Credit: Bravo
Gretchen Rossi will not appear on the upcoming 20th season of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Weeks after Katie Ginella, 41, announced she’d been fired from the series, and months after Andy Cohen, 57, presented Vicki Gunvalson, 63, with an orange at BravoCon, an insider has shared news of Gretchen’s departure while also explaining what saved Tamra Judge, 58, from being axed and revealing which other cast members would be back.
On January 27, Variety confirmed Gretchen’s exit, giving a nod to the scandal she faced amid season 19, which saw the series’ “friend” being confronted with screenshots of transphobic, anti-abortion, and anti-vaccine posts she allegedly “liked” on Instagram.
Although Gretchen attempted to evade the drama by suggesting her posts had been modified and claiming to have hired a cyberanalyst, she couldn’t prove it and was ousted by many of the women.
As for Tamra’s return, she was said to have been saved by her potential storyline surrounding the falling out of the “tres amigas,” which included her, Vicki, and Shannon Beador, 61.
Also returning to the series for its milestone season are Heather Dubrow, 57, Emily Simpson, 50, Gina Kirschenheiter, and Jennifer Pedranti, 48.
As RHOC fans will recall, Katie confirmed her exit from the show earlier this month on Instagram.
“After two seasons as a cast member on RHOC, the network has decided to move forward with Season 20 without me. While disappointing, it’s not entirely surprising after seeing how Season 19 played out,” she wrote in a January 9 statement. “I’m incredibly grateful for the love and support I received — it was seen, felt, and deeply appreciated. Representation matters, and I’m proud to have shown up authentically, even when it wasn’t easy. This chapter may be closing, but my voice and my story don’t end there.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 20 is expected to begin filming “soon,” per Variety.