Slade Smiley
came into our TV screens back in 2006 when Season 1 of “The Real Housewives of OC” premiered. Slade has been labeled at times as a Housewife Hunter and also as the
6th OC housewife. Slade talks about RHOC drama, behind the scene secrets,
Date My Ex: Jo & Slade, his relationship with Gretchen, his career and the success
of his lastest new gig, “Radio Slade” exclusively to iRealHousewives
iRH: Hi Slade.
Welcome to iRealHousewives, how are you?
SS: Just fine
thank you. How are you?
iRH:
Congratulation on your success of Radio Slade.
SS: Thank you
very much, I appreciate that
RH: How were you
approached to do Radio?
SS: I was
approached to do radio by an individual that happened to be at improv show that
Gretchen and I did. They were in the process of hiring a mid-day drive person
and they wanted to talk to comedians.
iRH: Speaking of
the comedy show, do you still plan to do comedy stand up in the future?
SS: Yes
absolutely, Gretchen and I already played in Ontario
& Brea in California ,
and we hosted in Gotham Comedy Club in New
York .
iRH: Do you plan
to do a Comedy Improve Tour in the future?
SS: Yeah, that’s
the plan. Once the radio show is up and going we plan to finalizing our show
and add to it, and then get going on tour with it.
iRH: What do you
enjoy the most Slade, doing reality TV or radio?
SS: oh! It’s way more fun doing reality TV (laughs),
no I’m kidding, I’m being facetious
iRH: I know you
are (laughs)
SS: The radio is
the best, it really is, a lot of fun, because there are skits and bits you can
work out on air, it’s almost like building a comedy routine for my listeners,
it’s a great proving ground for ultimately what I want to do.
iRH: Besides radio and TV I know you manage
your consulting company, are you still working on that
SS: I am, but the consulting company is an
entertainment based media company, so we consult with magazines, Film and TV
producers. I arrange with celebrities
for the magazine covers and then I can pull them into other media to do
commercials, television film or even be interviewed by amazing Radio
Personalities. It’s still all in the same space
iRH: Let’s go
back to Season1 of the RHOC, how were you and Jo approached to do the show?
SS: Well the
truth of the matter is, there’s a gentleman who created the series, Scott
Dunlop who was one of my neighbors and I was participating in an event taking
place in the neighborhood where one of the homeowners had just been diagnosed
with brain cancer. We had a charity event to help support him and his family,
and in the process of doing that I was introduced to Scott and he had mentioned
he was producing a new comedic television show called “Behind the Gates.” The
show was supposed to be about a wealthy yet eccentric group of individuals who
live in a very large gated community and that project was ultimately converted
into was it is now “The Real Housewives of Orange County”.
We initially
started as an improvisational comedy and Bravo & NBC bought the comedy and
then several months into filming they changed the format and they decided to
make it into a Docu-drama.
iRH: At that
time when you were dating Jo, do you think “reality TV” had anything to do with
ending your relationship with her?
SS: I don’t
think reality TV was to blame; I believe that Jo felt that she was a little
more may popular maybe than she was, or felt that now the door has been open
for her into entertainment that she was going to ride off into the sunset and
become some big star, and I don’t think she realizes how much time and work is
required to solidify yourself in entertainment. We see celebrities all day long
that pop up on our screens and we go wow “they are so lucky. They are big star
because they were in this big film”; well usually those actors have been around
for 20 years working on projects and working in film and television on shows
we’ve probably never seen. They’ve been there working diligently, so I think
that was a big mistake on her part. She believed she was bigger than “The Real
Housewives” and unfortunately for her, that’s not the case.
iRH: I know you
and Jo were the first ones to have the first “Housewives” spin off show called
“Date My Ex: Jo and Slade”. How was your experience on
that show compared to RHOC?
SS: (Laughs)
That was definitely a different experience because the concept of that show was
developed together by myself, Scott Dunlop and our production company. What
people don’t know was that I was approached to be “The Bachelor” when ABC
approached Bravo. Bravo didn’t want to
let me out of my agreement, they felt they were better off keeping me as their
talent and they were not going to let me go.
We sat down and decided to create what they felt was their version of
“The Real Bachelorette” and that’s why they created the spin off show. It was
kind of their version of a Bachelor type format. We were actually bound to Bravo under
contract and I was not going to be allowed to work for ABC.
iRH: Do you
still keep in contact with Jo?
SS: We’ve
exchanged a couple text messages but I don’t keep in direct contact with
her. Actually, Bravo wanted to do a
second season of “Date My Ex: Jo & Slade”, and they were going to green
light the show but Jo was unwilling to cooperate. She had me help her find a
guy, but she was unwilling to participate to help me find a girl. (Typical of
our relationship, it was about her) and that was the only reason why Bravo
decided not to bring the show back.
As a matter in fact you should go to my Radio
Slade web page on www.playlist927.com
and all of my previous interviews are posted there, I recently interviewed Andy
Cohen and he spoke about “Date My Ex”.
iRH: Speaking of
that interview with Andy Cohen, I listened to the interview and I found it
interesting when he mentioned it, he believed if “Date My Ex” would of aired on
a different network, it would have worked. Do you agree with him?
SS: I do agree
with him. It probably would have worked. People were very interested in the
drama that happened in the house, not to mention having to deal with an
ex. That’s good TV. You know what, we all have an ex. You have
exes'; I had exes' and how many times have you been with someone or dated someone
and you’re at a restaurant and you see your ex with someone else or you bump
into them at a party, is something everyone is forced to deal with. It Made
“Date My Ex” relatable. Their concept
was good but Bravo is known for. Four primary categories, they are food,
fashion, design and pop culture and every show they create whether it’s Top
Chef or Project Runway, they all have a format that fits the network. They all have to focus on food, fashion or
design. Housewives has become a pop culture icon which is why it’s still there. So if you look at their programming, that’s
the fame in which they’re focusing, and Date My Ex is something that doesn’t
fit into one of those categories. Andy is right, and Andy is right about most
things, so if it would have been on another network, it would have done very
well.
iRH: You and
Gretchen were friends for many years before you guys started dating. Do you
think being friends before has helped the relationship?
SS: Yes. We had
a 10 year friendship prior to, and that has been the best foundation you can
imagine in having a romantic relationship and she really is my best friend
because of that. I love the romance and the sexual aspect of the relationship,
but that’s just the icing. I mean
Gretchen and I enjoy each other’s company so much that we hate being apart and
you know, you can have sexual contact with anyone but really how long is that
going to last? 45 minutes to an hour? For us, it is about the other 23 hours of
the day that you need to be concerned with.
When you’re in a relationship with someone that you adore in every aspect
(mentally, physically and emotionally) basically any other way but sex,
chances are your going to have a pretty good relationship for a very very long
time and that is exactly what Gretchen and I are looking for.
iRH: So the big
question Slade, who made the first move, you or Gretchen?
SS: Definitely
me, Oh yeah, I would say it was totally me. Honestly, I have to say the way it
happened it was a very organic thing.
When Jeff became sick, Gretchen had called because she knew my son had
been struggling with brain cancer and I’ve been dealing with cancer for quit
sometime since Grayson was 5, so we had a lot of conversations about his
condition and diagnoses to what should happen.
After he passed,
Gretchen was devastated. We stayed in
contact for about 7 months and I felt like I needed to talk to her weekly to see
how everything was going just because of our friendship. I was just trying to be supportive in what
she was going through. And it was about 9 months after, that she finally called
and she said “Hey, I really need to ask your help, I have this business meeting
and I’m trying to get myself back on my feet, I don’t have Jeff going with me
anymore. Normally he will be present in a lot of these meetings but I really
need someone’s support on the business side of things. Would you come down and
meet with me?” I was living in LA at
the time and I said “Sure” so I went down to meet her and we took a couple of
appointments with business partners and we started working together on some of
her projects and I it was at that time when things were changing between us. I
don’t think we would of ever looked at each other in a romantic way, cause we
had always been friends. I was dating but technically single for about 2 years
at that time. It had been about 9 months
I think that she was without Jeff and something just changed in our
relationship and we’ve been together ever since and it’s been 4 years now.
iRH: How do you
handle the negative attention you have received which ultimately people attack
you as a person, as a father and as a boyfriend due to editing and comments
made by your cast members of RHOC?
SS: Well that is
the hardest part that we have to deal with. I mean, I guess you just have to
realize they are making a show. Production responses will always be “We cannot
control what cast members say about other cast members”, even though
production knows that every penny I made from Housewives, I forward to my son.
When I will call them saying “Do you know you are empowering the cast to
be able to lie and say derogatory things about me as a person” and they say “we
are not a news organization, we are not making news, we are making a reality
show” and they need that controversy. It is very difficult when you’re the one
being vilified by them, but Gretchen and I always talk about this too. We are
just honest and true to the core of things, no matter how much we believe they edited or they stop a portion of the
conversation. If they let the scenes
play out, in time ultimately who you are
as a person is going to come out and I think by now after 6 or 7 years, people will see who I am as a person.
They all seem to
have forgotten that I adore my children, and that I went after full custody and
they were living with me at that time we filmed the first 2 season of the show.
There is a reason Jo and I ended our relationship, it was because she still
wanted to party and I wanted her to be at home with my kids. So for people to
now switch it around and say “oh, he doesn’t take care of his kids” I mean who
just turns off loving their kids? It doesn’t work like that.
iRH: Speaking of
your children, can you give us a update on how Grayson is doing?
SS: He’s
unfortunately is still struggling with his condition (Diffuse Fibrillary
Astrocytoma) and has to have ongoing surgery; I may have to travel with him
within the next week or so to see some more specialists. Having a rare form of
cancer that it’s non-curable, he hasn’t been given a great prognosis;
unfortunately we struggle with that every day.
iRH: Is there a
charity or foundation that my readers can donate to a foundation for Grayson or
a similar charity that you support?
SS: The
Beckstrand Cancer Foundation is someone we are working with, and I appreciate
you asking this question. They are located in Newport Beach , California ;
The Beckstrand Cancer Foundation is an organization that helps support families
who have a cancer patient within the family. They support all the expenses, the
cost and all the steps for chemotherapy. If you get sick and you can’t work,
they will pay your mortgage for you while you get back on your feet or if
you’re going to start chemo and your insurance is not covering the cost of your
expenses or medications, they will help you cover these expenses. They are a
great organization; the face of the organization is Eva La Rue from CSI
Miami. There are alot of celebrities that
support this foundation because of the amazing amazing work they do. The foundations director Lil Spitzer is
amazing.
iRH: I believe
this season was your redemption and Bravo finally decided to give you a good
edit, which you deserve this season, would you agree?
SS: They
definitely showed more of who I am as a person for sure.
iRH: What are
your thoughts on the latest 20/20 Segment on Brooks Ayers and Vicki?
SS:
Unfortunately, I really don’t know much about what the truth is on this
particular subject. I can tell you that Gretchen and I went out of our way to
be very authentic and real and we were never hiding the fact that I was having
these conflicts and issues, Vicki hasn’t been honest obviously since day 1.
Since we have been on this show, she was pretending she was in this loving
relationship with Donn, she faked the renewal of the wedding, and all
while she was exchanging text messages with Brooks. I just don’t find her in
that relationship to be really that authentic. I don’t know who to believe. He
is saying “I’m all caught up with my Child Support”, then if that’s the case then why
is his ex going on 20/20 and saying he’s not? Because organizations like 20/20
have access to public records, so if you’re not paying, the deficiency in what
you owe that’s going to show. You know Gretchen and I just choose not to really
communicate with them. We really don’t want to be involved in whatever
shenanigans they’re into. I mean Brooks
seems like a nice guy but there’s also some shadiness that goes on, so I don’t
know. I don’t know what to say about that relationship.
iRH: During the
“Lost Footage” episode we watched you and Tamra meet and you two made amends,
was it awkward for you to watch this scene?
SS: Very awkward
(laughs). But seriously here’s the thing; I’ll give Tamra some major credit
because we are still trying to get to know each other. Tamra apologized on
multiple occasions both on and off the camera, so it wasn’t just something
Tamra was doing for filming purposes which I totally appreciate. The other
thing is that Tamra has stuck to her word; she’s been very sincere in her
friendship with Gretchen. Gretchen truly enjoys the relationship that they are building,
I think Eddie is a great guy. I’ve spent the weekends with him on some
occasions and we go out for a bike ride with a group of cyclist and I find Eddie
to be a very sincere guy as well. So our
whole thing is that Tamra has really stuck to her word. She realized what she
said before was wrong, she admitted to being influenced by outside forces, she
never verified the information, she realized how damaging it was, and she has
really apologized for that and from that point forward, she has been a really
good friend to Gretchen and I
iRH: I’m glad to
see that almost everyone is getting along now, don’t you think?
SS: I know
right? And I kind of want to speak of Jim and Alexis. Gretchen and I don’t wish
them any ill will and we wish them all the best in whatever they choose to do.
Our challenge has always been the fact that we never heard the true story.
Their stories always change so when you say one thing and then you do something
else, when you profess something to me, and then it’s completely different what
Alexis has professed to Gretchen, it just gets very exhausting to try to
maintain that friendship. I know Jim has recently done a video saying that
“I’ve done so much for Slade, I’ve often donated money”. Well first off, I
question what he has done for me. We were always friendly, and he certainly
offered to donate funds should the network (Bravo) be interested in bringing
him to the reunion show but the truth of the matter is, the network rescinded
their offer and confirmed he was not coming to the reunion so your offering to
donate money you never received. So why are you bringing it up? You didn’t
donate money, it was a nice gester for Jim to offer to donate money that he
never got, but that doesn’t really do anything for anyone. I don’t know if you
have seen the video I’m talking about, that doesn’t make sense to me. The bottom line is he said he donated money, which he didn’t.
Bravo didn’t
offer you the money; he didn’t get paid to come and do the show, so the fact
that you offered that is pointless.
After Bravo decided to not bring Jim in last year for the reunion show,
he responded by saying “If you hire me to come I will donate the money”. Bravo
said “No thank you”.
iRH: So going
back to RadioSlade, any surprises that we can expect in the near future?
SS: For radio, I
just see the show expanding with great numbers. Our numbers are increasing
weekly, and I have been blessed with great guests. I’m really appreciative
everyone that has come on to the radio show; from Bob Sagot to Alex Kurtzsman
to Andy Cohen. We have a lot of celebrity guests lined up that will coming on
air in the next several months. People
are really taking about the show. We are getting great sponsors, sponsoring the
radio station so it’s just going to get bigger and bigger. So the next thing we
are going to do is get syndicated across the country.
iRH: I’m
actually happy for you, I actually tweeted you and suggested to have Mary Amos
from RHODC as a guest on RadioSlade to promote her charities Labels of Love and
Love Not Label, so I wanted to say thank you for taking my request and making
it happen, this showcases you do pay attention to the fans.
SS: Of course,
of course!! It was our pleasure!
iRH: What was
your first reaction when you heard Gretchen’s song “Unbreakable” which she did
inspired by your son Grayson?
SS: Well I will
tell you this, obviously it’s a very humbling thing to have her embrace
Grayson’s condition which is amazing to me.
Most people disappear when people get sick. Gretchen tackles life’s challenges head on,
but secondly to have her write this song and use it as an inspiration to others
was brilliant because it has empowered so many people. I came home, the first
day Ryan Seacrest did the world premiere of the single on his morning radio how
Kiss FM, Gretchen was on the ground in the bedroom leaning by the dresser and
she was crying, and I said “what’s wrong?” and she goes “I got nearly 2,000
tweets the last hour after Seascrest aired my song and there’s not a single bad
tweet”. She spends a lot of her time
dealing with people making gross accusations or saying negative things; To her
on Twitter or Facebook which it shouldn’t be about, and during the
“Unbreakable” release not one person said anything bad. They were all very
sweet, very supportive, and now on a daily basis we see videos from people who
taped their kids dancing to “Unbreakable “ or Military Service people saying
“we want to use this song in our wedding” or “I wrapped my daughter to bed with
my husband’s t-shit because he’s in Iraq and we listen to “Unbreakable “ right
before we go to sleep”. I mean just the messages of support we get for that
song has inspired a lot of people…its incredible and that’s why she wants to
keep making music.
iRH: I must say
Gretchen did an amazing job. I love Unbreakable. It has a great message and
it’s a great dance track as well.
SS: There’s
actually 7 new mixes coming. Most importantly besides her vocals, she’s a very
talented writer and she loves writing. Her goal
really is to have other artist sing her music. I mean she’s the first one to
tell you that “I don’t have the greatest vocals in the world, I’m not trying to
be the next Christina Aguilera”. She really loves to write and that’s where
the talent really comes from. We had to
talk her into singing the songs that she’s singing, because she really feels
that it could be done better by other artist with better vocals but, she’s very
passionate about writing and creating this content and if this continues
inspire people, I’m going to do whatever
I can to support her
iRH: Any word on
Season 8?
SS: I will tell
you that, I’m pretty confident that it’s going to happen. The numbers of the
show were up some 20 percent, and being its seventh season, I hear the network
is beyond ecstatic.
iRH: One last
thing before you leave, what would you like to say to your fans?
SS: I just want
to tell them, thank you for their support of “Radio Slade”, and their support
of RHOC and Gretchen, and you know… we love that we can entertain people to a
certain degree and we hope by the time it’s all over, you will have come to
realize who we truly are as people. We
wish everyone the very best and thank you for allowing us to coming into your
homes and entertain you.
Stay Connected
With Slade
Tune in to Radio
Slade at www.Playlist927.com or use
Live 365 Phone App, Search Keyword: Playlist
Follow Slade on
Twitter: @SladeSmiley
Visit “The
Beckstrand Cancer Foundation” for more information regarding this charity and
make a donation here: http://beckstrand.org,
Like their Facebook Page here: Beckstrand
Cancer Foundation | Facebook and follow them on Twitter @beckstrand
Join Gretchen
Rossi and Slade Smiley on a very special event on September 23, 2012 from 7pm-10pm
for the Magic of Giving, benefiting
Beckstrand Cancer Foundation for more information visit http://www.victorpaulsalon.com/the-magic-of-giving/
and purchase your tickets. Also follow @VictorPaulSalon
on Twitter. See Flyer below:
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