Katie Ginella made her RHOC return with major tea — and Slade Smiley is right at the center of it. The Bravo newcomer claimed Slade is “the root” of the ongoing drama involving her, Tamra Judge, and Gretchen Rossi.
Katie Ginella Says Slade Tried to ‘Shut Her Down’
On “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” Katie sat down with Tamra to revisit the accusations that surfaced in New Orleans — and this time, she wasn’t holding back. “Gretchen lied,” Katie said, before recalling Slade’s alleged words: “‘Tell Katie to stick to the story. Tell her not to waver. That’s the nail in her coffin.’ His exact words were, ‘She has to stick to the story because it’s a legal issue.’ I thought I was gonna get in trouble.”
In her confessional, Katie admitted, “I was like, ‘Oh, s–t.’ And if it is legal, I don’t wanna talk about it. What am I gonna do? I was being lied to again by Slade. He’s at the root of this tornado. He is the eye of the storm for sure.”
Katie also showed Tamra text messages with Gretchen, backing up her claim that Slade was trying to silence her. Her husband, Matt Ginella, wasn’t having it either — he previously shared texts he received from Slade and accused him of “trying to manipulate” the situation.
Meanwhile, the gossip made its way to Gretchen and Slade during Emily Simpson’s fundraiser. Gretchen was visibly irritated at Tamra and Katie’s meetup, and when she and Slade tried to confront Tamra at the event, Tamra grabbed Eddie and peaced out. Gretchen, of course, called that “guilty” behavior in her confessional.
Slade offered only one vague comment to the guys later that night: “I really messed up. It wasn’t my intent to, like, drop a bomb or anything.”
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