Tamra Judge, a cast member on The Real Housewives of Orange County, recently revealed that she sought help from the show’s psychiatrist during the most recent season, following what she described as a mental and physical breakdown.
The disclosure came during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live, where she discussed the pressures she faced both on and off camera.
According to Judge, her emotional state began deteriorating after her podcast co-host and friend Teddi Mellencamp was diagnosed with melanoma. During the same period, Judge continued filming for Bravo, recording multiple podcast episodes weekly, and managing business obligations with her husband.
“I wasn’t eating. I wasn’t sleeping. I ended up weighing 108 pounds,” she said. “My skin was just literally falling off of me.”
Despite describing herself as “committed” to all her jobs, including her time at Burger King as a teenager, Judge admitted to experiencing what she called a breakdown. “I got to a point where I was overworked, I was depressed,” she said, eventually taking a week off from filming.
Judge explained that, after stepping back from production briefly, she was evaluated by the show’s psychiatrist, a mental health professional provided by the network. The psychiatrist required her to complete a 500-question survey and subsequently diagnosed her with severe depression and “self-worth problems,” according to Judge’s account.
The revelation sparked surprise among the show’s other guests, including Jeff Lewis and co-host Doug Budin, who were unaware that reality shows provide psychiatric oversight to their cast members.
