Credit: Instagram
Alexis Bellino and Shannon Beador were spotted filming scenes for the upcoming 18th season of The Real Housewives of Orange County at a studio in Southern California on Saturday.
After Tamra Judge, 56, and Emily Simpson, 48, spoke of Alexis’ return to the Bravo reality series on Tamra and Teddi Mellencamp‘s podcast, Alexis, 47, and Shannon, 59, were photographed looking all dolled up as they seemingly reunited for the first time on-camera since Alexis went public with Shannon’s ex-boyfriend, John Janssen, 60.
In photos shared by the Daily Mail on January 29, Alexis, who was wearing the promise ring John gave her for Christmas, and Shannon were seen arriving at the studio around the same time — but failing to interact with one another.
As Alexis posed outside of the studio with Emily, she showed off her stunning physique in a hot pink two-piece ensemble, which she paired with silver strapped heels. Meanwhile, Shannon, who dated John for three years before their November 2022 split, sported a long-sleeved black mini-dress.
On the January 26 episode of Two Ts in a Pod, via All About the Real Housewives, Tamra said she and her castmates were only two weeks into filming on season 18, noting that things would be “picking up” soon.
“But I would say it’s not as slow as it normally is when you start out,” Emily noted. “We got a sh*tload of stuff going on already.”
According to Emily, she thinks Alexis’ return to RHOC is “great.” And while some have been critical of Alexis due to her return and romance with John, Tamra said she nearly didn’t film due to the potential harm it would bring to Shannon.
“In Alexis’ defense, I had a conversation with her and she said, ‘Listen, I don’t know if I want to sign because I don’t wanna kick Shannon when she’s down.’ When she said that to me I think, ‘You know what? You’re a cool chick,’” Tamra shared. “[And] for the record, she was being asked back before this John stuff was even because before she even met John.”
As RHOC fans may know, Tamra reconciled her past feud with Alexis at BravoCon.
“At the BravoCon after party, me, [Andy Cohen], and Alexis [had] like an hour conversation. And she was just so happy that we put things behind us. I mean, we never had anything major. It was stupid show sh*t,” she revealed.
When the ladies were then asked about Alexis’s previous departure from the show, Tamra suspected she was fired before noting her excitement for Alexis’ return.
“I don’t think anybody really leaves but I think that she was under a lot of pressure in the marriage that she was in [to Jim Bellino] and I felt like she really couldn’t be herself. I think the one thing I’m really excited about is seeing her [as] her own person,” Tamra shared. “Like the years that she was on she’s like, ‘I came from my husband’s rib.’”
“I think she was very suppressed and I think he was very controlling,” Emily agreed. “I don’t think she ever had the opportunity to be herself. Now she comes back on the show, and not only is she dating Johnny J., but she also is this new Alexis that gets to be free, that gets to say what she wants, that gets to be what she wants. And that’s interesting.”
Also on the podcast, Tamra confirmed she and Heather Dubrow, 55, were “on great terms.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 will premiere on Bravo sometime later this year.
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