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Ups and Downs

Tamra talks about her spat with Gretchen, her marriage, and the new wife, Alexis!

By Tamra Judge

 

How to Watch

Watch The Real Housewives of Orange County on Thursdays at 9/8c and next day on Peacock. Catch up on the Bravo App.

Once again we are at the St Regis, where Gretchen and I are fighting over the same stuff. Most of what you see is last week's footage replayed. They are really trying to milk this fight! It truly is so last season, but needed to bring closure to last year's reunion show. I really wish it wasn't pushed to that level.

A lot of you have asked me to elaborate on my side of the story so you could understand better. All I can say is that I never asked to get pulled into this and I am still trying to figure out why I was. I kept my mouth shut all during filming last season about what I had heard and only told part of my story when asked by Andy at the reunion. I had no idea the level of drama that would follow. Suddenly it was a media frenzy with stories, pictures, documents and court cases. So a phone call in the middle of the night was only the beginning!

We have moved on from all this and I think after this week's episode you will see a different relationship between Gretchen and me. None of us on the show claim to be perfect and have made mistakes in our lives. I learned a big lesson from last year and after tonight's episode things are about to change.

It was a very difficult decision to expose our financial issues. But from all the emails I have been getting from people all over the world has made it all worth it. So many people are going through the same situation and my heart goes out to them. The world is a hard place right now and it is a time to stick together. Simon and I BOTH work (Vicki called me and apologized for her statement and I am sure I will be doing the same to her this season). We are very lucky to have jobs in this market. Our income might have gone down but we are still a family. I feel very lucky to be able to stay home with my kids as much as possible. They are only young once. If that means downsizing, then so be it!

 

About 4 months ago Simon started with a company outside the car business. He is very happy and spends a lot of time traveling as a national sales and marketing director for a consulting corporation. Simon traveling has taken some getting use to and the kids and I miss him when he is gone. He is also a partner in a technology company. We learned the in past seasons that his livelihood is best to be kept off the show. So things are really looking up now! I jumped back into real estate an have teamed up with Marcos www.marcosprolo.com at Berrington Properties, specializing in short sales. I had no idea that talking with Marcos about short selling our house would turn out to be such a business opportunity. It was a difficult decision to list our house that we love so much. But due to the economy and the fact that we bought our house at the height of the market, it made no sense to hold on to it. We would never get back the money we put into it and it was time to "stop the bleeding." Ultimately it turned from an emotional decision to a business decision. I recommend anyone that is possible facing foreclosure to look into short selling.

You get to meet Jim and Alexis this week - don't you just adore them! Our dinner was so much fun, but of course they are trying to make my husband out to be the controlling one. Simon and I are a good balance, he is very disciplined and I am NOT. He is always there to catch me when I fall. We have learned a lot from each other through out the years and NO he doesn't ALWAYS think he's right, but usually is!

You will see the ups and downs of our relationship this season. It was something that will be hard for both of us to watch. We love each other very much and are being open and honest about our feelings. I am sure there will be a lot that we wish we didn't expose, but I would rather be open and honest then live a lie with the viewers. I think anyone that has been married and gone through hard times will relate.

Slade's comment about me made me laugh. Slade doesn't even know me, I have only been around him maybe four times in my life. For him to say I have never been successful at anything is just a childish, ignorant comment. I take most pride and feel most successful to be raising my four wonderful kids who I spend 90% of my time with ... something he should consider doing.

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