“I’m not cheap Andy, and that’s why I got fired!” she declared. She did, however, tell Cohen that she was debating not coming back for personal reasons.
“I’m not going to go into detail, but I’m going through some difficult times right now and it was best for me to step away so I can deal with it on my own. I just need some privacy right now,” she explained.
Tamra revealed how she found out how she wasn't returning as a full-time cast member after twelve seasons.
“I got the news when I was camping. I had no [cell] reception,” Tamra said, according to Us Weekly. “I got a text message a couple hours before I left for my camping trip that I have a production meeting, that we’re going full force, I know you haven’t gotten your contract, so I thought, ‘OK, I’m good. I’m good right?’”
Cohen asked Judge if she has heard from other Housewives from other cities since announcing her departure on the show, to which Judge said, “All the other OGs are shaking in their boots thinking that they’ll get fired too!” Tamra told Cohen, noting that The Real Housewives of New York City’s Ramona Singer called her twice. “I told her, ‘You know what, 12 years has been a long ride. It’s a really, really long ride.’”
Tamra revealed the real season why she unfollowed Andy and several of her costars “when [she] got the news.”
“I drove down the street and I got a text message from production saying ‘Call me,’ and I was a little bit in shock. And because I knew it was going to be a s—tstorm,” she explained. “I didn’t want to read about it, I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to be hurt any more than I already was. So I just unfollowed everybody. It was just like my instinct. Out of sight, out of mind. I don’t have to see it. Now I’m good. I’ve accepted it.”
Judge admits that she struggled with the news about no longer being a full-time cast member. “It’s kind of like a death. I’ve been in the Bravo family for 12 years. I’m a red-headed stepchild now. It is what it is. It’s a very long run,” she quipped. “I’ve been crying for three days. I haven’t slept or eaten. But I’ll be alright.”
She has since refollowed Cohen, telling him that she missed seeing photos of his 11-month-old son, Ben.
Cohen ended the conversation with Judge by letting her know that she will always be a Bravolebrity.
“Everything you ever had going on has been a part of the show and our lives. We are like the mob,” Cohen said at the end of their 11-minute conversation, reports Us Weekly. “We will be like, ‘Tamra can you come to BravoCon? Tamra, I need you on Watch What Happens Live.’”
Tamra replied, “I will always be there for you. Whatever you need.”
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