Entertainment

This Former Housewife is Still on Reality TV

by Anam Syed

If you've been following the current ninth season of Bravo's Real Housewives of Orange County, you're more than acquainted with some of its colorful new cast of characters. However, you might have noticed this season is a little lighter in veteran cast members, specifically Tamra Barney's archnemesis Gretchen Rossi. Gretchen's departure was no real surprise, given the levels of ugliness her feud with Tamra had reached, with the pair (alongside Gretchen's beau Slade Smiley) lashing out at each other through various interviews and social media attacks. But that doesn't mean fans don't miss Gretchen and all of the drama she and Tamra brought to the series. So what has Gretchen been doing since leaving RHOC ?

To start, Gretchen seems determined to move on from the Tamra feud, littering her Facebook page with inspirational quotes and declarations aimed at "haters" we can only assume are veiled jabs at Tamra. While some reports, and Tamra herself, suggest Gretchen was fired from the program, Gretchen claims she voluntarily decided not to renew her contract, as reported by Starcasm. Apparently it was just the Real Housewives Gretchen wanted to get away from, as she's currently starring on another reality series. You can now catch Gretchen on WeTV's Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars . While the series originally showcased some of our favorite so-bad-they're-good subjects of Bridezillas, the latest version puts some familiar reality faces to the test. Rossi is joined by such reality veterans as Jenni "JWoww" Farley of Jersey Shore fame, and Ryan and Trista of The Bachelorette.

Her off-camera feuds haven't seemed to extend to her relationships with her latest co-stars, since Gretchen has been posting gushing pics with cast members, even those who have been a part of their share of feuds, like former Bad Girls Club star Tanisha Thomas.

But that doesn't mean it's all sunshine and roses over at the Marriage Boot Camp. RealityTea reports that Gretchen and Slade are unhappy with the way the show was put together, specifically during a staged death scene at a morgue. Gretchen tweeted about how angry a recent episode made her and claimed that new audio of camp co-director Elizabeth was added in post-production to make Slade look bad.

Ok now I'm pissed! Just watched the morgue scene and that was a total voice over of Elizabeth saying "that's it, your not going to touch her one last time" that was never said in that moment and they did not show half of what Slade said to me and how he embraced me afterwards. I'm calling #bs with that editing on #MarriageBootCamp #notcool exactly why we were hesitant to do the hot button exercise right before that.

It just wouldn't be Gretchen if she weren't throwing shade towards someone, and since her costars seem to be rubbing her the right way, it looks like the ire will be directed behind the camera. Lest you think more reality television is all she's got, the star is no stranger to other types of work. Fans will recall the reality star has her own online store, where one can purchase her own line of cosmetics, stuff from Gretchen's personal closet, or her line of breast cancer awareness products. Don't worry, it's a one stop shop for her terrible music too, in case you were looking to set up an ironic all-housewives playlist. Gretchen also collaborated with Dolcessa Swimwear and presented a collection of summer looks at a fashion event in Arizona in May.

We'll see how long Gretchen can maintain the peace with her new reality cohorts and non-reality collaborations. Of course, this probably isn't the last we've seen of Gretchen in Orange County, either. In an interview with WetPaint, Rossi said "never say never" when asked if she'd ever return to the series. Which means we probably all have a little more of Slade's awful stand up in our future, for better or for worse (probably worse).