Season 18 of Real Housewives of Orange County welcomed back Tamra Judge’s youngest child, Sophia Barney. Now that she’s 18, she no longer needs her father’s permission to film the show, something he’d been denying her since he and Tamra divorced.
In the season premiere of RHOC, Tamra confirmed in a confessional, “[Fans] haven’t seen Sophia in over 10 years because her dad would not sign the agreement to allow her to film. She’s been living with me this entire time. She is now 18 and getting ready to go to college.”
Though fans were happy to see Sophia back on the show, it did leave some people wondering about Tamra’s son, Spencer Barney. Tamra cleared up his whereabouts during her recovery from plastic surgery.
Spencer is not about the spotlight
When Sophia returned to the show, some fans wondered if Spencer would return, too. During Tamra’s recovery from her plastic surgery, she spoke about Spencer during an Instagram Q&A, which is no longer available.
A fan asked, “What’s new with Spencer? Would love to see you, him, and Sophia do a scene!”
“Spencer is a behind-the-scenes type of kid,” Tamra responded. “He’s not even a kid anymore, he’s 24 years old. He just graduated college from Cal State Fullerton, and he’s living in that general area. He did go with me to Watch What Happens Live, and we were in New York for about three or four days … We had a great time, but he’s pretty shy.”
On August 15, while Tamra chatted with Andy Cohen on WWHL, Spencer was happy to pass the time in the dressing room. But being a little more outgoing than her brother, Sophia surprised her mom on camera during the show.
Sophia walked out near the end of the episode and presented Bravo Clubhouse sweatshirts to her mom and co-guest Phil Mattingly, CNN’s Chief Domestic Correspondent. Possibly a little shy herself, Sophia stayed only a moment, making a quick exit and prompting Andy to say, “Oh, she’s out.”
Four kids, four different relationships
The next day, a fan commented on a Bravo Reddit page, “Anyone else notice how uncomfortable Tamra’s daughter was appearing on WWHL?”
Another user responded, “She might just not be comfortable on camera. Not everyone is cut out for it. Some people are just a little awkward irl, too, and that’s ok. I’m not defending Tamra, and I might be wrong, but I don’t think she’s forcing Sophia [to be on camera]. I think Sophia is testing out the waters to see what it would be like to be on the screen and involved more since she wasn’t given the choice before.”
While Tamra is close to Spencer, Sophia, and her oldest son from her first marriage, Ryan Vieth, she’s estranged from her oldest daughter, Sidney Barney. Sadly, Sidney sided with her father, Simon Barney, when they divorced in 2011. Tamra’s contact with Sidney has been sporadic, at best, since then.
Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK SPENCER WILL EVENTUALLY WARM UP TO BEING ON CAMERA? WILL TAMRA AND SIDNEY EVER RECONCILE?
