NEED TO KNOW
Gretchen Rossi will not be featured on The Real Housewives of Orange County season 20, PEOPLE can confirm.
The reality star, 47, returned to the franchise last year as a “friend” in season 19, which came more than a decade after she left the show in 2013 following five seasons as a full-time cast member.
According to Variety, which was first to report the news, Rossi and Katie Ginella are the only two season 19 cast members not coming back for season 20, indicating that Heather Dubrow, Tamra Judge, Shannon Storms Beador, Emily Simpson, Jennifer Pedranti, and Gina Kirschenheiter will all be returning.
The outlet further reported that filming on the show’s 20th season will begin soon.
Meanwhile, Vicki Gunvalson — who had been a member of the cast since its debut in 2006 and quit in 2020 after being moved to a reduced role — is set to make a comeback in season 20.
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Rossi first joined the Bravo series in 2008 during season 4. At the time, she was engaged to Jeff Beitzel, who was 24 years her senior and had been diagnosed with cancer. Beitzel died by the time the season began airing.
A year later, she began dating Slade Smiley, who was previously engaged to original cast member Jo De La Rosa and had a brief fling with another former Housewife, Lauri Peterson.
Rossi proposed to Smiley in 2013, and their engagement was documented in season 8 of the show. They have now been together for almost 17 years and share a daughter, Skylar Gray Smiley, whom they welcomed in July 2019.
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Joining RHOC for season 19 after a 12-year hiatus, Rossi quickly became the center of a dramatic rumor: Ginella alleged that Rossi accused Judge of drugging her during a party in season 4, in which Judge joked that she wanted to get Rossi “naked wasted.” The now-infamous episode was then titled “Naked Wasted.”
Rossi and Judge vehemently denied the allegations, and the women later decided to take lie detector tests.
The administrators ultimately said that Rossi was “truthful” when she answered “no” to being drugged, as was Judge. The results showed that Ginella was being deceptive, although she maintained that she was telling the truth.
Ginella announced her exit from RHOC in an Instagram post on Jan. 9, claiming that she had been fired from the show.
“After two seasons as a cast member on RHOC, the network has decided to move forward with season 20 without me,” she wrote at the time. “While disappointing, it’s not entirely surprising after seeing how season 19 played out.”
“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,” Ginella continued. “This chapter may be closing, but my voice and my story don’t end here. Love, Katie.”
