Tamra Judge is not letting the haters get her down.
While speaking exclusively with Us Weekly, the Real Housewives of Orange County star, 57, addressed fans thinking that she’s being too “mean” to costar and former best friend Shannon Beador on the show’s current season.
“I’m being reactive, for sure,” Tamra told Us of the duo’s onscreen tension and confrontations ahead of the Thursday, September 26, episode. “Was I being sweet? No.”
Tamra went on to tell Us that while she recognizes she’s being a certain way toward Shannon, 60, she has some regrets with some of the things she’s said to her — particularly when it comes to her drinking habits and her September 2023 DUI and hit-and-run arrest.
“I do regret ever calling her an alcoholic,” she continued. “I do regret that, but at that point, I was just pushed against the wall and I’m like, you know what? It’s very hard for me since I’ve known her and the struggles with alcohol and getting in an accident, getting a DUI and still drinking. I can’t wrap my brain around that at all. At all.”
(After Shannon’s arrest in Newport Beach, California, she was later sentenced to probation, had to pay a fine and complete community service as well as a nine-month alcohol program.)
Tamra added, “And one might say, ‘Oh, well, you get drunk on the show and you act like an ass.’ Yes, I do. I am somebody that definitely can’t handle more than two drinks, and it’s because I don’t drink that much. But when I film, I tend to think I need a little bit of liquid courage. [And] liquid courage turns [me] into a straight a——.”
As for where their friendship stands and if they’ll ever get to the place they were when their relationship was good, Tamra told Us she hopes the reunion will serve as a clean slate for them.
“I really am hoping that we can move past it. I don’t think that we’ll ever be best friends like that,” she said. “I really just want her to realize I wasn’t out to hurt her. I have been there for her forever.”
Despite Tamra wanting to move past their drama, Shannon told Us in July that she doesn’t think the pair will reconcile.
“I don’t [think we’ll be friends again] because I now can look back and see pretty much every season that I’ve been in with Tamra, there’s always an issue that she has with me,” Shannon said at the time, noting that she felt as though she had to “prove” her friendship to Tamra.
“Either I did something or didn’t do something, and it’s OK, we don’t need to be friends then,” she added. “She says she walks on eggshells around me. I’m sorry that you feel that way, but I walked on eggshells around her.”
Shannon also went on to explain one of the reasons why she’s not letting Judge back into her life so easily.
“What bothers me too is that in my past with Tamra, there would be inconsistent stories about me that had maybe a nugget of truth, but there was embellishment around it [and] I would just say nothing in deference to the friendship,” Shannon said before detailing her reaction to Tamra’s comments about her alcohol use. “I feel as though she said things to make it appear as though [she was concerned about me].”
Earlier in July, Shannon also touched on the work she’s done on herself after her DUI arrest last year.
“I’ve done a lot and I still have more to do,” she told Us ahead of the RHOC season 18 premiere. I’m headed down a healthier path, and I’m trying to create any type of positive thing that I can out of a horrible situation.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET, with new episodes hitting Peacock the following day.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
