Source Reveals the Real Reason Tamra Judge Quit RHOC as Producers Are Said to Be “Pissed”

Tamra Judge reportedly “walked off” from filming on the upcoming 19th season of The Real Housewives of Orange County after being “confronted for spreading rumors” about her co-stars.

Days after Tamra, 57, announced she was quitting the Bravo reality series after an alleged encounter with Shannon Beador, 60, and Gretchen Rossi, 46, an insider claims that producers have been left feeling “pissed” after Tamra was accused of being the mastermind behind a series of fake social media accounts.

“Tamra Judge has been cited as being the No. 1 source for production leaks to the media and attempting to get bloggers and reporters to write defamatory and damaging stories about her castmates. She then goes and accuses others of doing it,” an insider alleged to In Touch Weekly on March 14. “Chances are if Tamra is pointing her finger at you about something, it’s because she is trying to deflect from the fact that she is the one behind-the-scenes actually doing it.”

According to the source, Tamra “keeps a folder on each member of the cast and she has spent hours researching the internet looking for negative news that she can use against the cast during production.”

And, when Tamra can’t find any skeletons in the closets of her castmates, she allegedly goes after their partner. 

“Then when the men try to defend themselves against the lies, she speaks on national TV, she complains they should not be involved in the show,” the insider explained. 

As for the supposed fan sites Tamra is controlling, they are said to have a small following and “always show Tamra in a positive light” while leaving “hateful comments on the other Housewives’ social pages.”

Although some RHOC viewers would like to see Tamra “fired,” her co-stars feel that by filming alongside her, despite any drama that arises, they are doing their jobs.

“They are being paid and forced to film with her,” the source shared. 

The insider went on to applaud Gretchen’s return as “brilliant.”

“It was the only reason for producers to keep Tamra on vs. just letting her go,” they noted. “She should be thanking Gretchen for keeping her relevant.”

As RHOC fans likely witnessed, Tamra announced her exit on her Instagram Story amid a cast trip to New Orleans this past weekend, writing, “It was a long run! When life gives you real problems this reality s–t doesn’t make sense. Peace out. I’m out.”

Then, on an episode of her and Teddi Mellencamp‘s podcast, she explained that she was feeling “very anxious and just dealing with some stuff” when she “hit a wall” amid filming on season 19.

“When I get like this, my body just shuts down, It just completely shuts down,” she said on the March 12 episode of Two Ts In a Pod. “And I can just sit in one place and just stare at the wall for hours. And that’s how I feel and it’s really hard to film like that when you feel like that.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County season 19 is expected to premiere on Bravo sometime later this year.