In an exclusive new interview with RealityWanted, Bravo housewives alum Jo De La Rosa opens up about her new life post The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Jo appeared on the 1st and 2nd seasons of the show as the fiance of Slade Smiley. In this new interview, Jo talks about her feelings towards Slade and Gretchen’s new dating relationship (Gretchen was friends with both Jo and Slade), the new man in her life (pictured above) and why she chose not to return to the show this season.
Excerpts from Jo’s interview below –
Q. Reality Wanted: Will you make an appearance in Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Orange County?
A. Jo: It is one of those things where, I left the show back in Season 2, and my life is so different now, who I am now compared to who I was 4 years ago. I live in LA now. There were talks of me coming on the show to confront Gretchen and Slade, but I need to be selfless at this point. Regardless of how I feel about them being together, this is Gretchen and Slade’s time in the spotlight and I just want to move forward with my music. It would have put me back out there in the public eye, but for all the wrong reasons. I will forever be thankful for The Real Housewives of Orange County, because that is how I got my start, but I have my own story that I have to tell through my music, and for me to go back to confront the past just doesn’t make sense.
Q. Reality Wanted: How long did you & Slade date? Even on Date My Ex, he was always with you…
A. Jo: We were together for five years. Here is the funny thing, some insider information: even though I was on the show; I was still in love with Slade. I was still trying to work things out. It was never really over for Slade and I. Even after Date My Ex, Slade and I were still trying to work it out and then….came Gretchen.
Q. Reality Wanted: On the show, Gretchen said that she called you to let you know about her and Slade, even though he had said not to. Is this accurate?
A. Jo: She called me because I found out from her ex-boyfriend Jay that Slade and Gretchen were hooking up. So the whole reason she called me was because it was already out. She actually called me when Slade was in jail and she was asking for help. (Smiley was arrested in February 2009 for unpaid child support, purportedly at Rossi’s Costa Mesa home.) I was just like, “How can you call me and ask me for help when I just found out that you are sleeping with Slade?” The truth of the matter is that it is what it is, and Gretchen, to me, is…it’s just dumb. We were ALL friends, you know, no matter how close we were, I just wish they would have come to me first, without me having to find out the way that I did. Even being able to talk to Slade on it, one on one, but they didn’t even give me that. I just have to move forward, and not have a confrontation on camera. He was the love of my life, and she knew that. I was with him for 5 years, we were engaged, I acted as the mother of his children, and I was building a life with this man, and she was the girl that I knew, and you know what it is, at the end of the day, I just hate the way it all came down and came to an end. Slade and I are no longer even friends, and I haven’t even been able to talk to him face to face about it, and I know that is because of her (Gretchen).
Q. Reality Wanted: So, I have to ask, are you dating anyone?
A. Jo: I have been dating the same person for awhile now. He is super hot! Jeff was walking out of a club as I was walking in, and when I saw him, my heart just dropped. He was walking away, and he was wearing a fedora, and I thought “I have to talk to this guy!” So, I just yelled out “hey, you, fedora boy!” He is not in the entertainment industry, he is a little bit younger than me, and he is hot! I am really happy right now and things are going great in my life!
