Gretchen Rossi Asks Andy Cohen About Questioning Her Relationship with Slade Smiley
The Real Housewives of Orange County alum also addresses if she and her longtime fiancé will ever get married.
Gretchen Rossi memorably proposed to Slade Smiley in Season 8 of The Real Housewives of Orange County. But nearly eight years after that episode aired, during which the couple welcomed their first child together, daughter Skylar Gray Smiley, Gretchen and Slade have still yet to tie the knot.
So, when Gretchen appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on May 6, the first question the titular host asked was, of course, if she and Slade will ever get married. "You know, we really are very content in our current arrangement. The way I look at it, look at Goldie [Hawn] and Kurt [Russell] or Oprah [Winfrey] and Stedman [Graham]. They've lasted forever," Gretchen explained in the above clip. "So, you know, we might just go that path."
Gretchen, who was one of six Real Housewives alums to appear in this special Bravo Blasts from the Past episode as part of WWHL's A-May-Zing Bravo Party Week, added, "I'm happy, I'm in my relationship still, and I think that alone speaks for itself. And I think that's the final word."
The RHOC alum revealed during the WWHL After Show that she and Slade actually did have a wedding date on the books at one time. "We actually had a date on [the] calendar. I don't know if you guys know that, but we had a date on [the] calendar," she shared in the below clip. "Slade got booked to go down to film for The History Channel. And so we actually make a joke that we missed our own wedding."
Instead of rescheduling, Gretchen said that she and Slade decided to turn their attention to starting a family. "But the truth is is that we got really focused on IVF," she explained. "It's very expensive to do IVF. And so, we just focused on that."
But just because Gretchen and Slade haven't married yet doesn't mean they never will. "Maybe Slade and I will get married one day soon, you know what I mean?" Gretchen clarified. "But right now, it's just not on the priority list, if you will."
At the end of the WWHL After Show, Andy Cohen invited The Real Housewives alums to ask him anything. Gretchen wanted to know from Andy how he now feels about appearing to question her relationship with Slade and her proposal during a special "Uncensored" episode that aired in 2016 in which the RHOC cast and producers looked back on Season 8. "That really hurt me," Gretchen told Andy.
Andy apologized to Gretchen for his past comments about their relationship. "Well, clearly, I was wrong, first of all. I did, at the beginning, think that Slade was possibly dating you to be on the show or something — and I loved it. I was like, this is like the greatest thing ever," he said. "I just thought it was crazy that he had dated two other Housewives [Jo De La Rosa and Lauri Peterson], and I thought it was kind of incredible for the show, so I loved it. But yes, I think that I did question it."
"But clearly, I was wrong about your relationship because here you are and you have a child and you're very happy, and I think you'll be together forever," Andy continued. "I definitely cop to it, and I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. And that's what it was based on."
Gretchen thanked Andy for his apology and set the record straight on that proposal. "Because none of the engagement, none of that was fake. It really was truly one of the most special moments of my life," she said. "So I think that's why I was so tore up about it, because it was really just a special day for me."
Andy and Gretchen ended things on a positive note. "Well, I'm glad you're still together," Andy said. "And send my regards to Slade."
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