When it comes to Gretchen Rossi’s return to The Real Housewives of Orange County, Alexis Bellino and Jo De La Rosa are keeping it real.
“Gretchen and I had a great friendship at the beginning but I’m sorry that this is one of those friendships that will not be able to recover,” Alexis, 48, exclusively shared with Us Weekly at Galyna Saltkovska’s Golden Afternoon at Truly Blessed Jewels in Newport Beach, California. “She showed too many true colors to me back then.”
Gretchen, 46, and Alexis appeared in the Bravo series together from season 5 to season 8. Alexis returned to the show as “friend” of the cast for season 18 and Gretchen will hold the title for season 19.
“You don’t know how it’s going to air, but I wish her nothing but the best,” Alexis said. “I just know that that friendship for me is done and all I can do is pray for her and wish her the best and she’s gonna need the prayers.”
According to the season 19 trailer, Gretchen will find her feud with former costar Tamra Judge reignited. The dynamic has already made an impression on some cast members, including Emily Simpson.
“I think her return was different than what I expected and I’ll just leave it at that,” Emily, 49, previously told Us at Swirl Boutique in Carlsbad, California. “I had different expectations of what Gretchen would be like, and I would say she was different than what I envisioned.”
For Jo, 44, who was previously engaged to Gretchen’s current fiancé, Slade Smiley, Bravo’s latest casting decision caught her by surprise. (Jo and Slade were engaged the first two seasons of RHOC but broke up in 2017. Jo later married Taran Gray in 2022.)
“I am actually surprised that they asked Gretchen to come back, because I thought she got fired,” Jo told Us while celebrating season 2 of The McBee Dynasty. “I look forward to watching everybody who’s on the cast. With [Gretchen and Slade] being back on this season, I think it’ll be interesting to see how they kind of mesh with the rest of the group.”
As for Jo’s reaction to Slade being engaged and not married after accepting Gretchen’s proposal in 2013, the former cast member doesn’t want to speculate.
“I don’t have a theory, just because it’s not really any of my business what goes on between the two of them, and why haven’t they tied the knot,” she said. “I’m sure a lot of people are speculating.”
While they may not be part of the season 19 cast, both Jo and Alexis are rooting for the cast to succeed when new episodes begin later this month.
Alexis added that she is “relieved” to not be part of the drama as she continues planning her dream wedding to John Janssen.
“I’m not gonna lie, the trailer looks good,” she said. “I do have friends that I talked to on the season, so I do know it’s gonna be a good season. And I’m excited for the girls. I hope that they knock it out of the ballpark.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County returns to Bravo on Thursday, July 10, at 9 p.m. ET. Catch up on old episodes anytime on Peacock.
