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Former RHOC stars Joe de la Rosa and Gretchen Rossi squashed their long-standing beef over Slade Smiley at BravoCon 2023.
Bravo fans were treated to more than a few blasts from the past at BravoCon 2023 in Las Vegas. Several Real Housewives of Orange County alums reunited at BravoCon, and it looks like a few even squashed their long-standing drama once and for all.
RHOC alums Jo De la Rosa, Gretchen Rossi, Lauri Peterson, and Alexis Bellino presented the OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson, with a lifetime achievement award at BravoCon’s award ceremony, The Bravos.
During the presentation, Alexis joked about being the only woman on stage who had NOT slept with Slade Smiley.
Speaking of Slade Smiley, Jo De La Rosa and Gretchen Rossi have been at odds over the Orange County lothario for years.
Slade appeared alongside his then 26-year-old fiancée Jo when RHOC first premiered on Bravo in 2006. Their relationship’s ups and downs played out during the first two seasons of RHOC. Ultimately, Jo left RHOC after season two in 2007 and called off her engagement with Slade.
Jo headed to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. Reality TV and Slade quickly followed. In 2008, Slade and Jo appeared on Bravo’s RHOC spinoff show, Date My Ex: Jo & Slade. Both of Jo’s post-RHOC endeavors were less than successful.
Meanwhile, Slade began dating Jo’s friend and new RHOC star Gretchen Rossi in February 2009. Eventually, Slade and Gretchen got engaged in 2013. They welcomed their daughter, Skylar Grey Smiley, in July 2019. The two remain committed to each other but have yet to tie the knot. As for Jo, she married Taran Gray in 2022.
Slade and Gretchen’s relationship caused some issues between Jo and Gretchen, who felt betrayed that her friend was dating her ex-fiancé.
Jo accused Gretchen of breaking “girl code” by dating Slade, while Gretchen claims she knew Slade long before he dated the RHOC OG.
“Considering she had met Slade through me while we were dating, it was just kind of interesting to see that once I moved to L.A., they ended up together,” Jo told Andy Cohen in 2013. “But I’m happy for the both of them because I truly feel the two of them deserve each other.”
Fast forward to 2023, and Jo and Gretchen have finally moved on from the Slade of it all. According to Jo’s rep, the two former RHOC stars have squashed their beef once and for all.
“Jo and Gretchen did speak,” a rep for Jo told The Messenger. “Apologies were made, and both are in a great place — moving forward in peace and with nothing but respect for each other.”
Currently, Jo works as a marketing and ad sales executive. As for Gretchen, she is an entrepreneur and is set to appear on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Morocco, which will air on Peacock in 2024.
The Real Housewives of Orange County will return for season 18 in 2024.
