Tamra Judge has given her mind, body, and soul to the Real Housewives of Orange County series. Joining this cast in Season 3, Tamra entered loud and proud, holding her imaginary pot-stirring wand at the ready. Her efforts saw her lasting until Season 14 when she walked into a bush to hide out until Season 17. Even though she isn’t a Season 1 OG, she is still the longest-running cast member in her series, and this, partnered with her following contributions on RHOC, will always make her an honorary OG in our eyes.
No one in the OC claps back like Tamra
When the bush finally spat Tamra back out in Season 17, her costars all had mixed reactions. At BravoCon, this was addressed by Andy Cohen, who asked Shannon Beador what her initial reaction was on this matter. “It’s not good” was her reply. Tamra reached for the mic at this point, explaining that “someone had to save the show.”
I died, as did the audience because she was right. Over the years, Tamra’s clapbacks and opinions were always expertly presented. When her iconic mouth departed, things grew rather quiet and stale. As for some of my favorite lines of hers, I clearly have many.
To start, Tamra has introduced us to phrases like “naked wasted,” “Jesus jugs,” and even “Kentucky fried titties.” On the KFC aspect, I used this line while holding a bucket of fried chicken. Things worked out, and that’s all that I’ll say about that.
But also, Tamra’s hot takes are equally OG-level status. Especially when it came time to deal with her disdain for Slade Smiley. “I think Slade is at home waxing his eyebrows and plucking his ass hairs because he’s definitely not with his kids,” she once joked.
As for some of her other lines, “Is your ass jealous of the shit coming out of your mouth?” hits. And also “He must have been conceived anally, because he’s the biggest asshole I’ve ever met.” I equally live for Tamra yelling “That’s my opinion.” Overall, I’m pretty sure that I text using this honorary OG’s many suck-it-related memes at least once a week.
Tamra keeps things moving, like an OG pro
Tamra knows how to keep a storyline moving, even if means that she might not always receive a great edit in turn. To start, there’s the whole IMDB storyline from Hell thing. Obvi, Heather Dubrow is an actress, as she has often noted on RHOC. Therefore, Tamra and Taylor Armstrong looked up Heather’s IMDB account during a cast trip to Montana, and Tamra joked about their findings, but somehow, Taylor ended up taking the fall.
When Tamra’s friend Jennifer Pedranti joined the cast, her then-boyfriend Ryan Boyajian also came on. Almost immediately, Tamra began spreading allegations that Ryan was cheating. Jennifer confessed to knowing all about Ryan’s prior ways. But, it angered her that she had to talk about this on-air, and that’s all thanks to Tamra’s freely tossed shade.
I could go on, but we all know one thing to be true. When it comes to dead air time, it won’t be happening on Tamra’s watch.
As for storylines, Tamra is the OG of giving
Back in Season 4, the Real Housewives series stopped playing nice and started getting real. This all began when Gretchen Rossi’s since-passed fiancé Jeff learned that he was dying from leukemia. Needing a break, Gretchen took off to Bass Lake, which rubbed Tamra the wrong way. When Gretchen caught wind of Tamra’s gossiping, she approached her costar, and for the first time, we saw a Housewife go into interrogation mode.
“Did you go to Bass Lake?” Tamra asked. Her costars were shooketh, but Tamra’s boldness paved the way for her, and all of the other Real Housewives on Bravo, to start getting messy. Overall, “Did you go to Bass Lake?” walked, so “Were people doing coke in your bathroom?” could run. Thank you, Tamra.
In addition to this, Tamra’s also given us everything. Unlike some of her peers, she doesn’t shy away from her feelings simply because the cameras are rolling. We’ve watched her fight and tell her then-spouse that she wanted a divorce. We’ve also watched her get remarried, baptized, fall out with a child, make out with her female costars, and also, get frank about her darker years, where suicide entered into her mindset.
At this point in her career, Tamra is a professional reality television star. She keeps things moving, funny, and controversial, which these types of series all need. Consider me seated, knowing that this honorary OG is returning for RHOC Season 18. Because anything can (and likely will) transpire, simply because Tamra’s name is attached.
Get caught up with Real Housewives of Orange County ahead of the new season on Peacock.
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