Inside Gretchen Rossi’s Exit And Full Confirmed Cast For ‘RHOC’ Season 20

Gretchen Rossi shocked fans with her return to the “Real Housewives of Orange County” after several years away from the Bravo franchise, but her time back amongst the cast is officially a short-lived one.

As the milestone 20th season of the inaugural “Housewives” city is set to start filming soon, the cast has now been confirmed, and Rossi’s quest to reclaim her orange is over.

When it was initially announced that Rossi would return to the show, many fans were excited and hopeful that she would take down long-time nemesis Tamara Judge.

However, despite starting off strong in her new “friend of” role on the show, she ultimately ended her season in a swirl of controversy that likely closed the door on her return.

According to Variety, Rossi, who initially appeared on "RHOC" during season 4-8, will not be part of the cast for the upcoming season. Her exit is the second confirmation for the cast of the new season, as Katie Ginella previously announced that she had not been asked to return as a full-time cast member earlier this month.

During the end of the season, Rossi was blindsided when her past social media activity revealed a series of controversial likes while the cast was at the final dinner in Amsterdam.

Cast member Gina Kirschenheiter showed screenshots of a shocking Twitter thread from 2023 of Rossi liking a series of transphobic, anti-abortion, and anti-vaccine posts. Clearly caught off guard in the moment, Rossi failed to convince the ladies that she didn’t like the tweets and that she was being set up.

Her response resulted in those in the cast who supported her wanting nothing to do with her, and she left on the outs with everyone. Rossi’s fans were waiting for the reunion to see if she could provide concrete proof that she was innocent, but it never really happened despite her best efforts.

While appearing on the Bravo Aftershow, Rossi spoke out about the moment her likes were revealed and the fallout. "I was legitimately in shock and confused. And then it just got weirder and weirder and weirder," she said in October 2025.

Rossi continued, posing the question:

"You're gonna tell me that these things have been out on the internet and I've been out liking all this stuff… and nothing has ever been picked up by the media?"

"What am I supposed to say to this? I know fundamentally in my heart what I feel and how I believe, so… But it's like, how are you supposed to defend that in that moment?" she continued.

In addition to Judge and Kirschenheiter, returning “Housewives” will also include series mainstays Shannon Beador, Emily Simpson, Heather Dubrow, and Jennifer Pedranti. However, one major former cast member’s return will definitely shake up the OC.

Late last year, in November 2025, it was announced that Vicki Gunvalson, an original cast member of the show, would make her grand return as a full-time cast member just in time for the 20th season.

The announcement was made by Andy Cohen at BravoCon, according to Deadline. ”Vicki, would you join us as a housewife for Season 20?” Cohen asked Gunvalson while on stage at the event as fans loudly applauded.

Per Variety, Gunvalson’s return is the reason that Judge was offered another season on the show. “She’s been saved because of the storyline potential that comes from reuniting the now-splintered ‘tres amigas,’ which consisted of Gunvalson, Judge, and Beador,” according to the outlet.

Although she has not been a full-time cast member for several seasons, Gunvalson has appeared as a “friend of” in recent years, and during that time she has had conflict with some of the cast.

With the potential of the “tres amigas” being a strong alliance once again, that could see the friendships that Judge and Beador formed in Gunvalson’s absence being threatened.

”Real Housewives of Orange County” is set to return to Bravo sometime this summer.