Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley left The Real Housewives of Orange County after Season 8, and during a new interview, the reality star opened up about the decision.
Speaking to The Tomorrow Show , Gretchen Rossi spoke about the health struggles of her fiance’s son, Grayson, and revealed that the drama of the show deeply impact their lives and put an unfair spotlight on Smiley’s alleged struggles to pay child support.
As she explained, Smiley wasn’t able to discuss the matter publicly and couldn’t defend himself. In addition, Gretchen Rossi said that all income Smiley received from Bravo TV for his role on The Real Housewives of Orange County and any related appearances went directly to Grayson. So, while the show made it seem that he wasn’t involved or supportive, they knew he was.
“They just manipulated our reality so poorly,” Gretchen Rossi explained, via a report by All About the Real Housewives on July 25.
Gretchen Rossi went on to reveal that she often catches Smiley crying in their bathroom in the middle of the night due to the devastating situation with his son and knows how involved he is with Grayson and everything the child is going through.
“It’s horrific,” Gretchen Rossi said of the criticism they endured due to the footage seen on The Real Housewives of Orange County .
Gretchen Rossi hasn’t been seen in a full-time role on The Real Housewives of Orange County since Season 8, but during Season 12, she will be seen in a guest-starring role alongside Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge, Shannon Beador, Meghan King Edmonds, Kelly Dodd, and Lydia McLaughlin.
A post shared by Gretchen Christine Rossi (@gretchenrossi) on
Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley began dating one another after Smiley’s split from former Real Housewives of Orange County star Jo De La Rossa and short-lived relationship with Lauri Peterson. Then, at the end of Season 8, the couple became engaged during a rooftop proposal on the AT&T building in Los Angeles.
A post shared by Gretchen Christine Rossi (@gretchenrossi) on
To see more of Gretchen Rossi and her co-stars, including Vicki Gunvalson, Shannon Beador, Tamra Judge, Meghan King Edmonds, Lydia McLaughlin, Kelly Dodd, and Peggy Sulahian, tune into new episodes of The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 12 on Mondays at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
[Featured Image by Alison Buck/Getty Images]
