Welcome to The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 19 Episode 20 recap. It’s the final chapter of the reunion, and of this chaotic season. Last time, Katie’s husband, Matt Ginella, gave his version of the phone call with Gretchen’s fiancé, Slade Smiley. And things got heated between Jenn, Matt, and Gretchen. Here’s what happened in RHOC Season 19 Episode 20: “Reunion, Part Three.”
What happened in Real Housewives of Orange County Season 19 Episode 20?
Gretchen and Tamra were involved in a heated confrontation about Gretchen allegedly “liking” homophobic and transphobic posts. However, when the RHOC ladies saw footage from the season finale for the first time, the spotlight was on Tamra. And not in a good way.
The RHOC ladies were tripping
“It was fun seeing you all have fun,” host Andy Cohen said of the girls’ trips this season. I totally agree. Then he dove into how Shannon thought she heard the RHOC theme after indulging in some mushrooms with Gina and Heather. Cue the unseen clip of Shannon asking about the music. “Just tell me it was the music, right?” she asked production. Someone replied that it was.
Plus, Andy “loved” seeing Heather “wake and bake mushrooms.” Heather replied, “You know, my kids are older, and you know, I have a little fun. Why not?” Can you imagine Season 7 Fancy Pants doing this?
Next, Andy asked if anyone still had their painted d*cks from Amsterdam. “I just have a broken d*ck, that’s all,” Gretchen said, referencing Slade. TMI!
Then, Andy commented on how “moving” it was seeing Heather release her dad’s ashes in Amsterdam. “It was cathartic,” Heather shared. “It felt so good.”
Gretchen defends herself in The Real Housewives of Orange County reunion
Andy addressed how Gretchen allegedly “liked” homophobic and transphobic posts. “Well, listen, I just want to make it clear that there’s absolutely no excuse for liking anything that has any sort of offensive, you know, sentiment to it,” Gretchen said.
“And I also want to make it very clear to every single one of you here that I completely denounce anything that seems homophobic or transphobic, or anything like that.” When Andy asked, “Did you recognize any of the posts that you saw?” Gretchen responded, “No.”
Tamra piped up, accusing Gretchen of following “that account.” Gretchen replied, “I think we’ve all been guilty of scrolling, you know, mindlessly at night. And I might have seen something, and I liked it, not really looking at the content of the post or whatnot.”
Then Tamra said, “You didn’t know you were following all these?” Heather added, “There were just so many.” When Gretchen responded, “No, I followed a lot.” Tamra said, “She unfollowed over 200 accounts” after Amsterdam. WOW.
“I gravely apologize if I liked something that was offensive, or something like that,” Gretchen stated. She said that she looked into the account she was following, as she follows “over 4,500 accounts.” So, she dropped the ones that didn’t align with her beliefs.
Gretchen supposedly has proof of her innocence
Heather told Gretchen, “I have known you a very long time. You have never been anything but kind to me and my family. And I never believed that you were that person.” However, she explained that she has been wrong about people in the past. Heather added that she has heard “rumblings of this kind of rhetoric from you” over the years.
So, the huge question is, who is the source of the original post? Well, Gretchen hired “a cyber analysis company,” and claimed that their report exonerated her. “The most egregious post is a fabricated, fake post,” Gretchen stated. She then said that the company’s research showed that “a lot of accounts were tied to Tamra.”
“Oh my God! I will sue your f*cking ass,” Tamra stated. “I have nothing to do with this.” When Andy asked Tamra how she found the post, she claimed that it had been “cycling around social media for a long time,” and two years ago, it reached Tamra’s co-host on Two Ts in a Pod, Teddi Mellencamp. This has been verified as true on social media, so Tamra’s not lying about that.
Still, everyone seemed confused as to why Tamra didn’t bring this up sooner. However, Gretchen explained that the post was only on the Twitter feed that Tamra had on her phone. However, Tamra denied this, saying the post was also on Reddit. Gretchen countered, saying that Tamra was “putting it out everywhere.”
Why did Tamra tell Gina about Gretchen’s alleged social media behavior?
Then Andy asked Tamra why she mentioned the post to Gina, and not to Heather. In fact, Heather said that Tamra texted her the post in the middle of filming, and Heather said, “I don’t want any part of this.” She felt that Tamra wanted her to bring it up.
And as for why Tamra told Gina? It was simply because Tamra filmed with the real estate agent. However, Emily pushed to find out why Tamra didn’t bring it up herself.
For the next reunion surprise, Andy announced that the ladies would watch what happened after the Amsterdam dinner for the first time. The day after the dinner, Gina, Tamra, Emily, Jenn, and Heather headed to the airport. Gina said of the posts Gretchen allegedly ‘liked,’ “I can’t find any one that she actually liked.” When Gina said that Gretchen and Tamra were going “tit for tat,” Tamra sounded off in her confessional. “How much sh*t can I take from this girl? No, I’m not doing that,” she remarked. “Checkmate, b*tch.”
At the reunion, Emily said she couldn’t find any credible evidence. However, Heather said that she did see some live posts that evening that Gretchen had reportedly “liked.”
Then Andy urged Tamra to read the cybersecurity report, stating that the report linked accounts to Tamra that were spreading this information. “I am not spreading anything,” Tamra said. “This is Slade’s bullsh*t.”
The RHOC cast reacts to the Season 19 finale
“Do you never leak information about this show?” Gretchen asked Tamra. “What are you talking about? Never in my life!” Tamra exclaimed. Oof.
Andy shared that cameras started rolling again one week after Amsterdam. Then he showed the clip from the RHOC finale of Gina, Shannon, and Jenn speaking to the supposed anonymous tipster. It was filmed on May 9, 2025, before any episodes or trailers had aired. This was the first time the cast viewed this footage.
While Katie and Heather’s jaws dropped, Gretchen looked furious. However, Tamra didn’t look shocked. “Wow. Who’s this guy?” Tamra asked. Then Andy reminded the ladies, “You all agree to keep everything that you shoot confidential.” Then, he asked Tamra, “So, how do you explain how this person knows this?”
Tamra replied, “It is not me, Andy. This is bullsh*t, and this is an ambush.” When Jenn asked if Tamra ever spoke to bloggers, she responded, “I don’t give away storyline.” She added, “We all talk to bloggers.”
Tamra claimed that making small talk isn’t the same as leaking storylines. “I’ve been on this show for 15 years. We’ve never had this problem until you came back!” she fired at Gretchen. “This has Slade’s name all over it.”
According to Shannon, when people attack Tamra, these bloggers support her because she gives them storylines and has been doing it for years. Plus, Andy pointed out that Gretchen didn’t film the leaked scenes.
Who leaked the Season 19 Real Housewives of Orange County storylines?
Next, Shannon brought up crank calls that she and Heather received from RHOC alum Kelly Dodd. Yikes! Shannon said that she never told anyone about it. However, the tipster claimed that Tamra gave out their phone numbers. “I have never given, on my children’s life, I have never done this!” Tamra screamed.
“This I find … concerning,” Heather said. “I do believe it,” Gina added. “I don’t play this game.” After all, only Tamra and Gina knew about the conversation about Gretchen allegedly “liking” the disturbing posts. But again, the posts have been circling online for two years.
While Tamra continued to insist that Slade was behind all of this, Andy pointed out that Slade couldn’t have known because Gretchen didn’t know.
When Andy asked if the tipster had any proof that Tamra leaked the stories, Emily and Gina said the storylines were the proof. “Tamra, do you think someone close to you is betraying you?” Andy asked. “I don’t know,” she replied. And Andy confirmed that until now, no storylines “ever leaked.”
Finally, Jenn brought up how Katie was with Nicole Bowyer and was digging for dirt about her fiancé, Ryan Boyajian, and his involvement in Matt Bowyer’s bookmaking. Katie responded, “I said, ‘Was he involved?’” A frustrated Jenn replied, “You can’t do this stuff in real friendships.”
For their final toast of the season, Andy served up Hurricanes from the Big Easy. I feel like that is an apt description for Season 19. While the rest of the ladies took a group photo, Andy told Tamra, “It’s gonna be okay.”
“I didn’t do this,” Tamra responded. Meanwhile, in Tamra’s trailer, Katie consoled her teary-eyed friend. They both agreed that Tamra was innocent, and Slade and Gretchen “are dangerous.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County is streaming on Peacock. The show streams on Hayu in Canada, the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF RHOC SEASON 19 EPISODE 20? DO YOU THINK TAMRA LEAKED THE STORYLINES?
