Tamra Judge Breaks Down to Vicki Gunvalson Over Fractured Friendship: 'I Fought for You'
Tamra Judge was brought to tears on Monday’s Real Housewives of Orange County, as she and fellow Housewife Vicki Gunvalson confronted their fractured friendship while on vacation in Iceland.
The spontaneous conversation came hours after Gunvalson, 55, returned from the hospital where she was receiving treatment for what she thought was a heart attack (but what ended up being a combination of exhaustion and dehydration).
“Seeing Vicki being taken off to the hospital kind of puts things in perspective,” Judge, 50, confessed to viewers. “Like, what are we fighting over? Does it really matter? And I feel like now we can really have a conversation that means something.”
They had a lot to address, of course.
Judge had been at odds with Gunvalson for months as “the O.G. of the O.C.” helped spread false rumors that Judge’s husband Eddie is gay. Gunvalson, meanwhile, felt Judge had exhibited “mean girl” behavior by reminding Gunvalson about her involvement in ex-boyfriend Brooks Ayers’ cancer scam — something Ayers previously told PEOPLE that Gunvalson had no part in, but something Gunvalson herself admitted at the RHOC reunion that she had “fabricated” in an effort to get her castmates to feel “compassion” for Ayers.
The last time the two tried to discuss their problems, it got even worse as Gunvalson claimed Judge’s husband had only married her to open a gym — an accusation that caused Judge to storm away from their chat in frustration.
That anger seemed nowhere to be found as the two began speaking in Iceland, though. “[You] have to be willing to hear it and listen to it and then hear my side,” Gunvalson told Judge at the top of their talk. “There’s two sides to every conflict and every story and … people are going to have to sacrifice and really forgive. Because I’ve been hurt too.”
Judge was patient, but didn’t waste time bringing up Eddie. “He is so amazing to me. He’s my best friend. I love him,” Judge said, comparing her relationship to Gunvalson’s with boyfriend Steve Lodge. “Could you imagine if I was spreading rumors about Steve? It would be hurtful. You should have come to me.”
“I’ve had people come to be about Steve,” Judge continued. “It’s not my style. How would you like it if I did it to you? Just please tell me you’re sorry!”
In Gunvalson’s defense, she felt Judge had, in fact, been spreading rumors about her. “I did [say I’m sorry] Tamra and I’ve been telling you for six months,” she said. “I’ve heard bad things you’ve said about me. You did, with Brooks. You did for five years. But I had to learn that myself.”
That’s when it appeared to click for Judge. “Vicki, that wasn’t spreading rumors. I was never spreading rumors about Brooks,” she told Gunvalson. “I was your friend, Vicki. I wanted you [at your] best. I wanted you to be happy. I knew he was lying to you.”
“You turned against people [who] tried to protect you,” Judge continued, in tears. “I was protecting you. Do you understand how hard it hurt me? Do you understand? I fought for you. I wanted you as a friend. I loved you as a friend and you chose him over me. He f—– you. … All I ever wanted was the best for you. That’s all I ever wanted.”
Then Judge asked Gunvalson to admit something she hadn’t done before: that she was wrong. “You won’t do it, okay? Just admit it to me! You can’t do it it,” Judge said.
She was right. “I can’t do it, okay,” Gunvalson shot back, embracing a crying Judge. “I will promise you, on my children’s lives, I have no desire to hurt you. We should have never lost our friendship over a man. You, Shannon and [Heather Dubrow] were all pushing me out — calling me con woman, calling me all these horrible things. I’ve known you for a decade of my life … this is crazy. When I told you that you were like my sister, you were like my family, and don’t hurt me, I will not hurt you.”
It was a sweet moment, but Judge’s friend Shannon Beador — who has had her own problems with Gunvalson — wasn’t having it.
“That woman doesn’t admit anything,” Beador told viewers. “She never takes responsibility for anything she does. And she’s doing nasty, mean things on a regular basis.”
Her warnings may have been in Judge’s best interest, but Judge appeared ready to let it go. “I just want to be treated with respect and loved,” she said after Gunvalson left. “I’m done with the negativity; I’m done with the fighting; I’m done with the pain. I need to move on for myself.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Mondays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
