Tamra Judge Admitted She Struggled to ‘Cope’ Following Teddi Mellencamp’s Cancer Diagnosis
Tamra Judge nearly quit The Real Housewives of Orange County during a Season 19 episode, a move that came because of her struggles following Teddi Mellencamp’s cancer diagnosis. Judge and Mellencamp, a RHOC alum, are friends, and the former said Mellencamp’s diagnosis devastated her. It led to one of the lowest periods of her life.
The ‘Real Housewives of Orange County’ star briefly quit the show
During a trip to New Orleans, Judge stormed out of a group dinner and seemingly quit the show. While she did not actually exit the series, she said she wanted to at the moment.
“I had a few drinks and I had a Xanax, and it was the worst thing I could have done,” she told Us Weekly, noting, “I just decided this isn’t for me right now. I can’t do this anymore. And I left.”
Judge ultimately just took a break from filming and will return later this season.
“Everybody was calling me. Andy [Cohen] was calling me. [Executive producer] Alex [Baskin] was calling me. They asked me to please take a week off,” Tamra said. “They said, ‘We know how much stress you’re under, and I want you to take a week off. Come back to us in a week, and if you still want to quit, we respect where you’re at in your life and everything that’s going on.’ They were very nice to me, very kind to me about that.”
Tamra Judge said Teddi Mellencamp’s cancer diagnosis was hard on her
Judge said that during the New Orleans trip, she was at a low point in her life. Her friend, Mellencamp, was recently diagnosed with brain cancer.
“Going into filming, Teddi Mellencamp had just gotten diagnosed [with brain cancer],” she said. “I think people don’t understand the other side of cancer. When your friends or your family member or somebody is diagnosed, you don’t know what’s gonna happen. When someone says you have stage four brain cancer — you’re having brain tumors removed from your head — it’s scary as hell.”
She said she wasn’t “eating or sleeping” in the wake of the news. She relied on Xanax to make it through the day.
“I would have to take Xanax to even cope during the day without crying,” she said, adding, “I was wasting away. I was down to, like, 108 pounds.”
Judge said she reached her breaking point in New Orleans, prompting her to temporarily quit the show.
Tamra Judge praised Teddi Mellencamp’s strength
Though Judge has struggled in the wake of Mellencamp’s diagnosis, she said she finds her friend inspiring.
“It’s hard,” she said, per Bravo. “[Teddi is] dealing with it, and she’s dealing with it with such positivity and such strength. And it’s just inspiring. I just look at her, and she’s going through treatment. Here she is, her head is shaved, she’s tired all the time, and she will get up and get on the treadmill. She says, ‘Even if it’s five minutes, I got to move my body. I gotta keep going.’ Just always so positive.”
Mellencamp has even been a pillar of support for Judge as she films the series, something the latter feels guilty about.
“I feel guilty because during filming, she’ll be like, ‘How are you?’” she said. “I’m like, ‘I’m crying. It’s horrible. The girls are horrible to me.’ And she’s like, ‘Honey, you got this.’ And I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, I should be saying this to you, you know?’ But she’s an inspiration for sure.”
