Fans were shocked by Tamra Judge’s abrupt announcement that she quit The Real Housewives of Orange County amid filming season 19. Now, a source exclusively tells In Touch that she “walked off” the set after she was “confronted for spreading rumors” about her costars through alleged fake social media accounts … and Bravo producers are claimed to be “pissed.”
“Tamra Judge has been cited as being the No. 1 source for production leaks to the media and attempting to get bloggers and reporters to write defamatory and damaging stories about her castmates. She then goes and accuses others of doing it,” the insider claims to In Touch.
“Chances are if Tamra is pointing her finger at you about something, it’s because she is trying to deflect from the fact that she is the one behind the scenes actually doing it.”
The source alleges to In Touch that the long-standing Bravolebrity “keeps a folder on each member of the cast and she has spent hours researching the internet looking for negative news that she can use against the cast during production.”
If costars have a clean track record, the insider says that Tamra “attacks the spouse or partner of a [costar]. Then when the men try to defend themselves against the lies, she speaks on national TV, she complains they should not be involved in the show.”
In addition to airing out their dirty laundry, the insider alleges that Tamra is a mastermind behind fake Instagram and Facebook accounts. The low-follower accounts apparently “always show Tamra in a positive light but the accounts leave hateful comments on the other Housewives’ social pages.”
Things have gotten so ugly that some “fans just want her fired” at this point, and costars “feel like they are being paid and forced to film with her.”
“The honest truth is that Bravo’s producers were brilliant by casting Gretchen Rossi for a return to season 19 of the show, it was the only reason for producers to keep Tamra on vs. just letting her go,” the insider continues. “She should be thanking Gretchen for keeping her relevant.”
As photos of the RHOC crew on a cast trip in New Orleans were making their rounds on social media, Tamra dropped the shocking announcement that she quit the Bravo series.
“It was a long run!” she wrote via Instagram Stories on March 9. “When life gives you real problems this reality s–t doesn’t make sense. Peace out. I’m out.”
The official Instagram account of Taste of Reality reshared Tamra’s statement shortly after, leading the reality star to confirm her message.
“#TamraJudge just posted this?? The cast is currently in New Orleans on their cast trip. Is Tamra quitting?? #RHOC,” Taste of Reality wrote, as Tamra replied, “Yes!!!”
The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip star addressed her exit, sharing that she was “very anxious and just dealing with some stuff” as they began filming season 19 and eventually “hit a wall.”
“When I get like this, my body just shuts down, It just completely shuts down,” she said during the Wednesday, March 12, episode of the “Two T’s In a Pod” podcast. “And I can just sit in one place and just stare at the wall for hours. And that’s how I feel and it’s really hard to film like that when you feel like that.”
Tamra made her RHOC debut during season 3 in 2007 and held her orange in the cast lineup until season 14 in 2020 before making her grand return during season 17 in 2023.
