Former ‘RHOC’ Gretchen Rossi Not Returning To Any ‘Housewives’ Franchise, Despite Rumors

Although it has been rumored that Gretchen Rossi was looking to return to The Real Housewives of Orange County, a source close to the reality star recently shed some doubts on such reports. According to LALATE News, the insider revealed that Rossi will not be joining any Housewives franchise, let alone RHOC.

Prior to this latest news, Radar Online was reporting that Rossi was very close in agreeing to a new contract with producers of the hit reality series. “The network and Gretchen are in late stage talks about her possibly returning to the Real Housewives of Orange County next season,” an inside source stated in the interview.

To add to the rumors of a possible return, Rossi was also seen in Los Angeles for the filming of an episode of sister franchise the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Rossi was accompanied by her fiancé, Slade Smiley, and was in town to support her close friends Lisa Vanderpump, Kyle Richards, and Lisa Rinna for an animal rights march.

While she was clearly there to support a cause other than the reality show, her presence on set seemed to indicate that she was considering a return to a Housewives franchise.

Her appearance during filming also came after to the former reality star also told the outlet that she would be up for an appearance on the show, but would only consider it if the money was right. “They have to pay me a ridiculous amount of money to do so,” she stated in the interview.

Meanwhile, even her former co-stars on the show are willing to embrace her return. In fact, Vicki Gunvalson recently stated that she would prefer Gretchen Rossi over some of her current cast mates, especially Meghan King Edmonds. “Gretchen is a working girl,” Gunvalson stated. “I would definitely choose to have Gretchen back.”

To complicate the matter even further, the inside source told Radar Online that Rossi was also considering joining a different Housewives franchise, including the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, if she wasn’t able to secure a spot on RHOC.

“Gretchen is also talking with Bravo about returning to RHOBH instead of RHOC… It’s open for discussion at this point, and in some ways it would make more sense.”

However, despite all of these reports that Rossi is all but set to join the Housewives franchise, it appears as though Rossi will not be a part of the franchise next season. Although being a part of a hit reality show would certainly be beneficial to Rossi, she is rather busy at the moment with her various business ventures.

In addition to her animal rights activism, Rossi has been working hard at building up her own domination in the world of beauty products. This includes her very own beauty line, The Gretchen Christine Collection.

Another factor that may prohibit Rossi from ever being included again on the show is the idea that producers were not pleased with how things ended in her final season on the show. Apparently, Rossi angered producers over her infamous engagement scene with Smiley.

The scene was filmed well after production for her final season had concluded, and was then placed in the following season during Gunvalson’s Christmas celebration. This left producers with the feeling that the timing of the engagement was a move on Rossi’s part to stay involved with the show. With that in mind, producers reportedly don’t want anything to do with Rossi.

That being said, if things turn around for Gretchen Rossi and she does end up joining RHOBH, then it would be the first time someone has switched shows in the franchise.

[Image Courtesy: Bravo]