'Real Housewives' star Tamra Judge addresses backlash over Autism claim
"Real Housewives of Orange County" star Tamra Judge is addressing her past claim that she had Autism during the Season 19 premiere of the Bravo reality show.
On the July 10 episode, the former Cut Fitness owner, 57, was shown in an emotional therapy session, and talked through tears about how the backlash to her claim affected her.
"My sensory issues are heightened, my intrusive thoughts are out of control right now," Judge said to her therapist. Judge revealed how she had "been crying" about the backlash to the podcast episode. She explained that "when (my therapist) mentioned (the Autism spectrum) to me, I had gone home and went on my podcast. And I misspoke, I shouldn't have said anything." She told her therapist that "I just got annihilated, publicly annihilated."
Judge is the longest running "Real Housewives" star, first joining the "Orange County" edition for its third season in 2008, and has starred in the series for 15 seasons, except for a two-season hiatus from 2022 to 2023. In October 2024, Judge sparked backlash in a now-deleted Instagram clip from her podcast "Two Ts In A Pod", after she told her cohost Teddi Mellencamp, "I just did my first therapy session … I am on the spectrum." "On the spectrum" is a phrase that refers to someone with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Mayo Clinic defines ASD as "a condition related to brain development that affects how people see others and socialize with them."
Based off the premiere episode, Judge has yet to receive a formal diagnosis, but fans felt she was attempting to make the claim as an excuse for her behavior towards costars on Season 18 of the series.
In a confessional, Judge added that the criticism "was really hurtful," and "people think that I don’t have feelings, and it’s not true. I’m tired of being called a horrible human being because I’m not."
"I realized that you have to dig up those things that are buried deep inside of you, because those are the things that come out when you get angry," Judge said, adding that it is due to "just talking about stuff that I don’t want to talk about."
Judge revealed that her estrangement from eldest daughter Sidney, her own father's absence and her past heavily publicized custody battle with ex-husband Simon Barney as reasons behind her sadness.
When asked by "Housewives" executive producer Andy Cohen on his post-"RHOC" talk show "Watch What Happens Live" if she was still in therapy, Judge said that "it's a process" and confirmed that she is still seeing her provider.
Cohen then asked Judge about her anger issues and her husband Eddie Judge jokingly whispered, "still there."
This season of "RHOC" (Thursdays, 9 ET/PT) also features Katie Ginella, Emily Simpson, Gina Kirschenheiter, Heather Dubrow, Jennifer Pedranti, Shannon Storms Beador and the return of Judge rival Gretchen Rossi as a friend of the cast.