Tamra Judge is once again reminding everyone that she’s still here, and according to her, she’s now the longest-running Housewife in the franchise’s two-decade history.
Speaking with The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, Judge responded to the unofficial title with a mix of self-satisfaction and trademark smugness.
“As for the ‘longest-running’ title,” Judge admitted, she doesn’t take it too seriously, but added with a snicker, “It doesn’t suck.”
One might assume that with longevity would come humility, but for Judge, it’s more about the perks. “Andy [Cohen] texted me something because it was announced on social media, and I said, ‘What do I get, boss? What do I get? Do I get an award?’” she recalled. “And he’s like, ‘No, you get to be famous and rich.’ And I said, ‘I’ll take it.’”
With The Real Housewives now a global franchise, the series has evolved far beyond its early voyeuristic roots. Tamra concedes that much has changed, although one could argue she hasn’t. “Of course the show is different. The world is different,” she said. “The things that we did back then, the things that we said back then, would never fly today.”
Social media, Judge argues, has transformed how cast members present themselves, or, in some cases, try to self-produce. “Now cast members and talent can see what people are saying, and they might self-produce themselves, or want to pull back because everybody on social media is saying you’re a horrible person, or go kill yourself, or whatever they’re saying to you. It’s tough.”
It’s hard not to hear a note of self-pity, especially given Judge’s well-documented role as one of the franchise’s most polarizing figures. “To stay on the show, you have to be an open book,” she insisted. “Everybody’s talking about me, even if I’m not in the scene. They’re talking about me as if I’m this horrible human that is just evil, [asking], ‘Is she going to change? Can she change?’” she said. “It’s like, Oh my God, guys, leave me alone. ‘She’s damaged. She’s this, she’s that.’”
Her husband Eddie, ever the voice of reason in the Tamra-verse, apparently reassured her: “‘Babe, they’re talking, and they’re talking about you. And the whole show so far is about you.’” A statement that perhaps says more about the state of the show than it does about her.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Tamra Judge interview without a feud refresher. This time, she revisits her long-standing rivalry with former castmate Gretchen Rossi, a feud that has outlasted most Bravo contracts. “When she was let go [after Season 8], we were on decent terms. I mean, she went to my wedding. I sat there and hugged her at the reunion when people were all talking about her fake proposal,” Judge recounted. “When she got fired, I moved on. She didn’t live rent free in my brain, so I went on with my life.”
And yet, for someone so “unbothered,” Judge had a surprisingly detailed account of Rossi’s every move. “I noticed all the time that she was talking about me, if it was a podcast, if it was her coming back to the show for a little cameo,” she said. “She’s gotta bring up, ‘Eddie’s gay!’ and [she] connected with my old best friend [who was] just talking badly about me back then. Every podcast she does, it’s about me. She even did her own podcast for a little while, and she talked about me.”
It’s clear that after all these years, Tamra Judge knows how to keep herself at the center of the narrative, whether it’s with longevity, controversy, or just sheer volume. She may have outlasted her castmates, but one has to wonder: is staying power the same as staying relevant?
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