Welcome to The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 19 Episode 12 recap. Last time, Tamra’s attempt to rekindle her friendship with Shannon went down in flames when she mentioned a secret about Shannon’s dad. And Gretchen revealed some salacious gossip about Tamra. Here’s what happened in RHOC Season 19 Episode 12: “Defense Is the Best Offense.”
What happened in Real Housewives of Orange County Season 19 Episode 12?
Jenn discovered that her upcoming marriage to Ryan Boyajian is having a surprising impact on her children. And Emily spilled the tea about Gretchen’s claim that Tamra had an affair, leading to a nasty confrontation between Tamra and Gretchen.
Wedding planning blues
Jenn talked to her fiancé, Ryan, about their wedding plans. Jenn was trying to plan the wedding before her son, Dawson, left to join the Marines. Instead, she became stressed and decided to wait until Dawson comes home.
Then, Jenn took her daughter, Everleigh, for her first facial. They are “best friends,” and Jenn asked her to stand up with her when she marries Ryan. Everleigh started to tear up, and while she is happy for her mom, she feels strange about her being married to someone other than her father.
In her confessional with Everleigh, Jenn said, “It’s such a sh*t trade because finally I’m prioritized in a relationship with a man who spends time with me and who is my best friend, and look at the collateral damage.” In addition, Jenn feels like “a failure.” However, Everleigh disagreed with Jenn’s statement. In the end, Jenn’s daughter agreed to stand up with her at her nuptials.
Tamra is finished with Shannon on Real Housewives of Orange County
Meanwhile, Tamra updated her husband, Eddie Judge, about the Temecula trip. “Shannon, on the other hand, is just f*cking miserable,” Tamra said. “I said, ‘You shared with me like your dad with his drinking. I feel bad for you because I feel like you really need to deal with those issues.’” Tamra added, “I can’t do this anymore with this woman!”
Eddie, who is even-tempered, replied, “Until somebody is ready to help themselves, you can’t help them.” In her confessional, Tamra said, “She was opening up and talking about the difficulties she had growing up and the problems she had with her dad. I didn’t think it was a big secret.”
However, Shannon didn’t believe that Tamra accidentally exposed this sensitive information. “I wish that I could believe that Tamra had only good intentions, but I know her too well,” Shannon stated.
However, when Tamra announced that she was working on her friendship with Gretchen, Eddie was shocked. “Gretchen?” he asked. “You’re talking to Gretchen?” And he was not thrilled. “Gretchen, I don’t think she’s a good person,” Eddie said. “Shannon, I think she’s harmless – she’s just very into herself. She’s just a little wacky.” He added that he believes Gretchen “is evil.”
Later, Gretchen talked to her fiancé, Slade Smiley, about the sleepover, including why she brought up Tamra’s singing attempt. She mentioned how Tamra was making comments in the press, saying that no housewives should have singing careers. When he mentioned Tamra hooking up with the singer in the studio, Gretchen said, “I was trying to talk about the music, so the fact that you brought that part up frustrates me.” And she vented in her confessional about Slade. Gretchen said, “He always goes more than what he needs to talk about.” Well, duh.
Emily tattles to Tamra
Gretchen gathered the ladies for a self-defense class. She had seven counts against someone for harassment and stalking. So, Slade urged her to learn to protect herself. Of course, Gretchen didn’t reveal to the Temecula trip ladies what the group was doing. Instead, the defense trainer set up a fake carjacking. How fun … said no one.
After asking Gina and Tamra for spare change and then yelling at them, the instructor introduced himself. “You’re a scary gentleman,” Gina said. Next up were Shannon and Jenn. For some reason, Shannon remained calm and said, “This is part of the show.” Who are you right now?
Finally, Gretchen, Shannon, Heather, and Gina took a self-defense class, while Emily, Jenn, and Tamra hit the live-fire range. Meanwhile, Emily told Jenn and Tamra, “Gretchers has loose lips when she drinks a lot of Fireball.” Then she shared how Gretchen revealed that Tamra recorded a song. “I think it was a recording studio … in a house,” Tamra said. “It was right after I separated from Simon [Barney] and then just started dating Eddie.” In her confessional, Tamra said, “I was confronted with somebody from a boy band that lived in my neighborhood, and I thought, ‘I’ll give it my all.’ Well, my all wasn’t good at all.”
Emily continued, “Then he proceeded to say that you had an affair with (bleep).” Yikes. “What the f*ck?” Tamra responded. And when Emily said that Slade had an audio recording of Tamra hooking up with the singer, Tamra exclaimed, “I’d love to hear it!”
Gretchen needs a defense
Tamra said in her confessional, “You have to give her credit. She’s just so obsessed with my life, and what I have and what she doesn’t have, that she just wants to tear me down.”
Then Emily also brought up how Gretchen said that she and Slade receive “unsolicited” information about Tamra constantly. According to Tamra, back in 2009, she found out that Gretchen was cheating on her fiancé. Once she was caught, Gretchen started alleging that her lover was a stalker.
The ladies gathered for lunch, and Gretchen started drinking Fireball. “Yeah, I heard Fireball makes you talk a lot of sh*t,” Tamra said. And Gretchen confirmed that it does.
So, Gretchen asked what Tamra heard. Emily and Heather explained the silly conversation that led to the bombshell about Tamra. “Then it turned into I was having sex with (bleep?)” Tamra remarked. “And I was having an affair, and you have me moaning in the background and all this sh*t?” Heather chimed in, “Slade said that.”
So, Gretchen said that she was not responsible if “Slade said something stupid.” Tamra exclaimed, “This is the sh*t you’ve been doing to me for 12 f*cking years, and I’ve had it!”
However, Gretchen claimed that Heather and Emily kept begging her to call Slade. Then Gretchen pointed out that she “kept my mouth shut forever.” Welp, Tamra was not okay after that statement. “You kept your mouth shut?” Gretchen replied, “Yes, about all the sh*t I know about you? F*ck yeah!” Oof.
“What do you know about me, b*tch?” Tamra screamed. “Trust me, you don’t want me to talk,” Gretchen replied. The duo ended up in a screaming match over the guy Gretchen allegedly had an affair with. “F*ck off!” Tamra yelled, putting her raised middle fingers in Gretchen’s face before storming out.
The Real Housewives of Orange County continues Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo. It streams on Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF RHOC SEASON 19 EPISODE 12? DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT GRETCHEN SAID ABOUT TAMRA HAVING AN AFFAIR?
