‘Real Housewives Of Orange Country’ Star Tamra Judge Details The End Of Her Friendship With Shannon Beador: “I Didn’t Like Her Behavior”

Viewers can trust Real Housewives Of Orange County veteran Tamra Judge to tell it like it is. Now in its 18th season, the show that started Bravo’s legendary franchise is better than ever, delivering a group of dynamic women who are bringing a whole lot of juicy drama. At the center of it all is Judge, which is how she (and the viewers) like it. She effortlessly employs her sharp wit and ferocious tongue to deal with any situation.

Season 18 kicks off with the aftermath of Shannon Beador ‘s well-documented DUI arrest after a massive fight with her ex-boyfriend, John Janssen, who has now found love with Alexis Bellino . After leaving the show in Season 8, Bellino returns to the franchise this year as a “Friend Of.” Despite being sued by Bellino’s ex-husband, Judge holds no grudges against Bellino, and the two have grown close after making up at last year’s BravoCon. “I’m not a person who dwells on the past,” said Judge. “I move forward.”

While Judge’s friendship with Bellino is better than ever, the same cannot be said about her relationship with Beador. “The DUI did not break up our friendship,” clarified Judge, noting that she was “very supportive” of her former friend after her arrest. “I was truly worried for years that something like this was going to happen to her,” admitted Judge. The reason why Judge chose to end her association with Beador will be revealed later this season, but it was something Judge says she had to do to “for [her] peace of mind.” “I had to make myself a priority and not let her overly dramatic neurotic behavior affect me anymore.”

Judge is knee deep in the drama this season—including calling out Jennifer Pedranti ‘s fiancé Ryan Boyajian f or his alleged role in the $16M MLB gambling and theft scandal . Amid the controversies, however, the Two Ts In A Pod host makes time this season to share her accomplishments and personal experiences with fans. After nearly a decade off our screens, Judge’s daughter, Sophia Barney, returns to the show. “She’s my girl and I protect her at all costs,” said Judge, noting how critical some viewers can be at times. Judge always makes sure that Barney is okay. ‘Towards the end of the season, she starts opening up more and it’s wonderful,” said Judge proudly.

Judge spoke to DECIDER over Zoom about the Beador of it all, where she stands with Heather Dubrow, and why her podcast co-host Teddi Mellancamp would be a great addition to the cast someday.

DECIDER: Tamra, I want to start on the happiest note possible. I was so thrilled to see your daughter Sophia on the Season 18 premiere. What was it like to film with her after all these years?

TAMRA JUDGE: It was so hard for me to have her back on the show because she’s my girl and I protect her at all costs. I know how the audience can be at times. I told her, “this is your choice if you want to do this.” I never pressured her at all. She decided to start filming and was pretty nervous the first five times or so that the cameras were on. I kept checking in with her to make sure she was okay and wanted to keep going. Towards the end of the season, she starts opening up more and it’s wonderful. It was a little bit of a learning lesson for her, but she had a good time.

I hate to say it, but now we have to get into the drama of the season a bit.

Yeah, there’s a just a little bit of drama this season [laughs].

Of course, Shannon’s DUI is addressed in the season premiere, and you reveal why you left the “Tres Amigas.” Kudos to you for standing up for your morals. After that, were you still willing to be there for Shannon or was the friendship over for you?

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The DUI did not break up our friendship. I was very supportive of Shannon for months after her DUI. If you go back to BravoCon, she did an interview and said that Vicki and I were the people who supported her the most. I was truly worried for years that something like this was going to happen to her. I thought it would be a huge wake up call to her, and she would finally stop drinking. But that did not happen.

Shannon and I are no longer speaking because of Shannon, not because of me. She did something that I can’t really give away. It eventually led me to quit Tres Amigas and cut her out of my life. I had to do it for my own peace of mind. I had to make myself a priority and not let her overly dramatic neurotic behavior affect me anymore. Even saying all of that, it was a hard decision for me to make. Even when we were filming, I was still worried about her. I didn’t hate her. I just didn’t like her behavior. I didn’t want to enable that behavior as well. The end of our friendship has nothing to do with Alexis. It has nothing to do with Tres Amigas. It has something to do with her going behind my back. It was the final straw, and I decided that I’m not doing this anymore.

And you shouldn’t have to.

The funny thing is that when you cut someone out of your life like that, they share with people the parts that makes them look good and you look bad. So, bring it on. I’m sure the lies will start the second the show starts. I cringed when she said, “I’m finding out who my true friends are.” I’m like, what? Don’t insinuate I wasn’t your true friend. I was the one that was there for you for 10 years, even after you’d stopped talking to me for 2 years, when you had no use for me.

Take comfort in the fact that no one has better memories than Bravo fans. They will remember you had her back for a long time.

I know, right?

I was also surprised to see that Shannon and Jennifer seem to be very close this season. Were you as well?

Yeah, I’m not so sure that it’s authentic. I think that when you have gone through all your friends, you have to have some kind of an ally on the show.

And that’s all you need to say! You mentioned Alexis earlier. She’s back on the show this season, but you don’t seem to hold the same ill-will towards her that Shannon does due to her ex-husband Jim Bellino’s defamation lawsuit. Why did you choose to forgive and forget?

Well, Alexis wasn’t a part of the lawsuit. The only thing she did do was send an email to me and a text to Shannon, asking us to stop talking about her marriage. My conversation with her at BravoCon was about that. She explained to me she had no part in her ex-husband’s legal battle, and she disagreed with his decision.

That’s good to hear.

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Also, I’m not a person who dwells on the past. I move forward. I feel like successful people just keep going. I’m not going to hold a grudge against anybody. To me, it’s always a learning experience. Either you choose to carve that person out of your life or you move forward with them. I know Alexis. She leads with her heart, and she’s going to get a lot of crap this season because everyone’s going to be like, “oh, poor Shannon. She stole Shannon’s man.” That’s not the way it went down. I’m hoping that everybody’s going to be able to see that this season.

Is the root of Shannon’s issues with Alexis the defamation lawsuit like she claims or is it the John Janssen of it all?

Please. I think we know what it’s about. Shannon lives in her own world. The bottom line is, and I’ve said it before, had we not said anything at that improv show about Jim Bellino, we wouldn’t have been in the situation we were in. Sometimes you have to take accountability for your actions and be like, “okay, that was a learning lesson.” I mean, I learned a huge lesson and an expensive one [laughs]. You can’t keep blaming other people. She wants to keep blaming Alexis for her losing $300,000. That’s absolutely not the truth. We all know why she has a problem with Alexis.

One of my favorite moments from the premiere is when you and the other women spy on Alexis’ and Shannon’s conversation. That’s also when you got to meet new Housewife Katie Ginella. What were your first impressions of her at Heather’s event?

Very sweet. Very beautiful. Very well put together. A little fancy. A little fancy. Maybe that’s why her and Fancy Pants don’t get along so well.

Speaking of Fancy Pants, I was so glad to see that you and Heather are on better terms in the premiere.

For the record, Heather and I have always been on good terms. Last season when I came back, we were not on good terms because I had been hearing from a certain cast member that Heather had been saying things about me behind my back. That ended up not being true.

I can take a guess where that road leads to…

All roads lead back to that house in Newport Beach.

Later this season, we’re going to get into Ryan’s alleged multi-million-dollar MLB gambling scandal. From the get-go, you have been trying to warn Jennifer to be careful with this guy. Are you happy or sad to be so vindicated?

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Listen, I want her to be happy, but I just want her to open her eyes up a little bit. By the way, we had no idea how bad it was. We didn’t know that he was completely involved in it. We knew that somebody close to him was being investigated, but that was it. So, when all that came out, I was on the floor. I was like, “Oh my God. Oh my God. It’s not good.”

In the trailer , we see you start to lay into Ryan at a group dinner when your husband Eddie Judge intervenes. What can you tease about that upcoming confrontation?

I will tell you that it was not my intention to bring it up. Eddie and I had a conversation before going to that dinner saying I should try and stay calm. I don’t know if people will remember, but Jen and I made up at the reunion last year and everything was fine. Then, I went to Scotland. While I was gone, Jen and Ryan got on social media and did podcasts talking badly about me. They talked about my son, they talked about my husband, they talked about my life, my businesses, all that stuff. That’s what I was so upset about.

On the day of filming that dinner, I never wanted to bring up those three letters, the FBI, because I didn’t have all the information. It was all over Instagram, but it hadn’t been confirmed yet. I don’t like to talk about something unless I really have the information. I was very nervous going into that situation because I was going to see him for the very first time. I might’ve had a few too many drinks that day because I was so nervous. And it just kind of all came out.

But you weren’t wrong.

I was not wrong.

You’re usually right. I also think you’re on the right side of history when it comes to Teddi Mellancamp. I was so excited to see her in the trailer.

I was super excited that Teddi was in the trailer. We couldn’t talk about it. We had to keep quiet about it. Anyone who listens to our podcast knows Teddi and I are not good at keeping quiet about things [laughs]. She came, and she filmed, and she did an amazing job. Teddi got along with everybody. She knows a lot of the girls. She has a house in Orange County. It would be great to see Teddy on the show someday for real. I don’t know what that would do to our podcast though.

I love that you and Teddi are giving other Housewives—like Alexia Nepola and Marysol Patton and Jackie Goldschneider and Jenn Fessler —the chance to shine on your Two Ts In A Pod network. Why is it so important to you to give others a platform?

It wasn’t really something I even thought about in the beginning, but I’m so happy to be in the position to do so now. Two Ts is doing so well. We’re going on three years now. Our numbers are huge. We’re one of the top podcasts on iHeartRadio. The head of the company sat us down and told us: “listen, we’d like to give you your own network on iHeart, and we want to bring in different talents to be underneath you.” We were like, “hell yeah, let’s do it.”

We’re always looking for new talent. Everyone we’ve brought on is doing well. I’m so happy to help. I want everybody to be successful. I want every Housewife to have a side gig or a career that’s not just Housewife-related because you just don’t know when this gig will end. It’s not a career; it’s a job.

Real Housewives Of Orange County Season 18 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo

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