RHOC's Gretchen Rossi Slams Tamra Judge for Calling Slade Smiley 'Deadbeat Dad' After Son Died from Cancer

The 46-year-old, who joined the show's 19th season after more than a decade away, wasted no time reigniting old feuds, and her first attack was aimed at Judge, following the RHOC OG's remarks about Rossi's fiancé Slade Smiley.

While the pair's reintroduction started off friendly during Thursday night's new episode, with Judge telling Rossi she looked "beautiful," things quickly escalated after they each began accusing the other of planting negative stories about each other in the press.

After going in circles amid a heated back and forth that included some more name-calling, Judge reiterated that she wanted to "just move forward" with Rossi saying she'd do the same, however reluctant she felt at the time.

But during a confessional Rossi cast some doubt on a future friendship with Judge.

"I don't think that Tamra's ever going to have true friendships until she can actually recognize what she's done to harm people," she stated. "And until I feel like I get that from her, I don't really know if I wanna move on."

Rossi also furiously defended Smiley against Judge's claims, accusing Judge of being soulless.

"Slade has never been a deadbeat dad," she bluntly told the cameras. "He just lost his son, like if you can't have a soul in that moment, you don't have a f--king soul."

Slade's son, Grayson Smiley, passed away on February 5, 2023, at age 22 after battling an aggressive brain cancer diagnosed when he was just five. Over the years, Grayson endured 30 brain surgeries.

Judge responded to Rossi's confessional in an Instagram post, sharing part of the confessional in which Rossi claimed that every new housewife reaches out to her for help on how to "deal with Tamra."

In the post, Judge included a comment back-and-forth between Rossi and Housewife Jennifer Pedranti, which suggested Rossi reached out to the latter, not the other way around.

"Didn't think the lies would start this early in the season… but here we are! #RHOC," Judge captioned the shady post. She did not, however, address the comments she made about Smiley, or his late son.

As for Rossi and Smiley, who share 6-year-old daughter Skylar, they spoken candidly about grieving Grayson over the last two years. In a 2023 interview with PEOPLE, Rossi revealed the immense emotional toll the loss has taken on their family.

"For many months we just were not well," she said at the time. "Slade just did not wake up happy -- and it was my job to keep him moving forward for our daughter."

Despite her young age, Rossi said Skylar has been surprisingly attuned to the family's grief.

"She can pick up on it," Rossi shared. "We always pray for Grayson and talk to him in heaven. And she is the sweetest thing ever. And I can't tell you how many times she says, 'Mommy, daddy, I miss Grayson.' It's just so sweet when she says those things."

Rossi added that balancing their mourning with parenting hasn't been easy, either, calling the moment "difficult."

"So there's been this difficulty of finding that balance of being able to go through your own emotional grief -- but also still be present and there for her where she doesn't carry that burden," she explained. "Because she's so young. And she's so super sensitive and so highly aware of what's going on. She's very in tune with all that. So when she sees us struggling, she knows. And so it's hard. We really have to watch it."

While navigating their loss, Rossi also wants her daughter to understand that death is an inevitable part of life, adding, "There's a part of it that we know is important that she understands and knows because that's going to be a part of life."

See Rossi back on TV when new episodes of RHOC air Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on Bravo.