“The Real Housewives of Orange County” is currently in its 19th season. As fans of the show know, Tamra Judge announced during filming that she would be leaving the series. However, she later returned to the show. Now, fellow RHOC star Gina Kirschenheiter is opening up about the brief departure.
Kirschenheiter spoke to US Weekly in August 2025. During the conversation, she discussed the new season of RHOC and shared her reaction to Judge’s departure from the show. She said, “I was kind of surprised that she just released it out to the world like that because it seemed very definitive, which I didn’t think she would do.”
She continued, “But also, Tamra really was having a rough year. I’ve never seen her like this before. I just kept saying, ‘Tamra’s being weird, Tamra’s being weird.'”
Kirschenheiter is Sympathetic to Judge Leaving ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’
Kirschenheiter continued and provided some context for why she thinks Judge may have decided to leave RHOC. She explained, “Obviously, with Teddi, that’s heartbreaking.” For context, former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Teddi Mellencamp is currently battling cancer. The two are very close friends.
Kirschenheiter added, “And that’s the closest person to her. I think it was very difficult for her to navigate through that. And then she really did for the first time start going to real therapy.” Kirschenheiter went on to say she feels Judge’s therapy is making a difference, despite some of their co-stars believing differently.
According to her, “I think people don’t understand. It’s not like you go to a therapist, you sit on the couch, and then you’re fixed. They crack the door open, and it gets way worse for a while because you’re just now looking at things you don’t want to look at.”
She added, “You don’t want to admit it. I think it’s a little bit unfair.”
The RHOC Star Announced Her Exit in March
According to US Weekly, Judge took to social media on March 9 to announce that she would cease filming “The Real Housewives of Orange County” with Kirschenheiter and the rest of the cast. She did this after a massive argument with some of the ladies on the show.
https://x.com/JaysRealityBlog/status/1953648447166287889
She wrote, “It was a long run! When life gives you real problems this reality [stuff] doesn’t make sense. Peace out … I’m out.” Judge later replied to a comment of someone asking if she was serious and said she was. Notably, her exit involved her leaving the cast trip to New Orleans early. As mentioned, she later returned to filming.
