Credit: Andrew Eccles/Bravo
Jennifer Pedranti opened up about her strained relationship with Tamra Judge during an interview on Tuesday.
As she looked ahead to the Real Housewives of Orange County reunion and admitted that her boyfriend Ryan Boyajian was quite hurt by the claims Tamra, 55, made against him, Jennifer, 46, also shared if she’s open to marrying her partner as she revealed her “most surprising” castmate and answered a few rapid-fire questions about the show.
On the August 29 episode of Access Hollywood‘s Housewives Nightcap, Jennifer named Tamra as the “most two-faced” of the group and said Shannon Beador, 59, was the “messiest.” She was then asked which of her castmates should be fired ahead of the new season.
“Nobody,” she replied. “I think the cast is good.”
While Jennifer doesn’t know yet if she’ll be back for season 18, she is looking forward to the reunion.
“I need a lot of yoga. I need to bring that to the reunion. I’m nervous, and then there’s so many things I want to clear up,” she explained. “I want to understand it. I want a reason [from Tamra]. I want to know. I feel like I deserve it.”
She also has a bone to pick with Emily Simpson, 47.
“I really like Emily a lot and I really admire her and I’ve heard a few things — that comments have been made — and it bothers me because I feel like those are all based on things you hear, nothing you’ve ever seen,” Jennifer noted. “She’s a smart girl. She’s a smart cookie. And I don’t view her as falling for that. And so I’d love to ask.”
Continuing on, Jennifer said she didn’t judge Emily based off things she heard about her and her family prior to joining the cast.
“I heard [her husband, Shane Simpson] got a bad rap in the beginning and when I met Emily, I didn’t think, ‘Oh she’s got that one husband.’ She just raves about her husband and seems so happy and tells me about this amazing man. I know what I see and what I hear. I’m not going on the past or what was filmed and I was surprised that she did that about Ryan,” Jennifer shared. “[And] I’d like to clear that up.”
As for her “most surprising” cast mate, Jennifer named Shannon.
“I had heard a lot from Tamra about Shannon because they had a very rough spot in their relationship and so everything I knew about Shannon was through my friend at the time, Tamra, and so I was very hesitant with Shannon and she was like, supportive and kind,” Jennifer revealed. “She surprised me.”
Throughout the 17th season of RHOC, Jennifer’s boyfriend has been accused of sending d*ck pics to other women, being a serial cheater, and of saying he was going to “f*ck” Tamra. And, looking back, Jennifer admitted it was “not easy” navigating all the drama.
“People have asked me, does it come home? Does it affect your relationship? And you know what? It does,” she said. “I’m on this show. He is not, yet he’s my partner and so much that is coming at me is about him and allegations about him, and it is hurtful. So managing all of that, it can be a lot.”
Despite all the drama, Jennifer said she and Ryan are doing “so good” and are “so happy.”
“He’s taking so much heat from people, and I wish people knew him the way I know him. I’m the one who showed up in a divorce, five kids. He’s never wavered ever on me, and he treats me and loves me more than I’ve ever felt in my life,” she gushed. “I’m excited, I hope to go forward in this because I want people to see us how we are.”
Although Jennifer and Ryan aren’t engaged quite yet, she made it clear she’s not opposed to the idea.
“We’re never gonna be apart and I would’ve told you I don’t think I would ever get married again, but I love that man like crazy and would do anything with him and for him,” she shared.
As for how Ryan’s been coping with the RHOC drama, Jennifer said, “He’s mind-blown.”
“He traveled with them, her and Eddie. He had them at his home, he is just mind-blown, and it’s hurtful because he really did like Eddie,” she explained.
Regarding her own relationship with Tamra, Jennifer said they are “not in a good spot.”
“I really valued that friendship and had had that friendship for a long time and certainly didn’t anticipate everything that came at me and don’t understand why those conversations were waited for on camera. Why didn’t that happen between Tamra and I years before in our lives?” she wondered.
According to Jennifer, it’s crossed her mind that Tamra fabricated their feud in an effort to return to the show with a bang.
“I don’t know her this way. This is not how I knew her in my life with her, and so I go through all those, ‘Is this for TV? Is this for this? Is this for that? Is this her role?’ And I will say, I think she came back with pressure,” Jennifer noted. “I think she had a lot of pressure and she needed to come back big. And I’m grateful I didn’t have that pressure. So I want to believe maybe that’s what it is.”
Whatever the cast, Jennifer admitted, “I miss [our] friendship.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.