As Gretchen Rossi is finding out, even after you leave The Real Housewives of Orange County, you inevitably get dragged right back into the drama! This week it was reported that Slade Smiley offered to help out with Jim Bellino‘s lawsuit against Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador. Gretchen Rossi is vehemently denying the initial reports that claimed they were the ones who went to Jim (according to papers Jim filed in the case) and asked if they could assist by testifying about their own experiences with Tamra.
Gretchen took to Facebook to share that she felt compelled to share her side of how this thing actually came about. “First of all Slade and I were contacted by Jim, not the other way around. Even though we had not spoken to him since the show many yrs [sic] ago, we had no bad blood with him. He knew we had been in a similar case for years and had won a judgment against the individual who perpetuated those lies against us.”
She continued, “He also asked if we would come in and testify against Tamra. We made it very clear we had no intention of voluntarily testifying against her and did not want to be involved.”
“Since then his attorney has requested the court to lift the discovery hold so they can subpoena us and others in order to force our testimony. If the court allows this then we would no longer have a choice to be involved or not, even if it’s against our will (which is the whole point behind why lawyers issue subpoenas)”
Tamra Judge does NOT want Gretchen Rossi involved in the Bellino lawsuit
Gretchen then gives her followers a little legal lesson, “For those that are sending me messages saying I can just plead the fifth, that is not how it works in this situation. You can only plead the fifth for self-incrimination. For those that say I should just not show up, that’s not how it works either. When a subpoena is issued it becomes a court order from the Judge and if I don’t show up I could be held in contempt of court. So please stop making assumptions about things you do not know and ignorant statements.”
Slade Smiley admits he was asked to be The Bachelor
She makes it clear that she wants no part of this mess after finishing a long eight year court battle of her own. She declared that she doesn’t, “care to see the inside of a court room ever again!”
Gretchen is tired of the “she’s thirsty and wants attention” claims. “I am not desperate to be in the limelight or trying to stay relevant, I am not trying to get back on the show, I am not getting paid, desperate for money, nor is my business failing. I have not joined Jim Bellino’s court case and am not a party to this matter. I did not agree to testify, thus the reason they intend to subpoena our testimony.”
TELL US – DO YOU THINK SLADE AND GRETCHEN’S TESTIMONY WILL HELP JIM’S LAWSUIT? WHOSE VERSION OF EVENTS DO YOU BELIEVE: JIM’S OR GRETCHEN’S?
Photo Credit: Robin L Marshall/Getty Images
