Returning To 'The Real Housewives of Orange County,' Tamra Judge Is Gearing Up For More Drama!

Tamra Judge is well known in the Real Housewives world. After 11 seasons, Judge left the Bravo franchise back in January 2020, and now more than two years later, she’s getting ready to pick up her orange once again and return to “The Real Housewives of Orange County” for season 17. 

Judge, 54, joined the show back in season three. After devoting 12 years to what seemed to be never ending drama, she announced that she was leaving the show. A few weeks after she made that announcement, she revealed that Bravo had fired her because she was asking for too much money. Her return may come as a surprise to many who followed the show. Back in October 2021, she announced that she had no plans to return to the show, telling People, "It's been a wild ride, and after all these seasons, I'm looking forward to life away from the cameras. I was offered a chance to come back to the show in a limited role, but would prefer to walk away on my own terms."

An insider told Page Six that she can’t wait to get back into the housewife action. “Tamra is thrilled to come back to the show, especially after feeling the fan love from her stint on ‘Ultimate Girls Trip,’” the source said. “She can’t wait to get back in the mix on ‘RHOC’ and see how she can shake up the dynamic.” Another source close to the reality star said that the new season of the popular show is expected to “revolve around Tamra.”

Many of her fellow Bravo housewives shared their thoughts on her return during Jill Zarin’s Luxury Luncheon in The Hamptons, a popular event at a private location in Southampton that honored her late husband, Bobby Zarin and his long battle with thyroid cancer. “RHOC” alum Braunwyn Windham-Burke told Page Six, “Obviously her presence has been missed. She’s a staple on the show and they’d be lucky to have her.” Her longtime friend and former castmate Vicki Gunvalson said, “Good for her, I’m happy for her.”

The drama seems to have already begun according to Queens of Bravo on Instagram. Judge called out Zarin for blowing up her spot and announcing her return before Judge could.  Before the event, Zarin shared a different version of Gunvalson's reaction in a since deleted Instagram story that read, "And Tamra's coming back and my friend Vicki's not happy."

Last month, it was said that Judge believed that “Real Housewives” executive producer Andy Cohen was not entertaining the idea of bringing her back because of false information regarding her podcast. Judge believed that the information was given to Cohen by fellow housewife Heather Dubrow. “Tamra’s doing a whole podcast about the behind-the-scenes of the ‘Housewives,’” said Cohen, in reference to “Two Ts In A Pod,” which Judge co-hosts with “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Teddi Mellencamp. He further went on to say, “How do you go on a ‘Housewives’ show when you’re doing a behind-the-scenes about the ‘Housewives?’” Judge claimed to have heard similar comments on one of Dubrow’s podcasts. Judge later told Jeff Lewis, “And I feel like somebody’s been in his ear telling him that that’s what we do.” She also added that she asked her former boss if he actually ever listened to her podcast, in which he responded, “No.” Her response to that, “Well you can’t just read headlines and expect to believe that.” It appears that now the whole misunderstanding is over and done with since she's now gearing up for her big return. 

Jumping back into the on-camera drama shouldn't be too hard for Judge who recently returned to her housewives roots for season two of "The Real Housewives Ultimate Girl Trip." The series is now streaming on Peacock.