? I was being lied to again by Slade. He’s at the root of this tornado. He is the eye of the storm for sure.”
How Katie Ginella’s husband Matt was involved in the Slade Smiley drama
Katie, meanwhile, showed text messages between her and Gretchen to Tamra, who noted, “So, [Slade] was trying to shut you down?”
“Correct,” Katie claimed, further explaining, “I was trying to cover, you know, for my ‘friend,’ but really, she was using me to cover her lies.”
After Tamra accused Slade of doing “the dirty work” for Gretchen, Katie added that her husband, Matt Ginella, was “pissed.” After all, Matt had revealed his own texts from Slade earlier on RHOC Season 19 and claimed that he was “trying to manipulate” the drama.
RELATED:Â Tamra Judge Defends Katie Ginella to Producer: “Double Standards Make Me Sick”
“All of a sudden, it went from Slade calling, calling, calling him to complete silence,” Katie told Tamra. “So, Matt’s like, ‘I’m gonna reach out to Slade again, and I wanna sit down with him, man to man, and be like, ‘What the f–k is going on?””
As Tamra concluded of Gretchen and Slade at the end of her and Katie’s meetup, “Everything they’re saying I’m doing to them, they’re doing to me. …Â I really thought me and Gretchen made up, but the lies that they tell are nonstop. And I’m tired of it.”
How Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley reacted to Katie Ginella and Tamra Judge’s meetup
The news of Katie and Tamra’s sitdown eventually reached Slade and Gretchen during Emily Simpson’s fundraising event, later on RHOC‘s Oct. 9 episode. Though she had yet to find out specifics of what was discussed, the fact that the meetup even happened ruffled Gretchen’s feathers.
“So, you went from ‘I hate this girl, and she’s dead to me’ to all of a sudden, now, ‘I’m gonna be friends with her because she’s gonna give me intel on Gretchen?” she said after Emily debriefed her that Tamra’s meeting with Katie had, indeed, taken place.
A bit later, Jennifer Pedranti shared with the couple that Tamra “kept saying there was something about” Slade that came up in her chat with Katie. As Gretchen responded, “There’s always something about you. I’m gonna go ask Tamra what information she got about us with Slade. … It’s about Slade, so I’m having Slade go.”
RELATED:Â Gretchen Rossi Speaks Out on Criticism Over Slade Getting “Involved” in RHOC Drama (EXCLUSIVE)
Having actively avoided the couple all night, Tamra shut down Gretchen and Slade’s attempt at a joint confrontation before it even began, grabbing husband Eddie Judge and making a beeline for the exit.
“I’m not just gonna disengage,” Gretchen explained in a confessional, after taunting Tamra on her way out of the event. “Typically, people that run are hiding from the truth. And I think it obviously proves that Tamra’s guilty that she’s talking s–t about stuff she doesn’t know. If you have something to say about what supposedly Slade said, then address it with Slade. The guy’s right here.”
Slade, for his part, only made a brief comment on the matter while talking to Terry Dubrow, Travis Mullen, and Ryan Boyajian. “I really messed up,” Slade admitted to the guys, without specifying exactly what he was referring to. “It wasn’t my intent to, like, drop a bomb or anything.”
As the drama plays out on RHOC, don’t miss how Tamra justified meeting with Katie to their castmates.
