Gretchen Rossi made her epic return to “The Real Housewives of Orange County” for season 19. Starring as a friend of the cast, she returned to face frenemies like Tamra Judge while fielding plenty of questions about her long-time fiancé, Slade Smiley. To long-time viewers, the shade about Smiley is nothing new.
While Rossi and Smiley have proven they’re in it for the long haul, their decade-long engagement still raises eyebrows, and one Housewife insists wedding bells will never ring for them.
RHOC’s Heather Dubrow Makes Shocking Statement About Gretchen Rossi & Slade Smiley’s Future
GettyGretchen Rossi returned to “The Real Housewives of Orange County” after several years off the show, but one hot topic that doesn’t seem to escape her is her relationship with Slade Smiley. Although the couple has been happily together for 16 years, the women of the O.C. continue to question whether or not the couple will get married. In fact, Rossi was grilled on how they make their relationship work in episode 11 of the new season.
This topic has been heavily picked apart in earlier seasons of the show, with a few of the women strongly believing Rossi is holding back on wedding plans because of Smiley’s financial situation.
During an episode of “The Real Housewives of Orange County After Show,” Rossi denied this, telling co-star Jennifer Pedranti, “That’s not true.” However, Rossi’s other co-star, Heather Dubrow, revealed in the same episode that Rossi does not intend to wed Smiley, no matter how his finances may be.
“No, I don’t think they’ll ever get married,” she shared while sitting across from Shannon Beador. Dubrow added that Rossi made it “very clear” that “it’s her house, her money, her things.”
Even more interesting was Dubrow sharing with Beador that she was told by Rossi that she’d never wed Smiley. After Beador suggested they should get married after the couple welcomed a daughter together, Dubrow called that an “old school” mentality.
“I get that,” she told her co-star, adding, “But the truth is, she told me she could never marry him.”
When Beador replied, “But it’s for financial reasons, not that she didn’t care about him,” Dubrow then questioned, “But then why propose with a helicopter? You’re not marrying him.”
Rossi Explains Why She Decided to Return to RHOC
As fans will remember, Rossi did not return to RHOC after season 8. In fact, both Rossi and former RHOC star Alexis Bellino were asked not to come back. Bellino did return for season 18 as a friend of the cast, but after clashing with Beador all season, she did not return for the following season.
Rossi replaced Bellino as the cast friend for season 19. It was a delight for fans who had not seen Rossi hanging out with the iconic Housewives for 10 seasons. During a recent appearance on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” Rossi was asked why she decided to return.
“I feel like this time was the right time because I had authentic relationships with a lot of the women in the cast,” Rossi began. “I had a lot of previous relationships like with Heather and Emily [Simpson], and Tamra, even though I wouldn’t call that a relationship. And new relationships, like Katie [Ginella] and Jen.”
During a July appearance on the “I Do, Part 2” podcast, Rossi shared that she and Smiley were actually asked to come back to the show three times. However, it never felt like the right timing for the duo as they “got scrutinized a lot.” Rossi went on to admit that she even told producers no in joining season 19, but was later convinced thanks to “an offer that we couldn’t refuse.”
“That’s why we decided to finally say yes. That’s the honest truth,” she admitted.
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Fans Curious After ‘Real Housewives’ Star Discusses Castmate’s Romance