Jennifer Pedranti opened up about Ryan Boyajian‘s upcoming encounter with Eddie Judge and her own issues with Tamra Judge during an interview earlier this week.
After Eddie, 51, was seen calling Ryan a “scumbag” in the midseason trailer for The Real Housewives of Orange County and Tamra, 57, labeled him a “bitch,” Jennifer, 47, and Ryan, 46, insisted that he went into the meeting with a positive attitude, excited to see an old friend.
“The husbands are not exempt [from the drama],” Jennifer told Us Weekly on September 17. “You will see Ryan. He goes in, he tries, and then fans will just stay tuned. The ride gets bumpy.”
According to Ryan, he was “hopeful” for a friendly encounter with Eddie, even though they hadn’t seen one another in about a year.
“I feel like dudes are dudes. We just get over things. If the girls have their stuff, it’s their stuff,” he explained. “When I saw him [Eddie] at [the] dinner party, I went right up to him and tried to give him a hug, kind of like bros. ‘How’s it going, man? Hope life is good,’ and he didn’t reciprocate. He wasn’t interested in giving me a hug. It just kind of went from there.”
“I think when you get some cocktails going with Tamra, she definitely lights her own fire, and that’s where it went,” he added.
In addition to Tamra steadily targeting Ryan, accusing him of sending unsolicited d*ck pics amid season 17 and putting a spotlight on his ties to an MLB gambling scandal during season 18, Tamra has also taken aim at Jennifer.
“I placed a lot of value on a friendship that was never there because friends would never do what’s been done or said to an actual friend,” Jennifer said of their feud. “You couldn’t and so I think it was me learning to put perspective on it, understanding that we are very different as women, and the term ‘friendship’ holds very different value for the two of us.”
Not only does Jennifer believe Tamra doesn’t value friendship, but she also believes she exhibits unhealthy patterns with the people she has in her life.
“Patterns show back up and I think I’m off the apology tour train for a bit. I’m never going to say never, but right now, boundaries are good,” she noted.
During another interview, Jennifer confirmed she’s settled into Ryan’s home with her children, including Harrison, 20, Dawson, 17, Greyson, 14, Everleigh, 12, and Dominic, 10 , who she shares with ex-husband William Pedranti.
“It was an adjustment,” Jennifer admitted to Us Weekly. “He had to have some mom talks with me. When I let it sink in, ‘Why are the kids not helping with the trash? Why am I picking up everyone’s laundry?’ There’s so many people in this house and little things where I’m like, ‘You know what? You just made my life so much easier. Thank you.’”
Although there were certainly growing pains as Jennifer’s family moved into the home owned by Ryan, who has two sons Cole, 20, and Tyler, 18, from a previous relationship, Jennifer confirmed they are still living there and that things are “amazing now.”
“Ryan is very structured and I learned I did everything for the kids. Ryan’s made me a little more structured. I’ve made Ryan a little more loose and we are totally settling in now,” she shared. “I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a time period [where] we all needed to settle into what we felt in the beginning was Ryan’s home, but now we feel like we’re all home.”
While Jennifer finalized her divorce from William earlier this month and was “happy” to have done so, she’s now seeking “co-parenting peace.”
“I know this is an odd statement to make. It’s like he still feels like family to me. … He’s a good dad. So that’s all that matters,” she noted.
As for the gambling scheme involving Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani, 30, and his interpreter, Jennifer said, “Ryan has no involvement” and will be “fine.”
“The world got very scary for a moment, but you watch it play out,” she teased.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.