Gretchen Rossi’s fiance, Slade Smiley, was reportedly assaulted by her former friend, Jay Photoglou, during a recent visit to A’s Restaurant in Newport Beach, California.
According to a new report, Photoglou attacked Smiley as the former Real Housewives of Orange County star exited the restaurant and began to make his way to the valet stand to retrieve his car.
“At 2133 hours I was dispatched to the A’s Restaurant in Newport Beach to reference to an assault and battery that had just occurred on a customer,” read a report filed by the responding officer, who later arrested Photoglou.
“I arrived on the scene and contacted the victim, later identified as Slade Smiley, who was standing outside the restaurant,” his report continued , as reportedly by Radar Online on May 24.
Gretchen Rossi’s fiancé was reportedly struck on the back of the head by Photoglou, who was arrested for assault and battery.
As fans may recall, Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley have been involved in a court battle with Jay Photoglou for the past several years. According to Rossi, Photoglou used to be a friend, but after reportedly exhibiting stalker behavior, Photoglou allegedly leaked nude photos of Rossi online and threatened her with violence.
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In a lawsuit against him, Gretchen Rossi claimed Jay Photoglou cost her a role on The Real Housewives of Orange County and $500,000 a year in other opportunities. Although Rossi eventually won the suit against Photoglou and was awarded $523,000, he has since filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to have the court judgment discharged.
As Gretchen Rossi and Jay Photoglou continue to battle it out in court in hopes of Rossi getting her due funds, Photoglou is now facing a June 5 court date where he will face charges of assault and battery.
Gretchen Rossi joined The Real Housewives of Orange County during Season 4 and continued to appear on the show in a full-time role until the end of Season 8. At that point, after fans watched as she proposed to her longtime love, Slade Smiley, Gretchen Rossi left the Bravo series.
Following her exit, rumors suggested Gretchen Rossi had been fired.
“Alexis and Gretchen were fired,” a source told Us Weekly in 2013. “They just had run their course. Gretchen has been on the show a long time, and it was the same old story.”
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Years after her exit from the show, Gretchen Rossi confirmed Bravo had contacted her about a potential return, but thus far, she has not taken them up on the offer.
“They’ve already asked me to come back and do some stuff,” she said during an interview with OK! Magazine . “They’d have to pay me a lot of money! I love the fans and I never say never, but at this point I have a lot of great projects going on in my life and I’m excited about moving on to the next thing.”
Gretchen Rossi went on to reveal that she initially left the show because she was not willing to be the target of the made up lies from her co-stars.
“There are several people that are on these shows who are willing to say and do anything for content. And just to keep their paycheck,” she explained. “That’s not the way I was on the show and that’s part of the reason I wanted to step away from the show.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County returns to Bravo for Season 12 later this year.
[Featured Image by Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images]
