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The lingering question of whether or not Tamra Judge really quit The Real Housewives of Orange County was resolved upon her return on Season 19, Episode 7 — and she had plenty to say on the matter.
“In New Orleans, everything just crashed down on me,” Tamra explained to a producer. “Life has been so emotional lately.”
Tamra also shared how, with some help from husband Eddie Judge, she caught a 4 a.m. flight back to California and retreated to their Big Bear home to “isolate” and try to “forget about everything” that happened in New Orleans. She soon realized, however, that she “wanted to go to therapy as soon as possible” to get advice on how to navigate her heavy emotions.
So, Tamra visited her therapist on the episode, detailing how she had confronted Gretchen Rossi at the start of the group dinner. She also added some more context, revealing that prior to the outing, she had called to check-in on best friend Teddi Mellencamp amid her brain cancer diagnosis, but only got her voicemail.
RELATED: Tamra Judge Reveals How Husband Eddie Judge Has Been Dealing with Her “Emotional Journey” (EXCLUSIVE)
“So, I was a mess,” Tamra elaborated in a confessional. “Going into that dinner, I knew that this was gonna be really hard on me, and I took a half of a Xanax. I don’t remember much after that.”
After she announced her departure on Instagram and returned to the O.C., Tamra claimed that none of her castmates called to check on her. As she told her therapist, “They’re not one bit frickin’ concerned what my mental state was at that moment, how I felt, how I was hysterically crying, how I went home… They don’t care about me.”
Tamra Judge opens up about her New Orleans exit to Heather Dubrow
Afterward, Tamra met with Heather Dubrow to fill in more blanks on her abrupt New Orleans departure and announcement she was “quitting” the show.
Noting that she was feeling “better,” Tamra explained how in a previously unseen moment, Gretchen had allegedly flip-flopped on a story with regards to the ongoing drama involving Katie Ginella. “So, then, I had a little bit of a suspicion there,” she continued, adding that Gretchen’s statements had really “triggered” her.
The whole debacle, coupled with the fact that nobody on the RHOC cast reached out to her afterward, made Tamra feel like she was “on an island” by herself, she said. Heather took issue with that assumption, however.
“I was worried about you and wanted to hear from you,” Heather pushed back. “Excuse me, I called you that night. I spoke to you on FaceTime; you hung up on me. And when I text you, ‘Are you OK? Where are you?’ you know what you do? You text me. You reach out.”
RELATED: Andy Cohen Reveals Tamra Judge’s Fate on RHOC: “Spoiler Alert”
As she elaborated in a confessional, “Tamra’s been my friend for a long time, and I have stood by her, to the detriment of my relationship with other people, at times. And I just feel like the bare minimum would be to just text me back. I think I’ve earned that.”
What’s more, Heather told Tamra that it was “upsetting” how she was posting on social media and referencing the situation on her Two T’s in a Pod podcast, instead of talking to her directly.
“I tried helping you, reaching out to you, caring, and I felt like you threw me away,” she continued. “And it just made me feel like I wasn’t important to you.”
When Tamra tearfully broke down about having been in the “fetal position” amid the weight of Teddi’s cancer diagnosis and revisiting her estrangement from daughter Sidney Barney in therapy, however, Heather decided not to continue the conversation. Instead, she grabbed Tamra’s hand and offered her continued emotional support.
Why Tamra Judge returned to RHOC Season 19
More recently, Tamra echoed her comments from RHOC‘s August 21 episode on “quitting” in an August 16 interview with Us Weekly, repeating that she was “devastated” by the then-fresh news of Teddi’s “scary” cancer battle.
As Tamra further explained, around the time of the New Orleans trip, she “wasn’t eating or sleeping,” and was using anti-anxiety medication to help her be able to “even cope during the day without crying.”
“It was such a painful time in my life,” Tamra added. “I just decided this isn’t for me right now. I can’t do this anymore. And I left.”
She revealed that, in the immediate aftermath of her abrupt departure, Andy Cohen was among those who reached out and encouraged her to take a week off before making any final decisions on leaving the show. Ultimately, though, she credited Teddi with talking her into returning to film the remainder of RHOC Season 19.
During an exclusive chat with The Daily Dish, Tamra shed more light on how Teddi supported her throughout the season.
“I felt guilty because during filming, she’d be like, ‘How are you?'” Tamra recalled. “I’m like, ‘I’m crying. It’s horrible. The girls are horrible to me.’ And she’s like, ‘Honey you got this.’ And I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, I should be saying this to you, you know?’ But she’s an inspiration for sure.”
Get more details on how Eddie supported Tamra through her “emotional journey” on RHOC..
