Just weeks after Slade Smiley and Gretchen Rossi revealed that Slade’s son, Grayson Smiley-Arroyo, 22, passed away after losing a long battle with brain cancer beginning at age six, Grayson’s biological mother, Michelle Arroyo, is slamming the former Real Housewives of Orange County stars for allegedly “capitalizing” off of Grayson’s death.
Michelle recently told TMZ that neither Slade nor Gretchen have made any conscientious efforts to see Grayson in nearly 10 years, calling Gretchen’s series of tribute posts in honor of Grayson “disgusting.”
She continued to accuse the couple of using Grayson’s death for personal gain and sympathy. She says Slade and Gretchen have “grossly misrepresented the true nature of their relationship with Grayson, which was virtually nonexistent.”
Michelle asserted to the outlet that not only did she lose her home, business, and life savings in order to pay for Grayson’s ongoing care, but after Gretchen and Slade’s “inexcusable behavior and neglect,” she has hired lawyers to claim $152K in allegedly unpaid child support from Slade.
Michelle also revealed that she and her family have started a GoFundMe page to help cover Grayson’s memorial and final medical expenses — bills that Michelle claims Slade is partially responsible for but has failed to pay.
As of the writing of this post, the fund has raised a little over $32K of the asking goal of $75K.
In response to Michelle’s claims, a source close to the RHOC couple told TMZ that Slade is baffled and hurt by his ex’s accusations. The source alleges that Slade had taken “every opportunity” to stay in his son’s life, but Michelle had “denied access” to Grayson “hundreds of times.”
The source concluded that Slade has text exchanges and emails to back up his claims, and they say Slade believes Michelle “should be ashamed for trying to smear” them during their time of mourning.